The Electrification of Sports

4 minute read · Issue Number 61 · Match 26th, 2021

Mar 26, 2021

Welcome to another weekly edition of Sports-Tech Biz! Every Friday, we learn about intriguing topics related to sports, business, and technology. If you’re reading this online or in a forwarded email, sign up for the newsletter:

Fellow readers,

This week I sat down with Murray Barnett on the Halftime Snacks Podcast to chat about a concept I never heard before:

“Electrification in Sports”

Since I couldn’t contain my curiosity, I did my research, and I simply HAD to write about it.

I hope you guys find this concept as fascinating as I did.

Let’s fill in that knowledge gap.

The Electrification of an Industry

Electrification is a concept that’s relatively new to the automotive industry.

Over the years, streetcars changed, becoming safer and more efficient, but now, hybrids and electrified vehicles are the elements pulling the relevant threads forward.

Both electric and hybrid cars have slowly been taking over the streets in the last few years due to the efforts of companies like Tesla, the worldwide interest in renewable energies, and the alarming statistics of global warming.

Very vital players in the automotive industry have been taking steps towards electrification;

At the beginning of 2021, General Motors (GM) announced that by 2035, they intend to cease building petroleum-powered cars and light trucks and move entirely to electric.
Oil company Exxon Mobil announced a new business unit that will spend $3 billion over five years to develop low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen, which can generate electricity to power automobiles.

It was only a matter of time for this technology to be implemented in sports.

Sports Electrification

Sports that rely on racing cars such as NASCAR, Formula, MotoGP, and others are also looking at electrification as part of their future.

Today, competitors, manufacturers, and series organizers are embracing this new technology in international motor racing.

One of the industry pioneers is Formula E — they decided to move towards the sport's sustainable form by developing the championship only with electric vehicles.

Big corporations are pouring tons of cash into these technologies. Yet, there are lots of challenges related to the electrification of motorsports.

For instance, today, F1 drivers exceed speeds of 370 km/h. In Formula E, races will cap out at about 290 km/h.

Alternatively, those producing the cars need to make sure they create a compelling spectacle for the fans.

Will electric motors deprive fans of one of the most thrilling aspects of racing — the roaring noise of gasoline engines?

I know it may sound weird, but it’s an essential part of the experience.

The benefits of electrification in sports are clear, and due to that, the electric sector's progress has been exponential.

I think car manufacturers will overcome any challenges needed to make the sport more competitive and increase the audience's entertainment value.

At this rate, it feels like sometime in the future, we will see gasoline-powered sports cars only in museums or in collections.

🎙 Halftime Snack of the Week

A Masterclass on the Business of Sports

This week’s Halftime Snack features Murray Barnett.

Murray has over 20 years of experience working in sports companies like ESPN, Formula 1, World Rugby, and the NBA.

We talked about his career and his lessons from working in world-class organizations, the electrification of sports, sport for all, technology, media, sponsorships, and so much more.

Listen on Apple | Spotify | Google or check out the transcript here.

QUICKIES

🏷 In the 2021 Super Bowl, what advertisers won the most followers on social media?; T-Mobile and Mountain Dew gained the most in the days following the Big Game.

⚡️ NFTs and a thousand true fans; The highest revenue NFT project to date, NBA Top Shot, has generated $200M in gross sales in just the past month while spending very little on marketing.

On the emoji scale, how much did you enjoy today’s newsletter?