The relative wealth of the middle class is already shrinking, but automation and robotics will further accelerate the decline. Who in the future will be spending time and money experiencing sports, and how will their relationship with sports be different?

Engaging Female Fanbases

Teams and leagues looking to grow their female fanbases will have to go beyond gimmicks like pink jerseys. It has to be based on empathy and true engagement. Women care about family — the smarter leagues will be looking at ways that sports can bring families together. Women want positive role models for their daughters, but networks are resistant to showing women’s sports highlights. Leagues that want more female fans should get people to capture and share amazing plays by women on social media. There are so many examples of women kicking ass in sports — be the league that helps them get it out there. And in a lot of cases, women haven’t spent as much time with a sport as men have. So use technology — immersive virtual reality or augmented reality — to help women school up fast.

Carin Watson
Managing Director, Corporate Innovation and EVP, Business Operations, Singularity University

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