Introduction

Sports consumption, as a product of the development of social productive forces to a certain stage, is a personal consumption behavior aiming to pursue fitness and entertainment after satisfying the existence consumption (Zang & Wang 2012). The concept of sport providing a secret language, a shared passion, and an emotional connection to the people resonates universally (Traxton 2020). And as a result, professional sports leagues ferociously marketed their products everywhere, which resulted in an impressive global growth of the sports industry. Accordingly, markets around the world have been growing in their receptiveness to the power of sports, as the sport became a great opportunity to reach millions of fans that were following their favorite leagues and clubs via all kinds of media, in addition, many were also flying all over the globe to follow their heroes in live games. Consequently, the competition within the sports industry rose: for sponsors, for media revenue, for fan attention. Besides the professional sports leagues’ global hunger for market share, changes also occurred due to the rise of digital media, e-sports, short-form video, content-led e-sports sponsorship, and the addition of new women’s sports formats (Nielsen 2018). All these forces, together with increasing health awareness prospected to see further growth for sportswear, sports equipment industry, and sport participation. All that global growth connected to the sports industry, let the Business research company (2019) forecasted a rise for the global sports market at an annual growth rate of around 6% to nearly $614 billion by 2022. Abruptly the world witnessed the Covid-19 pandemic, sports’ seasons ended abruptly, people’s escape from reality suddenly vanished, their spending attitudes changed, live games and commercial flights were suspended, hotels were impossible to book, and consumers practically turned into prisoners within their own homes. No live sports matches to follow on any media either, so specialized sports channels were forced to play old recordings, or in ESPN’s cases, they quickly adapted and started to air a Michal Jordan special (Last Dance) that was marketed for months, earlier than projected. Even athletes themselves struggle to stay relevant and thus, try to be creative to enhance their brand value in these difficult times. And as of this writing, the majority of the sports leagues are still shut down, with a few exceptions like the German Bundesliga or the UFC fighting matches, both of which performing in empty venues, and thus, still projecting a diminished experience compared to the pre-Covid19 era.

Objective

It is expected to collect a visionary set of contributions of renowned academicians and professionals working over the issue of the sports industry and its consumption. Let’s explore the changes that will be created by these unexpected disruptions to the sports industry, fans consumption, and recreational habits. Especially, since it looks like the virus is here to stay at least for a while.

Target Audience

Academicians, researchers, professionals, decision-makers, main-actors from various disciplines, public in general.

Recommended Topics

Sports recovering from crisis times Suspending sports’ seasons’ effects Switching sports disciplines Sports lifestyle before and after Sports consumption habits & patterns Active vs. passive sports’ engagement changes` Sports tourism development Sobering up: overpaid athletes The future of sport wagering Marketing through sports Sports advertising during the crisis Connectedness with sports fans Individual vs. mass sports opportunities Sports’ healing powers Sports abstinence: Psychological issues The ways back to live sports Recreation at home Sports equipment industry Sports souvenir industry Outlook on national sport strategies Sport consumer behavior Future of professional sport as a business Sport licensing landscape Downsizing the sporting goods industry Athletes personal brands without sport performance Is Covid-19 a market opportunity for E-Sports Alternative ways to enhance the experience of Live Sport consumption Sports and the brain Your brain, physical activities, and COVID-19 The impact of COVID-19 on physical activity and well-being Impacts and Implications for the people`s way of living, working, and well being in the Post-COVID-19 era

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before September 15, 2020, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by September 30, 2020 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by November 15, 2020, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project. Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Trust in Knowledge Management, and Systems in Organizations. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process. All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery®TM online submission manager.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2021.

Important Dates

September 15, 2020: Proposal Submission Deadline September 20, 2020: Notification of Acceptance November 15, 2020: Full Chapter Submission December 15, 2020: Review Results Returned January 15, 2021: Final Acceptance Notification February 26, 2021: Final Chapter Submission

Inquiries

armand.faganel@gmail.com

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