Why the sports and entertainment industry needs to develop clearer pathways for new technologies.

By: Gav Parry, Co-founder of Usual Company. Originally posted via Ministry of Sport

The entertainment industry stands at a crossroads. Home entertainment options are undergoing a revolution, with advancements like Apple Vision and XTADIUM blowing people's minds.  The shift compels traditional entertainment venues – stadiums, festivals, and conferences – to adapt and innovate or face a challenging future.

We know large corporations struggle with innovation, not a ground break statement.  Cue go to figures —>  2019 McKinsey report, up to 90% of corporate innovation efforts fail to achieve their desired outcomes. Additionally, a Bain study reveals that large companies take an average of 34 weeks to launch new products compared to just 10 weeks for smaller organizations.  

Compounding these challenges for the entertainment industry, they typically invest less in R&D compared to other sectors.  Sitting alongside financial services, logistics, transportation and construction with R&D expenditures typically falling between 1-3% of revenue.  Entertainment does pull their weight a little more when it comes to M&A but sitting alongside some legacy industries when it comes to investing into innovation doesn’t totally sit right.

With the limited R&D investment and no clear pathways for the corporates to connect with startups, how do we innovate quickly enough to drive the fan experience forward?

We believe that through regular events and conversations we’ll be able to  address access issues for startups and time constraints faced by corporations, we will foster a more collaborative environment to ensure the entertainment industry remains a vibrant and captivating force for generations to come.

Our goal as an industry should be to become proactive rather than reactive.  The only way to get there is to bring both ends of the industry together.