Is sport safe from AI?

{"text":[[{"start":2.8,"text":"Conventional thinking would have us believe that sport offers a non-correlated asset class that has recession-resilient qualities because fans remain loyal even in hard economic times."}],[{"start":14.7,"text":"This week, we question another emerging viewpoint: that sport can resist AI disruption."}],[{"start":20.45,"text":"Then, we dig a little deeper into the trends behind the multibillion-euro football transfer market. Two clubs in particular stand out."}],[{"start":28.75,"text":"A reminder that Scoreboard is taking a break next weekend but will be back in your inbox on September 5."}],[{"start":35.25,"text":"Do read on — Samuel Agini, sports business correspondent"}],[{"start":39.35,"text":"Prepare for the AI era, invest in sports"}],[{"start":43.1,"text":"These days, investors are increasingly of the opinion that sport is more resistant to the rise of artificial intelligence than other asset classes."}],[{"start":51.400000000000006,"text":"Joshua Kushner, whose Thrive Capital backed OpenAI, wants “assets with qualities that cannot be replicated by technology”."}],[{"start":59.7,"text":"He set up Thrive Eternal with that in mind. The investment vehicle could back his acquisition of a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers at a $12.5bn valuation."}],[{"start":71.9,"text":"Kushner thinks that “iconic franchises and cultural institutions” will “matter even more” in a “world shaped by abundant intelligence where creation scales and distribution fragments”."}],[{"start":84.15,"text":"Apollo, which has committed billions of dollars across the New York Yankees baseball team, Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid and pickleball, has said sport is “structurally insulated from AI-driven substitution”."}],[{"start":98.80000000000001,"text":"“The core product is elite human performance — an experience technology cannot replicate or automate,” Apollo’s sports arm said last year."}],[{"start":107.4,"text":"Ari Emanuel, who oversees entities that control Ultimate Fighting Championship and have stakes in tennis tournaments, thinks AI will shrink the working week and result in more leisure time."}],[{"start":118.15,"text":"The idea being that what is live cannot be replicated. As media companies and broadcasters have discovered, sport is one of the few remaining “properties” that still commands and congregates live audiences."}],[{"start":131.70000000000002,"text":"Yes, AI has a big role to play in the future of sport, from online ticket sales and personalised broadcasts to improved player development and in-game tactics."}],[{"start":142.15,"text":"Maybe sport, on the pitch, the court or the field, is truly “structurally insulated”."}],[{"start":148.35,"text":"But what if AI doesn’t lead to more leisure time? What if productivity gains just give employees more time to chase more clients or analyse more stocks? What if the productivity gains are felt unevenly across different segments of the economy? Or if they’re just overstated?"}],[{"start":165.6,"text":"What if AI leads to mass unemployment or wage compression? Sport relies on the financial health of consumers, otherwise known as supporters or fans."}],[{"start":175.75,"text":"And then there’s the sport itself. If AI helps the biggest and best competitions and teams to scale up around the world, will the end result be a more select group of premium brands with access to global capital, global audience and global commercial partners?"}],[{"start":191.85,"text":"More fundamentally, some sports benefit from rising valuations but rarely make any profit on their increasing revenues. Football clubs spend their riches on buying and paying players. Can AI fix the fundamentals?"}],[{"start":205.04999999999998,"text":"Got a view? Write to us at scoreboard@ft.com."}],[{"start":208.95,"text":"Hey big spenders!"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":211.6,"text":"Europe’s top spenders in the summer transfer window include some familiar names. Chelsea lead the way with a net spend of €245mn, followed by Arsenal and Real Madrid, according to Transfermarkt data. More surprising is the presence of Ipswich Town and Coventry City, sides newly promoted to the Premier League, in fourth and fifth place. "}],[{"start":232.7,"text":"Ipswich have spent a net €159mn on the likes of attacking midfielder Julio Enciso as they seek to retain their place after a second promotion to the Premier League in three years, while Coventry’s owners have authorised a net spend of €138mn for the club’s first campaign in the top division for a quarter of a century. The net spend of both exceeds that of the two Manchester clubs and reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain, although this could change by the time the window closes on September 1."}],[{"start":264.3,"text":"It is conventional wisdom that promoted clubs must spend big to have any hope of competing against the established sides — Sunderland did so after coming up from the Championship the previous season, before surprising many to finish seventh and qualify for this season’s Europa League."}],[{"start":281.55,"text":"But the sums involved reflect the increasingly stark financial gulf between the Premier League and the division below. A recent Deloitte report highlighted the widening disparity, with the gap between Premier League clubs’ wage expenditure and that of the Championship growing from £1.5bn to £3.5bn in the decade to 2024-25."}],[{"start":304.25,"text":"Promoted clubs will also have to navigate the Premier League’s new squad cost regulations, which limit spending to a proportion of revenues. Introduced to curb excessive spending, the rules leave them navigating a difficult balancing act of investing enough to compete with wealthier incumbents without putting their finances at risk. "}],[{"start":322.45,"text":"The financial pressures facing promoted clubs will be on the agenda for the new Independent Football Regulator, which begins its first full season with a remit to “protect and promote the sustainability” of English football."}],[{"start":334.34999999999997,"text":"But the IFR may have its work cut out. As Deloitte noted, “the options are seemingly: spend to compete, or fall away and allow a potentially counter-productive monopoly to emerge, with neither option being a secure footing for sustainable growth.”"}],[{"start":348.49999999999994,"text":"Highlights"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":349.54999999999995,"text":"Woody Johnson bought a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula 1 racing team. The former US Ambassador to the UK also owns the New York Jets NFL franchise and a stake in Premier League football club Crystal Palace. He was also appointed vice chair of the F1 team, joining controlling shareholder Lawrence Stroll on the board. Financial terms were not disclosed. Stroll acquired the team — then known as Force India — in 2018, when he paid £90mn (then $117mn) to rescue it from administration. Sports business website Sportico valued the team at $3bn last November."}],[{"start":391.54999999999995,"text":"The PGA Tour won the battle for the future of golf, overcoming the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf. But what next for the US tour and its new chief executive, Brian Rolapp? Can the NFL alumnus bring the commercial nous of American football — one of the richest sports — to professional golf? And what about the influence of Strategic Sports Group, a consortium led by Liverpool FC and Red Sox owner Fenway Sports Group? More here."}],[{"start":416.59999999999997,"text":"Swedish private equity group EQT agreed to take a majority stake in one of Australia’s top rugby league clubs in a rare deal in the country’s sports sector. The deal, which values the Melbourne Storm at A$150mn ($106mn), follows the National Rugby League’s record A$5.3bn ($3.7bn) seven-year broadcast agreement with media companies including Dazn’s Foxtel."}],[{"start":446.84999999999997,"text":"US financiers Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are in talks to sell their stakes in Chelsea Football Club to majority owner Clearlake Capital, the FT revealed this week."}],[{"start":458.9,"text":"Dragoneer Investment Group founder Marc Stad agreed to buy a controlling stake in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx basketball teams at a $4.5bn valuation. Dragoneer has backed companies including Anthropic and OpenAI."}],[{"start":474.65,"text":"Transfer market"}],[{"start":476.79999999999995,"text":"Kevin Lamour, Fifa chief operating officer since 2024, has left world football’s governing body. He had criticised Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s now aborted plan to sell shares in a new commercial entity to private investors."}],[{"start":491.44999999999993,"text":"Final whistle"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":492.8499999999999,"text":"So, sport is “structurally insulated from AI-driven substitution”, but is it insulated from another higher power?"}],[{"start":500.3999999999999,"text":"Enter the second World Humanoid Robot Games, starting today in Beijing."}],[{"start":505.5999999999999,"text":"Take a look."}],[{"start":512.5999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787407493_9507.mp3"}