Global Scans · Leisure · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Online retailing will be one of the fastest growing channels between 2015 and 2019 as individuals do not have much time for leisure and seek convenience. Entertainment will continue to shift away from traditional broadcast media and print to reality augmented and deeply personalised content. The occupations with the largest new employment growth will be managers, professional and technical jobs, and caring and leisure occupations. Many middle-class professionals will be outsourced to machines within the next few decades leaving workers with more leisure time than they have ever experienced.

• [New] As live sports increasingly moves to streaming platforms like Amazon, Netflix, and Peacock, advertisers have new lucrative opportunities to reach highly engaged audiences in premium environments. / UK Teads
• [New] By 2030, a budget electric car may run on a sodium-ion battery, a long-range sedan on a silicon anode with a liquid electrolyte, and a premium sports car will receive a solid-state battery.
• [New] The only new sport in 2026 will be ski mountaineering. The Conversation
• [New] Entertainment events are expected to lead the event type segment with a 32.0% share in 2026 because of the high volume and operational intensity of concerts, music festivals, film productions, and touring shows held across the world. Dimension Market Research
• [New] Yahoo Finance's forward-looking report puts the global sports betting and gambling space on track for $198 billion by 2030. Proactiveinvestors UK
• [New] Today's sports economy, already valued at $2.3 trillion, will reach $8.8 trillion by 2050. Yahoo Sports
• [New] Generative AI app downloads-leveraging large language models and image generators for writing, research, education, and entertainment - are expected to reach 4 billion, generate $4.8 billion in in-app purchase revenue, and account for 43 billion hours of usage. Futureuae
• [New] The convergence of generative AI, virtual production, and synthetic media is creating an entirely new category of creative infrastructure that will define entertainment production for the next decade. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] By 2040 only around 10 countries will have suitable conditions to host snow sports for the Winter Games without heavy reliance on artificial snow. Winssolutions - World Innovative Sustainable Solutions
• [New] Sports hospitality is a booming business, as is sports tourism, which is expected to reach more than $1.7 trillion by 2032. Yahoo sport uk
• Rising temperatures and unpredictable snowfall are reshaping winter sports, from local slopes to global competitions. College of Natural Resources News
• By 2040, only 10 nations on Earth may still have the climate conditions needed to host Olympic snow sports. Yahoo News Canada
• As Italy prepares to host the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, climate change is threatening snowfall, shortening winter seasons, and raising concerns about the future viability of winter sports and host locations. NewsGram
• Streaming platforms are expected to spend $14.2 billion on sports rights in 2026, a 7% year-over-year rise, with Prime Video to take over as the biggest spender, accounting for 27% of the total. WORLD SCREEN
• Prime Video is forecast to contribute $3.8 billion on sports rights in 2026, beating out DAZN by more than $500 million. WORLD SCREEN
• DAZN is expected to account for 22% of total sports right spend in 2026. WORLD SCREEN
• Daily and short-duration charters (3-4 days) are experiencing the fastest growth, with a CAGR of 11.39% projected through 2030, driven by urban coastal markets, weekend luxury experiences and changing vacation patterns among time-pressed professionals. Dream Yacht Sales & Ownership
• The concept of the workcation, where people mix remote work with leisure travel, is still going strong in 2026, but it's also shifting. TravelInsurance.com
• Sports tourism, the largest revenue driver, is expected to account for 60% of total sports economy growth through 2030. Mexico Business
• Sports revenues could grow to US$ 3.7 trillion by 2030 and US$ 8.8 trillion by 2050 under current expansion trends. Mexico Business
• The global sports industry, which generated US$ 2.3 trillion in annual revenue last year, could lose US$ 1.6 trillion by 2050 as climate change and rising physical inactivity disrupt events, infrastructure and participation. Mexico Business

Last updated: 25 February 2026