[Source: JTA] JTA, the world’s leading independent communications and international relations consultancy in sport, today announced the launch of neo, a pioneering digital transformation offer in sport and entertainment, which has already delivered a pilot global campaign that successfully reached over 250 million unique users.

neo combines expertise from across the world’s best digital agencies to form the neo collective. The neo collective comprises specialists with a client portfolio that includes some of the most recognisable global brands, including Marc Jacobs, L’Oréal, Amazon, Lamborghini, the Olympic Games Organising Committee Paris 2024 and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). Within the neo collective are JTA Design, a world-leading international design agency; Vagabond, industry experts in full-funnel digital performance; and Sticht, a fan-generated content agency that transforms brand enthusiasts into content creators.

The full list of organisations in the neo collective can be found here.

neo has already delivered significant results on a global stage with the launch of the inaugural World Volleyball Day in July 2025. The campaign reached over 280 million people across social media, generated GBP 1.4 million in earned media value, and drove more than 2 million fan interactions and 826 influencer mentions.

Jon Tibbs, Founder of neo, commented: “The sports communications industry is at a pivotal moment. Its future will be defined not just by storytelling, but by how the digital space transforms the way those stories are shared and experienced. That’s why we’ve launched neo - to give our friends and partners the tools and insight to lead that transformation. After 25 years of helping to shape the global sports narrative, this is the natural next step for JTA: combining our expertise in sport and communications with the limitless possibilities of digital innovation.”

neo’s mission is to help organisations transform how they attract and retain audiences, create value, remain relevant and credible, and lead change.

neo applies a five-stage model that blends creativity, data and technology to deliver measurable impact. The process begins with assessing a client’s digital reality and identifying hidden potential, before the creation of ideas and moments that can move people and brands. These ideas are then activated through campaigns, experiences and social storytelling, amplified through data, AI and performance insight, and continuously evolved through innovation and reinvention.

neo’s Tech Futurist and strategic advisor to many of the neo collective organisations, Andy Evans, commented: “The digital space is evolving faster than ever - audiences expect more, and the landscape shifts daily. What makes neo different is that it’s built as a collective - a network of specialists who each bring something exceptional to the table. That kind of collaboration is rare, and it’s exactly what the industry needs right now: joined-up thinking that provides fresh perspectives and helps brands to drive culture.”

Salva Ramirez, Vision Director of neo and Managing Director of JTA Design, said: “Sport and entertainment don’t wait - they move fast, and digital moves faster. Brands that lead don’t just keep up with culture: they shape it.

“That’s what neo does. It's in our DNA. We’re built on decades of collective experience. In industries where attention is currency and relevance can be ruthlessly short-lived, neo helps brands to move faster, connect deeper and lead where it matters most.”

TJ Lee, neo’s Digital Pulse Lead and CEO of Vagabond, added: “People want to be part of something that feels real. At Vagabond, we’ve always believed that impact doesn’t come from pushy ads or paid noise, but from creating journeys that audiences actually remember. That’s what neo is all about - an integrated approach that connects creativity and data to build genuine relationships. It’s exciting to be part of the neo collective as we look to redefine how stories are told.”

For more information about neo and how it can transform your digital presence, please visit here.

The sport industry is an instigator of societal growth, as well as significant economic returns. As a result, the future of the industry doesn’t just impact the organisations involved within it; it affects a huge swathe of communities, fans and players around the world. 

Here are the trends that we’re expecting: 

1. Next generation of players, fans and workforces  

Gen Z (1997-2010) and Gen Alpha (2010-2025) will play and consume shorter, more action-packed formats of traditional sports. Organisations will have to innovate via format and rule changes, whilst captivating younger audiences through excellent online content, social media engagement and live experiences. 

Impact on the sports industry now: Declining interest in sport from younger generations is forcing organisations to begin their digital transformation to attract, retain and diversify fanbases & player pools. 

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: The future customer will dictate what new sports will become mainstream and how existing formats need to evolve. Delivering the right fan experience will continue to be a non-negotiable.  

2. Evolving global sports market 

The sports industry will continue to grow beyond its current commercial value of $500-600bn. The number of sports seeking to commercialise is increasing at an unprecedented rate and organisations will explore innovative ways to expand their revenue generation models. By 2030, private equity investment will be the major catalyst for change and commercialisation across sports. 

Impact on the sports industry now: Sports organisations are looking to commercialise in order to generate how revenue by boosting customer acquisition and retention. 

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: Investment in sport will enable organisations to have undertaken transformations, innovate and evolve to become entertainment entities. 

3. Pace of digital  

Digital innovation continues to yield new ways for people to play, consume and engage with sport. As a result, many ad-hoc initiatives are being driven through technological advancements. Keeping pace with digital is a major challenge and sports organisations must be agile in order to rapidly respond to grow and counteract disruption.  

Impact on the sports industry now: Sports organisations are going back to basics as the first step in their digital transformation, by establishing robust foundations with key capabilities that will enable their digital aspirations. 

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: Digital will be embedded in all aspects of sport, resulting in numerous use cases. Organisations will need to become data-obsessed and digital first in how they operate.    

4. Societal impact  

Societal demands are forcing sports organisations to redefine their views on equality, diversity and inclusion. From a participation standpoint, female sport will flourish with the aid of watershed moments like the success of the Women’s Euro 2022 Championship. Societal shifts will also mean that the structure of sports organisations will evolve, with a growing focus on building an inclusive industry for workers, players and fans. 

Impact on the sports industry now: Increased focus on societal issues and high-profile incidents has resulted in organisations taking a stance, grasping the potential for sport to act as a catalyst for societal change.  

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: Female representation in sport will be higher than ever before. More women will participate, including in traditionally male-dominated sports like football, cricket and rugby. The make-up of sports organisations will also evolve, as organisations will look to be more purpose-driven and be at the heart of broader societal change. 

5. Health and wellbeing  

Physical health is already a concern for many and this was exacerbated by the pandemic. Moreover, lockdowns highlighted the benefits of exercising and team sports due to the rise in mental health issues. Increased awareness and new sports formats will therefore play a role in boosting interest in sport and participation rates in the future. 

Impact on the sports industry now: Health is top of mind, particularly for younger generations post-pandemic. Disease prevention as a priority, increased from 22% to 28% between2020-2021 for both Millennials and Gen Z. 

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: Greater health awareness will drive more young people to exercise and play sport.  

6. Climate change and sustainability  

Climate change and sustainability are impacting consumer and societal expectations, with an emphasis on individuals and institutions taking a more environmentally conscious approach. The sports industry can be the catalyst in responding to and driving initiatives, if it wants to be, due to its ability to transect geographies and cultures. 

Impact on the sports industry now: It’s estimated that the sports industry contributes 0.6-0.8% to total global carbon emissions, with a carbon footprint equivalent to Spain. 

Impact that we expect to see by 2030: A changing climate will have a serious impact on how, when and where sport can be played. Governing bodies will need to play a leading role in developing policy accordingly. 

To receive the full overview of these forces for change, email: UKDeloitteSportsBusinessGroup@deloitte.co.uk

Beijing 2022 has been hailed for setting new standards in engagement by Ivo Ferriani, President of GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations).

“Following 19 days of exciting winter sports action, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Beijing 2022, athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers for delivering a successful Olympic Winter Games and inspiring millions of people in China and around the world to engage in winter sports,” he said.

“I understand that the Opening Ceremony was the most watched broadcast in China in a decade; this is fantastic news for the future of ice and snow sports in China.”

Worldwide, the Opening Ceremony attracted achieved more viewers than any previous Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony.

Throughout the Games, more hours of broadcast coverage were made available than at any previous Olympic Winter Games edition. In China, broadcast coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 reached over 600 million people through TV alone.

The IOC said the Games also achieved record coverage through digital platforms, with “billions of engagements across digital platforms, including Olympic and Rights-Holding Broadcasters’ properties”.

Ferriani said: “With more than 2.7 billion comments about the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on the IOC’s social media platforms, I have no doubt that millions more people will participate in winter sports activities as a result.”

More than a thousand journalists were accredited for the Games, in addition to close to a thousand other accredited members of the press from 520 organisations, plus 3,607 accreditations granted to representatives of rights-holding broadcasters.

The Games was delivered in the most challenging of circumstances amid the Covid 19 pandemic.

 “I can speak from experience and say that the closed-loop system was very successful and there was a fantastic Olympic spirit throughout the Games,” said Ferriani. “This would of course not have been possible if it wasn’t for all the hard work behind-the-scenes and everyone coming together to deliver a safe and secure Olympic Winter Games.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the GAISF Members of Olympic winter sports for your hard work and efforts to provide the best possible support for your athletes.”

At an thank-you event organised at the Big Air venue in Shougang Park in Beijing, the IOC’s Beijing 2022 Coordination Commission Chair, Juan Antonio Samaranch, thanked the thousands of Beijing 2022 workforce and volunteers.

“You and all your teams have done incredible work to tackle the different challenges. You have always been responsible, responsive and efficient to all our requests,” he said.

“Thanks for your strong commitment and dedication. You ensured that these Olympic Winter Games were memorable.”

With 45 per cent of athletes being female and 55 per cent male, Beijing 2022 also set a new standard as the most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games.

Cai Qi, president of the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee, said: “As the first city to host both summer and winter Olympic Games, Beijing 2022 will go down in history. We will continue to work with the IOC to spread the Olympic spirit, enhance inclusiveness and mutual understanding, promote friendship and solidarity, and jointly shape a better future.”

The way sport content is consumed is changing dramatically, and this is changing the business of sports events. PwC’s Sports Survey 2021 revealed the top “key market force” in the sports industry to be the transforming media landscape.

“We want to invest around the change,” George Pyne, Founder & CEO of Bruin Capital told SportsPro Activision conference. “The pandemic is accelerating the adoption of all things digital, which if you’re investing in technology is a good thing.”

The pandemic has presented challenges as well as opportunities.

“Portfolio companies are having a hard time hiring people and not meeting with clients – and there are supply chain issues. But strategically we feel good about the long-term technology change that’s taking place today.”

Bruin bought data-driven sports marketing agency Two Circles before the pandemic. Other recent acquisitions include Deltatre, TGI and OddsChecker. Bruin also bought golf simulation technology Full Swing, which experience mixed fortunes due to the pandemic. “Home simulators sailed off the charts, but golf was one of the sports that people could still do as it was outside.”

But Bruin’s investments have generally been well placed at this time of transition. “All our companies had a good tailwind. It’s working for us, being in the tech space – tech is disrupting life and for sure will disrupt sports.

“When I started Bruin we wouldn’t have been so tech focused. Our focus is growth, so where in the sports ecosystem can you find returns? We find the best place is in technology. We’ve landed on technology because of the growth credentials.”

High risk threshold

Pyne offered an insight into the needs of startups.

“When you’re looking for capital, you need capital that’s patient, easy to work with and can help you grow. When you are a startup you need to be able to pivot, to adjust, to be nimble and adapt to what’s going on around you.”

Investing in startups is a high-risk business. “In the startup space, most don’t make it. If you have 10 companies, about three are going to make it. It’s about investing in technology and people you believe in.

“Your threshold for risk is quite high. We don’t expect all to be successful – it’s the level of success you’re looking for.”

Pyne empathises with the disappointments that everyone in business faces from time to time. “I’ve been fired by a client, I’ve missed a budget, I’ve failed. Every day isn’t a sunny day. We are good to be around when things go bad – that’s the Bruin secret sauce. If you’re not a people business, you can’t be successful.”

From 2006 to 2014, Pyne was President of Sports and Entertainment and Board Member of IMG. “Having the experience of running a company, we are way more empathetic to CEOs. If you’re a CEO or management team, we are able to open doors. And equally importantly when things don’t go well, we understand. Those things are important to CEOs and CFOs.

“What works for me is three-year plans. It’s not just about money, but ideas. Check in once a month on strategy and numbers and you’ll never really fall apart. We have great CEOs, they run the businesses, we’re just here to help; we’re on their side.

“It’s based on trust, integrity, doing what you say you’re going to do – and how you handle it when things go wrong. Nobody’s perfect, we try to address our mistakes in the best way possible.”

New and emerging technologies

Technologies are emerging at an unprecedented rate – but which ones are here for good?

“NFT is probably here to stay. Cryptocurrency and the blockchain looks pretty sticky too.

“Sport reflects life and is going to follow the trends – all those trends are being enabled through global technology and sport will follow, which is good. I embrace innovation.

“If you look at Microsoft and Activision and the impact of the metaverse – that is the new frontier. There are going to be big winners and big losers and a lot of value created. There are going to be some big enterprises that come out of those categories.”

“NFTs and crypto is very exciting, but I’m more into the data and lifetime buy of the consumer. There are so many ways to interact with consumers through data and there are so many opportunities to be great in that area.”

“The relationship between club and consumer will define success in the future.”

Which perhaps brings us to the real reason that technology is such a huge growth area – it connects people with their passions.

“Golf is a passion point and Full Swing is satisfying that passion point – we love a good passion point in a partner.

“Our focus now is on TGI and Full Swing, helping them to do well. Somewhere along the way this year we’ll probably find a new technology platform to invest behind.

“It’s all about people. Technology without people is nothing.”

This article is based on the live Q&A by SportPro’s Editor-at-Large, Eoin Connolly

Alibaba Cloud, founded in 2009, is a global leader in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, providing services to thousands of enterprises, developers and government organisations in more than 200 countries and regions. Committed to the success of its customers, Alibaba Cloud provides reliable and high security cloud computing and digital technology capabilities as part of its online solutions.

“We are focusing on sustainable development and innovation,” Kevin Li, Head of International Sports Industry Department, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence said at Host City on 7 December 2021.

According to IDC and Gartner, Alibaba Cloud is the number one public cloud provider in China and APAC, and number three in the world.

In January 2017 Alibaba Cloud became the official cloud services partner of the Olympics.

“Since then we have been continuously supporting to drive the digital transformation of the Olympics,” said Li.

In 2018 Alibaba unveiled the cloud data centre for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and OBS Cloud with Olympic Broadcasting Services. In 2019 Alibaba Cloud became the official partner of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games and helped to support the first Asian games on cloud. And in 2020, Alibaba Cloud announced its support of Le Club Paris 2024 to enable fans to interact and engage with the Olympics. And in 2021, the most important milestone was to support Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which was delivered for the first time on cloud.

“Our teams are working to provide cloud technology support to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which will take place in February 2022. As a worldwide Olympic partner we share a vision with the IOC of using cloud technology and digital intelligence to improve the decision making of Games operations and create unique digital journey experience of Olympic sports fans.

“We believe technology will make the Games more inclusive and accessible to people of different genders, races and age around the world, all united by the Games."

Breakthroughs at Tokyo 2020

“When we look back at Tokyo 2020, breakthroughs in digitalisation were made at every moment fuelled by leading cloud-based technologies through Alibaba Cloud in partnership with IOC,” said Li.

“Alibaba helped IOC to integrate official digital channels of the Olympic games into the new olympics.com platform.

“Alibaba and the IOC released the cloud press conference platform, enabling the media to easily watch all press conferences on the cloud.

“We launched the cloud intelligence heatstroke prediction system with the Tokyo organising committee, to reduce the probability of a heatstroke.

“Alibaba Cloud supported OBS to launch the Olympic broadcasting cloud for the first time, using cloud technology to fully support ultra high definition and high dynamic Olympic broadcasting services.

“Through the digital cloud cheer platform, Make the Beat, we can cheer on the cloud and encourage athletes from all countries.

Digital operation, competition, communication and experience

“When we overview all these digital innovations based on practices by Alibaba Cloud in the Olympic Games, we can identify four domains in more general sports digitalisation. The four domains are: digital operation, digital competition, digital communication and digital experience. Each domain is composed with corresponding business solutions for specific stakeholders respectively.

“Digital operation will improve the operational efficiency of organising committees to make the events more sustainable. Digital competition will strengthen the position of athletes are at the heart of the Olympic movement both on and off the field of play.

“Digital communication is aimed to reorganise accounting workflow through digital technology. Olympics.com is one of the fruitful achievements. The converged media channel has delivered extended engagement for all fans during the Olympic Games, which will reinforce and promote the Olympic values which are more important and powerful than ever.

“Digital experience will establish the seamless Games journey experience to improve fans’ engagement before, during and after the Games.”

More value to host cities

“As TOP partner, Alibaba Cloud keeps collaborating with stakeholders of Olympic Games from Pyeongchang, Tokyo and Beijing to the coming Milano-Cortina, Paris and Los Angeles Games to support IOC’s digital strategy to facilitate the successful Games delivery and strengthen the uniqueness and universality of every brilliant Olympic Games.

“These practices could deeply involve the TOP Partner’s expertise and resources into the programmes and activities of the Olympic movement.

“Alibaba Cloud stands with the IOC, organising committees, IFs, sponsors and other partners to make digital technology – especially the cloud, which is hosting all core Games services – as a powerful source to enable the events to be more connected, more efficient, more secure and more engaging.

“It will be helpful to establish dynamic sports games with unprecedented experience and a reduced carbon footprint of the Games.

“Digital solutions rely on cloud technology that bring more value to the host cities of Games. From the faster sports industry development to more efficient city operations it is expected that host cities will witness the smart capability, building and developing of transportation, touring, medical, governance and many other aspects.

“Alibaba Cloud can work such digital magic into our cloud products and services, the comprehensive cloud solutions will create value and be the enabler of sports industry digitalisation. Cooperating with other sports partners, fans and stakeholders globally, I believe we can seize opportunities of digitalisation and contribute to shaping the post-pandemic world by working together with the sports community to strengthen the Olympic values.

“Stronger together: let us send our best wishes to all athletes and fans of the coming Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.”

This article is based on Kevin Li’s presentation, The digital transformation of the Olympic Games, at Host City 2021

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, unveiled at Apsara Conference 2021 Premium DingTalk for Sports Games, a digital solution aimed at streamlining the organization and communications for large-scale sports events. The new solution will be used for the 2022 Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou next September, serving over 100,000 participants from across the world.

Leveraging DingTalk's established cloud-based enterprise collaboration platform, the new sports solution provides a one-stop collaboration tool to connect stakeholders at all stages of the event hosting lifecycle – from organizers and suppliers to volunteers and venue operators – enhancing the operational efficiency of sports events.

"Alibaba Cloud's ambition is to transform the experience of sports in the digital era. As part of our continued efforts to achieve this goal, our new DingTalk solution is designed to help users manage and operate large-scale sports events in a more structured manner, leveraging DingTalk as an enterprise collaboration tool as well as utilizing our cutting-edge cloud technologies and infrastructure," said Selina Yuan, General Manager of International Business Unit, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

"Following our success in delivering technological solutions and services to digitalize the Olympics Games Tokyo 2020, we are excited about the opportunity to support the upcoming 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou."

This solution allows different groups of event participants to join the platform through a single gateway, from anytime and anywhere. Organizers can manage these groups individually through a back-end platform, streamlining workflows while facilitating effective communications within and between groups.

To help event participants including volunteers and venue operators from across the world better communicate with each other, the platform also provides instantaneous multi-language translation, remote video conferencing and many other functions to ensure smooth and real-time information exchange.

"At DingTalk, we are aiming to facilitate the digitalization of organizations and corporations. With the launch of Premium DingTalk for Sports Games and our upcoming cooperation with the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, we are ready to provide the latest in digital platform services to global sporting event organizers," said Alex Li, Vice President of DingTalk.

Other sports solutions unveiled during Apsara Conference 2021, held from October 19-22, include an AI-based simulation training solution for volunteers, which can provide virtual training for event volunteers in a cost-effective manner.

Based on AI algorithms, robots create an immersive training environment by simulating scenarios in the real world and generate insights into trainees' achievements using a standardized and systematic ranking system. By analyzing training insights, these AI robots offer real-time feedback to volunteers and provide tailored retraining sessions to help them improve performance.

Moreover, Alibaba Cloud launched a cloud-based ticketing system to optimize digital ticketing services at sporting events. This was adapted from a customer service system that was previously used by Alibaba Group marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall. When a game needs to be rescheduled, the system, backed by Alibaba Cloud's conversational AI technology, automatically informs ticket holders and handles refund requests.

Alibaba's innovative AI technology and rich business scenarios make it a pioneer in the industry. Alibaba was named a Major Player by International Data Corporation (IDC) MarketScape, in its worldwide conversational AI 2021 vendor assessment. Alibaba is included in the analysis for the first time for its strong and capable conversational AI capabilities and industry expertise.

Alibaba Cloud has been committed to promoting the digitalization of sports in recent years. It also launched various cloud-based solutions and services to support the digital transformation of the Olympic Games during Tokyo 2020. These included Alibaba Cloud Pin, a cloud-based digital pin that enables media professionals to engage with each other in a safe and interactive manner, and an intelligent ear-worn device that helped onsite staff reduce the risk of getting heatstroke during the summer in Tokyo.

About Alibaba Cloud

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. It offers a complete suite of cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, management and application services, big data analytics, a machine learning platform and IoT services. Alibaba Cloud is China's leading provider of public cloud services by revenue in 2019, including PaaS and IaaS services, according to IDC. Alibaba Group is the world's third leading and Asia Pacific's leading IaaS provider by revenue in 2020 in U.S. dollars, according to Gartner's April 2021 report.

Watch Kevin Li, Head of International Sports Industry Department, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence presenting at Host City 2021 on “The Digital Transformation of the Olympics” here