Sports analytics were made popular with the movie Moneyball starring Brad Pitt. However, those analytics only covered one aspect of the sports industry: an athlete’s performance. The recent Schulich Sports Business Council event, “Passion Points: Data Analytics in the Sports, Media and Entertainment Industries” examined how the creative industries can use analytics beyond the field of play.

The event highlighted the role of analytics in optimizing operations, building stronger customer relationships, and creating new products and services to maximize revenue streams.

“Industries are seeing huge up-serge in data but they don’t always know what to do with it.”

The keynote speaker, Regional VP & General Manager, SAP Sports & Entertainment North America Frank Wheeler explained how SAP’s cutting edge technology is implemented in the field and how big data continues to evolve globally.

“The main point was to examine the companies that are operating in the industry and the skills needed to manage data in the digital transformation,” Wheeler said.

Those skills have become a critical market need in the changing world of analytics.

According to Wheeler, “Industries are seeing huge upserge in data but they don’t always know what to do with it. The way we’re evolving with machine learning and the internet of things [means that] the ability for a company to manage, connect and visualize data while making it actionable is going to be a key skillset for businesses in the future.”

The event was capped off with a panel moderated by Professor Murat Kristal that included industry leaders from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Cineplex and Nielsen Sports Canada.