Cavaliers at the top 17 List of Most Innovative Sports Teams
Cleveland Cavaliers top
Sports teams are not the same as leagues. Throughout the history of professional sports, different governance structures and organizational models have developed, which means that no two leagues are alike when it comes to innovation.
Through our analysis of team innovations for this report, we continually examine how decisions and controls (or lack thereof) affect the team level innovation. In fact, after the release of last year’s Top 17 Most Innovative Teams report , we have several times with the teams in the Top 17 list Conversations, and one of the most common topics in these conversations is governance — what innovations teams are allowed to do, and what the consortium limits or manages.
Our model has emerged from ongoing analysis: older teams, such as UEFA (soccer) teams, tend to be more Teams benefit from a higher level of autonomy. Specifically, the North American Sports League
is taking a more centralized, league-controlled approach to certain partnerships and sponsorships, which can make it difficult for teams to Building your own has your own path of innovation. That said, autonomy is not the only, or even necessarily recommended, approach to innovation, as our analysis suggests that concentrating the power of innovation at the league level could benefit all teams in the league, shrinking the size of the world’s richest players gaps between teams and those who don’t have much discretionary income to invest in innovation.
This year’s Top
What’s clear, balancing autonomy and control is critical in propelling sports leagues into the age of fluid fans.
Three metrics are used to determine the team score: revenue distribution, technical support, and organizational agility.
Income Distribution:
Income diversification means Sports properties are able to drive fans beyond ticketing, franchises, media rights and traditional sponsorship categories. Some of these metrics include: ownership model, mixed-use development sites, multilingual social media capabilities, sports betting partnerships, OTT channels owned, ties to women’s teams, and more.
Technical Support:
The Technology Empowerment category is about enabling technology through Analyze specific fluid fan behavior. To enhance Fluid Fandom, teams must engage with many platforms to capture, maintain and satisfy audiences. Fluid Fans are open to change, empowered to choose and constantly evolve. Teams that understand how to use technology to enable ten core behaviors (visit, wager, co-view, connect, create, learn, listen, own/buy, engage and show/go) are innovative.
The category of organizational agility is about future staffing, leveraging new skill sets, and looking at other Industry is talent. The most innovative teams are able to invest in talent, leverage data, learn from adjacent industries, and launch new businesses. Some of these metrics include: accelerator programs, business intelligence and analytics groups, D/E/I programs, social justice programs, internal staffing structures, talent development, and more.
Access: Enhancing athlete/fan interaction, digitizing training/workouts, and giving fans the athlete-centricity they want Content.
Bet: A website that enables fans to place/bet or play fantasy sports and betting insights.
Create: Empower fans to create, manipulate and share content.
Connect: Enables fans to connect with each other digitally.
Co-Viewing: Enables fans to watch digitally, engage in second screen events or otherwise stream the content they want.
Learning: Enables fans to consume media and get more information about events, games or players.
)Listening: Enables fans to listen to sports or sports-related content.
Own/Buy: Authorize fans to buy and own their own fan base or sell to other fans.
Engagement: Empowering fans to join the community and participate in the brand’s digital activities.
DISCOVER: Empower fans of any part of the live fan journey.
optimal76 Most Innovative Team:
optimal17 Most Innovative Team:
FC Barcelona, La Liga
Connect: Enables fans to connect with each other digitally.
Co-Viewing: Enables fans to watch digitally, engage in second screen events or otherwise stream the content they want.
Learning: Enables fans to consume media and get more information about events, games or players.
)Listening: Enables fans to listen to sports or sports-related content.
Own/Buy: Authorize fans to buy and own their own fan base or sell to other fans.
Engagement: Empowering fans to join the community and participate in the brand’s digital activities.
DISCOVER: Empower fans of any part of the live fan journey.
optimal76 Most Innovative Team:
optimal17 Most Innovative Team:
FC Barcelona, La Liga
optimal17 Most Innovative Team:
