The Famous Group Owner & Managing Partner Jon Slusser's company impressed many last NFL season with its Mixed Reality Baltimore Raven making its way around M&T Bank Stadium. The project earned Best In Sports Technology honors at the '20 Sports Business Awards. Slusser anticipates a revolution in the way fans interact with live sporting events thanks to major advancements in technology sped up by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the latest episode of “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead,” Slusser and SBJ's Andrew Levin recount how we got here, break down countless creative ways teams and networks can use technology to improve the fan experience, and touch on advertising questions posed by the virtual space.
On how the pandemic has changed the technology landscape:
Slusser: What the pandemic has done is accelerate technology. All of these things were already there. We didn’t have time to develop some brand-new Death Star system. We had to use what we had around and quickly modify and build on top of these platforms to be able to deliver solutions. Whether it’s e-commerce, virtual fans or augmented reality, all of these things were already in play. What’s happened is it’s forced people to start using them. You think about Zoom and things. Before COVID, I barely used Zoom. It would just be in pitches or certain situations where I would be on a video conference. Now, I was just on a regular telephone conference the other day, and it felt so archaic. … Seven months ago, that was the norm. All of these things are happening so quickly.
On how fans' interactions with their teams will change through technological advancements:
Slusser: There’s no question that things have advanced. You’re still going to go to the stadiums. You’re going to buy a hot dog. You’re going to buy the T-shirt. You’re going to watch a great game. But what’s available to you has (changed). I really feel we’ve had five years of tech advancement in the last five months. I just think that people are more open to having technology be part of that experience, whether that’s on your phone, up on the Jumbotron or on the broadcast, and particularly what that means for the in-home viewing. If you’re going to stay home, you can watch on television, and it’s a fantastic experience, but is there another level now in between watching with the masses on broadcast television and being in the stadium? If you’re a season-ticket holder and you love the Lakers, and you’re not in Los Angeles … you still want to be part of that experience. You want to be with the players. You want to be with your team. There’s something really interesting and emotional about knowing that you are virtually there.
On questions about virtual-ownership rights posed by augmented reality:
Slusser: It opens up a really interesting question of who owns what? Who owns that virtual space in the stadium? Who sells that? Because it just appears in the broadcast or maybe it just appears in the Jumbotrons. It’s not really there, so there’s some interesting questions as this technology develops about who owns these virtual rights, and I don’t mean just signage, things you wouldn’t notice in the broadcast as being virtual.
