News & Insight
When it comes to a return to any semblance of the ‘normality’ we knew pre-Covid, both sport – and wider society – still has far to go.
However, for the first time in nearly a year, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations rolling out at pace across the world. And with every vaccination that takes place, that light gets just that little bit brighter and a lifting of restrictions just that little bit more within reach.
Since March 2020 we have been studying the impact of Covid on sport using every piece of data at our disposal. And though we can’t use data to predict exactly when restrictions will start to lift permanently across the world, the data does show when they do there will be a pent-up demand for sport.
At the end of January, we hosted a digital event for our clients based in the UK and EMEA – The Bounce Back – where we gave our data-driven analysis of Covid’s impact on the sports industry, what the data tells us about how this pent-up demand for sport will manifest itself, and what the implications are for sports rights-owners.
You can view an edited version of the keynote below, delivered by Gareth Balch, Lucinda Main and Louis Antwi. We hope it brings inspiration for the sports industry to capitalise on this unique moment in history.
In short: sport will experience a record demand post-Covid, but its supply – the products and propositions we provide – will need to be rewired to benefit. And those rights-owners who embrace innovation, as opposed to tradition, will be the ones leading the Bounce Back.