Talk at 12th IACS summit on communication and sports in Boise/Idaho (USA) together with my colleague Thomas Horky on March, 30th 2019.

1. SPORTS COMMUNICATION in 2020
Patterns, Trends, and Crystal-Ball Gazing
Andreas Hebbel-Seeger & Thomas Horky
IACS | 12th Summit on Communication and Sport | Idaho State University, Boise, USA | 28.-31. March 2019

2. Technologies are changing
the way sport communicates
and how sport is done.
Technologies change
the sport itself and
our understanding of sports.

3. Media technologies are one of
the central drivers
of sports development.
We have therefore focused on
3 important trends:
technologization (the growth
of technology), virtualization
and socialization.

4. Technologization within Sports...
DRONES

5. From above, video drones
open up new perspectives
on sports;
aesthetically as well as
in terms of athletic skills
and tactics.

6. In combination with other
sensors
complementary data for
training control and
competition communication
can be generated.

7. This also affects the staging of
sports in the context of sports
communication.

8. Despite potential benefits
unclear and shifting rules and
regulations are a challenge.
Many sports federations
are still unprepared
by these developments.

9. Virtualization within Sports...
360º VIDEO,
VR and
MIXED REALITY

10. We talk about immersive
technologies
(Slater & Wilbur, 1997),
from which an experience
of presence is derived
(Singer & Witmer, 1998).

11. With 360-degrees video
users can not just look
“through the eyes”
of the particular sportsperson,
but insinuate themselves into
that sportsperson by the ability
to look around inside the event(s),
like in real life.

12. Technological development
within 360 degrees video
is progressing rapidly with
effects on the possible quality
(image resolution and
stability),
the processing (stitching),
the nature of the construction
(dimensions, robustness,
water-resistance),
the usability and at least
the price development
(accessing the mass market).

13. AR stands for an expansion
of our view of the world
in real time, frequently
overlaying the real view
of the environment
with artifacts.

14. Providers like “LivelikeVR”
are offering 360º videos of
sports events integrated into
a virtual world, which multiple
users,
with their avatars,
can visit communally,
making reception
into a social experience.

15. Microsoft is pursuing
a concept in sports
(based on their AR-Product
“Hololens”) with a
cooperative project with the NFL
where “Microsoft and the NFL
look into the future of football”

16. Sociologization within Sports...
SOCIAL MEDIA

17. Sports are particularly
well suited to the
fleeting communication
in social media.

18. Social media are also
ideal channels for sports
communication
as their live character suits
the principle of sports
(Nölleke, 2018).

19. The audience, and every
individual user, can be
integrated into digital sports
communication and can
participate directly in events.

20. All the new technological forms
- combined with networks like
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Co. -
are offering ever-greater
possibilities for interaction between
sportspersons and sports reporters.
Twitch as a good example for direct
commentating of users.

21. Social media makes it easier
for the professional players
to communicate with their fans,
to interact and thus, in the final
analysis, to build up their own
brand (Breuer & Görlich, 2018).

22. sports clubs and sports
associations develop
themselves into independent
media brands.

23. This is a growing problem for
sports journalism, with
increasing complaints about
competition and about
reduced access to the
subjects of its reporting.

24. The narrative technique, or
storytelling of digital sports
communication, is changing.
Communicators, like sports
journalists, have to acquire
distinct skills and additional
knowledge in terms of
technological applications.

25. Thanks for your interest!
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hebbel-Seeger & Prof. Dr. Thomas Horky
Macromedia University of Applied Sciences | Campus Hamburg
Gertrudenstr. 3 | 20095 Hamburg |Germany
ahebbel-seeger@macromedia.de (@ahs_HH) | thorky@macromedia.de (@thomashorky)

26. References
BREUER, M., & GÖRLICH, D. (2018). GAMING UND ESPORT – MARKT UND INSZENIERUNG DES
DIGITALEN SPORTS. IN T. HORKY, H.-J. STIEHLER, & T. SCHIERL (EDS.), DIE DIGITALISIERUNG DES
SPORTS IN DEN MEDIEN. (PP. 275-293), KÖLN: HALEM.
NÖLLEKE, D. (2018). DER EINFLUSS VON SOCIAL MEDIA AUF SPORTJOURNALISTEN. IN T. HORKY,
H.-J. STIEHLER, & T. SCHIERL (EDS.), DIE DIGITALISIERUNG DES SPORTS IN DEN MEDIEN. (PP.
181-207) KÖLN: HALEM.
SINGER, M. J., & WITMER, B. G. (1998). Measuring presence in virtual environments:
A presence questionnaire. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 7(3),
225-240.
SLATER, M., & WILBUR, S. (1997). A framework for immersive virtual environments
(FIVE): Speculations on the role of presence in virtual environments. Presence:
Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 6(6), 603–616.