The New Standard for Sports & Entertainment Data
Why Fan Identity is Replacing CDPs in Sports & Entertainment
Sports and entertainment organizations need more than a database—they need a system that can recognize, understand, and activate every fan across channels. A traditional CDP can help organize information, but it can’t deliver real-time identity, prediction, or sponsor-ready intelligence.
A modern fan identity platform solves those gaps and creates the foundation for revenue growth across ticketing, OTT, retail, and partnerships.
Why CDPs Fall Short in Sports & Entertainment
Not Built for sports and entertainment
CDPs don’t natively stitch together ticketing, streaming, venue Wi-Fi, or POS data—critical elements of unified fan data.
- Weak recognition across fan channels
They were designed for ecommerce journeys, not hybrid digital + physical fan ecosystems. - No predictive insights for behavior
Teams need answers like who will buy, watch, travel, churn, or renew. CDPs rarely deliver actionable predictive fan insights. - Zero sponsor activation or attribution
Modern partners expect measurable, high-intent audiences. CDPs provide none of the sponsor-ready segments teams need. - Heavy engineering lift
Long runways, high integration cost, slow time-to-value.
AI Native, Privacy-first, Interoperable
Real-time identity stitching across OTT, ticketing, apps, and venue infrastructure via AURA smart profiles.
- Predictive behaviors
Travel likelihood, renewal probability, merch intent, content affinities, and more. - AI microsegments
Campaign-refreshed groups that fuel your fan engagement engine. - Sponsor-ready audiences
Segments aligned to brand categories—and clean attribution linking exposure to outcomes. - Full-funnel visibility
Digital → in-venue → conversion → partner impact. All tied back to a single fan ID.
Empowering Fan Journeys
Use Cases Across the Fan Lifecycle
Acquisition
Unify zero/first/third party data across ticketing, merch, payments, social, sponsors and any data sources into AURA profiles.
Engagement
Deliver personalized content and nudges across owned and third party channels.
Conversion
Lower cost of acquisition by predict likely buyers and target with precise messaging.
Retention
Identify churn risk early and drive renewal outcomes to maximize lifetime value.
Sponsorships
Build measurable, high-performing brand segments and contextual micro-segments.
AURA FAN IDENTITY WINS
Bottom Line
CDPs were built to organize customer data for ecommerce—they excel at storing and managing information, but they stop short when it comes to delivering actionable insights in complex, multi-channel ecosystems like sports and entertainment. Fan Identity, by contrast, is purpose-built for the unique demands of rights holders, venues, broadcasters, and sponsors. It unifies data across ticketing, streaming, apps, and in-person experiences; predicts fan behaviors; activates personalized interactions in real time; and measures impact for sponsors and commercial partners. In other words: if your goal is not just to manage data, but to truly understand your fans, personalize every touchpoint, and unlock new revenue streams, a CDP won’t get you there. Fan Identity is the operating layer that makes this possible—and the category teams need to lead in engagement, retention, and monetization.