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?
Marketing Evolution
Scenario 1
Sports marketing evolves to focus more on women, making up for the decline in middle-class wealth by successfully building the upper-middle-class professional female fanbase. Later, developed countries adopt “basic income” programs to offset the job displacement caused by widespread automation of service jobs.
Scenario 2
Sports teams and leagues fail to field affordable on-site offerings for the bottom 90% of their fanbases’ earners, and live attendance at games declines steeply.