From sport to sportainment: Iris Cordoba Mondejar on AI's disruptive potential at PlayCom 2025

From sport to sportainment: what PR and comms teams can take from Iris Cordoba Mondejar's PlayCom 2025 talk

At PlayCom 2025 in New Delhi, Iris Cordoba Mondejar, Managing Director of the Global Sports Innovation Centre (powered by Microsoft), laid out how AI and digital media are changing how sports are produced, distributed and monetised.

Her core message: treat sport as content. Build a digital vertical around it. Then use AI to personalise, package and price that content for every audience segment.

Why "sportainment" matters for comms

According to GSIC, the sports industry's Total Addressable Market could expand to $1.5 billion by making sport more accessible across geographies and fan bases. The unlock comes from digital distribution layered onto existing revenue streams.

• Matchday: ticketing, F&B, merch-still vital, but limited by venue capacity.
• Media & sponsorship: core revenue that scales with reach and engagement.
• Digital vertical: a "Netflix/Disney/Facebook" style model where sport is content-always-on, multi-format, fan-participatory.

AI shifts you can act on now

• Audience modeling: predict who will watch, share, buy, or churn; segment messaging by interest and intent.
• Content atomisation: auto-generate short clips, captions, thumbnails and translations from long-form broadcasts.
• Sponsor fit and valuation: match brand goals to audience cohorts; forecast asset performance before you sell.
• Fan co-creation: safely surface and redistribute fan-made content; credit creators to grow community.
• Smart venues: personalise in-stadium experiences and communications in real time.
• Performance storytelling: use player and team data to craft narratives fans care about-without giving up competitive IP.

GSIC's client roster includes LaLiga, the NBA, Cricket Australia and the NFL. Mondejar pointed to an AI-aided database used around the NFL Combine that helps teams scout athletes by specific traits-proof that AI already supports high-stakes decisions in sport.

Metrics PR leaders should prioritise

• Digital reach per match vs. linear reach
• Engagement rate by format (shorts, live, stories, long-form)
• Watch time and retention curves
• First-party data growth: email, SMS, app signups
• Conversion: ticketing, subscriptions, merch
• Sponsor ROI: attributed impressions, clicks, leads, sales
• Cost to produce per minute of content

Operating model for sportainment comms

• Always-on content studio: a small team that ships daily across platforms.
• Data stack: CDP + analytics + attribution tied to content and commerce.
• Rights and approvals: clear guardrails for AI-generated and fan-made assets.
• Creator partnerships: talent sourcing, briefs, revenue splits, compliance.
• Sponsor enablement: packaged content slots with data-backed outcomes.

90-day action plan

• Weeks 1-2: Audit your last 90 days of content. Identify top formats, channels and messages by engagement and conversion.
• Weeks 3-4: Pilot AI for clip generation, subtitles, thumbnails and multilingual captions on two priority platforms.
• Weeks 5-8: Build three sponsor-ready content kits (storyboard, formats, KPIs, sample assets). Price them using predicted reach.
• Weeks 9-12: Launch a fan co-creation program with clear UGC rights and moderation; spotlight the best creator content weekly.

Risks and guardrails

• IP and likeness: secure rights for AI remixes, player images and music.
• Consent and fairness: review data use, bias and explainability in any AI model that scores fans or athletes.
• Privacy and security: align with regional regulations; minimise sensitive data.
• Misinformation: watermark synthetic media; publish your disclosure policy.
• Live ops: set alerts and escalation paths for real-time issues during events.

Context

GSIC operates as a non-profit, connecting sports organisations, startups, enterprises, students and public institutions to deliver solutions for smart venues, sustainability, media, fitness, health, engagement and performance-supported by Microsoft.

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