Ashwin Desai

Most sports live streams that go out on YouTube make one critical mistake 👇 YouTube users are watching sports on the platform in rapidly growing numbers, according to its chief executive Neal Mohan as more people switch from smartphones to televisions to view online video (credit: Financial Times, link in first comment). 35bn hours of sports content was viewed on YouTube in the past year, marking a 45 per cent increase on the previous year. And this year I’ve seen a huge uptick in sports organisations and broadcasters streaming live to the platform. And despite that so many feeds are literally exact replicas of what would go out on linear TV. Many I see I would describe as a ‘lonely experience’. This totally misses the point and advantages of the platform. YouTube is about interacting. A sense of community and experiencing an event together. Allowing fans to become involved in the stream and shape the editorial narrative. You can do this in so many ways. Such as through building interactive features, bespoke graphics, deeper data insights, leveraging audience generated content, & gamification. The result is you transform audiences from being purely passive, to creating engaged communities. Those who do this are winning. P.S Dizplai helps brands, broadcasters and sports organisations build active communities using interactive and socially-connected content. Drop me a DM to find out more.

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Last week, Sportico announced that former NBA player Metta World Peace and Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols were launching a $100M sports tech fund called Tru Skye Ventures. The fund will target: • Sports tech companies • Digital media platforms • Health & wellness innovation Metta World Peace joins several former NBA players who are in the VC space including: • Andre Iguodala • Michael Redd • Carmelo Anthony • Omri Casspi • Steve Nash The emergence of the athlete-vc model is intriguing and we'll start to see more of this happen mainly due to: • Access to deal flow and opportunities • A mutual value add • Long-term upside and wealth generation • A need to diversify 📩 Subscribe to the Vetted Sports newsletter to get more insights and news at the intersection of sports, technology, and investing → https://lnkd.in/d7G8due3

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🌐 EA Sports’ New Ecosystem Strategy 🌐 EA SPORTS has announced the upcoming EA SPORTS App, a platform that blends live sports coverage with social networking. With an exclusive partnership with LaLiga, the app will offer real-time scores, stats, and community features for fans to connect and share highlights. 3 Key Takeaways for Businesses: 1️⃣ Ecosystem Expansion – EA meets fans’ evolving needs by combining information and community in one platform. 2️⃣ Customer-Centric Design – Integrated content and features enhance user engagement. 3️⃣ Multi-Channel Brand Building – Diverse touchpoints boost customer loyalty and reach. 🎥🔗 For more insights, check out our latest video and blog post on this topic: https://lnkd.in/e6gKkBiN 📚🔗 If you prefer reading to watching, check out our blog post: https://lnkd.in/e9dyAB4q Visit Ecosystemizer’s website to see how we support businesses in navigating ecosystems. Looking forward to your thoughts! #EcosystemStrategy #Ecosystemizer #EASports #BusinessInnovation #CustomerEngagement #DigitalTransformation #SportsTech #LaLiga #BusinessEcosystems

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Brady and Belichick. Kobe and Phil. Ronaldo and Sir Ferguson. What do these names have in common? For one, they’re all champions and some of the best player-coach duos in their respective sports. But there’s one main characteristic that helped them get there. Communication. Without excellent communication between coaches and players, games aren’t won and championships don’t happen. This is why GoRout exists. GoRout is a communications platform that enables coaches to transmit play calls and position-specific play information using a tablet from the dugout or sidelines to the players on the field in real-time. We spoke with founder Mike Rolih, about how he started the company, challenges growing the business, and the long-term vision. Check it out 👇 #sportstechnology #sportsbusiness #sportsindustry https://lnkd.in/dvM6M2cT

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Electronic Arts (EA) College Football is back..... The 1st CFB title in a decade officially launched last week and sold a reported 2.2M of its Deluxe Edition ($99.99). Players who purchased the Deluxe copy gained access to the game 3 days early, proving the gaming community is willing to shell out more of their money to get a head start on games they want to play. (Source: IGN) CFB is a generational game, with older gamers (me) looking to relive our glory days. The bigger opportunity for EA is engaging a younger generation of players who have never played a CFB title. Combining nostalgia with innovation around one of America's most popular sports (28% increase over the last 5 years) will prove to be a winning strategy for EA. I had the pleasure of sharing some insights with Front Office Sports around the game's launch and expectations. 🏈 https://lnkd.in/gwEZRSUP rEvolution #gaming #sportsbiz

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FC Barcelona have scrapped thei𝗿 plans to SPAC Barca Media at a $𝟭𝗯𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 👉 Barca Media are the Hold Co that controls the creation production and commercialization of FC Barcelona's audiovisual, digital and eSports outputs. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝟯. When the SPAC plans were announced, I wrote on Sporting Crypto that this was unlikely to materialise. In fact, in the SEC filings for the SPAC, showed that there was still large amounts of debt owed to Barca Vision (the Web3 arm of Barca Media) from two parties; Orpheus Media and Socios. At the time of the SEC filings, there was still money outstanding from the deal done in August 2022 that saw Orpheus Media and Socios invest €𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗺 each in Barca Media via Studios. 📰 In April 2024 it was reported by SportBusiness that Barca Media were shelving plans to SPAC "𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 €40𝘮 ($42.5𝘮) 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵." 🧠 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀: • $132m for essentially 𝟮𝟵.𝟱% of Barcelona’s Web3 rights in perpetuity always seemed ridiculous    • There was a lose-lose scenario here for Barca Media from the outset:   - Their partners can’t pay back what they owe.   - Barca Vision is worth a lot of money eventually, and Barcelona is encumbered by it financially because they don’t own the whole pie.    • This always felt like lever too far by Barcelona. As I wrote at the time: 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘦𝘣3 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗱 - I wrote when covering this prospective SPAC. Nothing has changed since, it seems.

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🚀 Paris 2024: A Spectacular Opening with a Touch of Controversy 🎆 Last night, the Paris 2024 Olympics kicked off with an opening ceremony that was pure magic. Viewers enjoyed four hours of an amazing mix of art, history, and extraordinary athletic skill. Paris set a new benchmark for Olympic openings, intertwining its rich heritage with the unifying spirit of the Games. 🔥 Artistic Excellence🗼 From breathtaking fireworks around the Eiffel Tower to dynamic dance sequences depicting history, the ceremony was a masterclass in production. Cutting-edge technology projected stunning visuals onto iconic landmarks, seamlessly merging live performances with pre-recorded brilliance. 💥 A Touch of Controversy 🌍 Amidst the action, controversy sparked. Progressive elements like a same-sex kiss and the presence of a bearded lady and more… stirred mixed reactions. While some hailed these as steps towards inclusivity, others felt they were unnecessary political statements. 🤔 The Debate: Olympic Neutrality 🥇 The Olympics symbolize international unity and friendly competition. But should they stay free from political statements? The Olympic Charter advocates for mutual understanding and non-discrimination. Progressive messages at the Games must balance modern values with the event's unifying spirit. 🌐 Looking Forward 🚀 The Paris opening was a triumph, but it ignited a crucial conversation about the role of progressive messages in global events. As we celebrate human potential and shared values, this dialogue will shape the future of international sports, ensuring they reflect contemporary values while preserving their inclusive essence. #Paris2024 #Olympics #Sports #Inclusion #Progressive #ArtAndSports #GlobalUnity #OlympicSpirit #SportsTech

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Biggest media story of the year: the explosion in women’s sports. The combination of big stars emerging in soccer and basketball with the need for live content for streaming services should drive huge growth. Not to mention the desire for people to go live events and the affordability of taking a family to a game. A lot of strong secular trends should set up the NWSL and WNBA for really good runs.

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Will be interesting to read the Flutter quarterly earnings report that is about to drop!

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Another exciting week at the intersection of sports, tech, and investing 🔥🚀 Here's your weekly rundown: 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 💰 • LVMH owner Bernard Arnault is acquiring Paris FC with Red Bull • TOCA Football raises $100M Series F round • Major League Table Tennis raises $5.5M • Infinite Reality acquires Zapper for $45M • Dyn Media GmbH plans to raise funding round at ‘€60M’ valuation • VOZZI raises $7M • PlayerProfiler closes $1.5M Pre-Seed round • LeagueApps secures equity investment • Aston Villa Football Club minority stakeholder Atairos injects £50M into the club • Pohlad family looks to sell Minnesota Twins 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 🤝 • English Premier League partners with L Marks to launch an innovation lab • Yahoo Sports partners with The Athletic • Champion Venture Partners teams up with Chapwood Investments, LLC • Rice University partners with BeONE Sports 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 📰 • Allyson Felix launches women-focused sports management firm • Wimbledon brings in AI line calling for 2025 • Drake Star releases new sports tech report 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 💬 • How American Aires Inc. protects the health of athletes • How StadiumDrop is creating an entirely new in-stadium experience Subscribe to the Vetted Sports weekly newsletter to get the latest industry news, trends, and updates 📩 👇 https://lnkd.in/exg7VXM9

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I'm planning on creating a guide that explains how professional sports teams can use the power of sound to increase fan engagement, build community, and enhance the overall match day experience, regardless of budget, club size or technological restraints. If that sounds like a bit of you, let me know - comment below if you'd like a copy! #liveeventaudio #sports #professionalsport #audiobranding #fanengagement

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Dubai is rich in events of all types - conferences, forums, talks, meet-ups, and expos. Today I had an opportunity to visit the ABC Conclave Web3 event. The most interesting topic for me was e-sports. As you may know, UAE and KSA are competing for leadership in e-sports. Top world events and the best players in the world are now hosted in either of these two countries. Investments in this industry counted in billions. Saudi Arabia itself is on track with an investment strategy of $38 billion until 2030 for the gaming industry. Why it is important - a no-brainer, iGaming stands very close to e-sports. Lots of similar approaches and concepts and most importantly both industries are generating emotions and entertaining the players. I believe they will go closer and closer over time. Nice talks, interesting insights. Keep in mind that there is still an opportunity to visit the second day of the event tomorrow. 

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