2025年2月10日

体育数据垄断:揭秘其兴起及其形成原因(下)

体育数据行业并非一直由少数几家巨头掌控。在早期,数据收集是一个去中心化的过程,通常由联赛、球队甚至个别球探负责。信息通过人工方式收集,并分享给媒体或其他相关方。然而,随着体育数据价值的日益凸显,该行业开始发生转变。体育博彩的兴起以及对实时数据需求的增长,彻底改变了行业格局。 企业意识到掌控数据访问权能带来巨额利润,于是开始与各联赛及组织签订独家协议。这些协议赋予了它们收集和分发数据的独家权利,从而有效将竞争对手排除在外。随着时间的推移,这导致了权力逐渐集中于少数几家主要供应商手中。

Neta Porre
Product Group Manager @ LSports

One of the key drivers of this consolidation was the willingness of data providers to pay large sums of money for exclusive rights. Leagues, often looking for ways to maximize revenue, were eager to sign these deals. However, this short-term gain came at a long-term cost. By handing over control of their data, leagues effectively gave up their ability to manage how their information was used and monetized.

Another factor was the lack of legal protections for sports data. Unlike intellectual property such as music or movies, facts, numbers, and figures are not protected by copyright law. This means that once a goal is scored or a match is played, the data surrounding that event is considered public domain. However, the exclusive agreements signed by leagues and data providers have created a de facto monopoly, as competitors are legally barred from collecting the same data independently.

The result is an industry that is heavily skewed in favor of a few dominant players. These providers have little incentive to innovate or improve their services, as they face no real competition. Meanwhile, leagues, media companies, and betting platforms are left with limited options and rising costs.

In the next part of this series, we’ll examine the broader implications of this monopolistic system, including its impact on innovation, competition, and the future of sports data.

Read Part 3: LACK OF INNOVATION, HINDERED FAN EXPERIENCE: THE BROADER IMPLICATIONS OF SPORTS DATA MONOPOLIES