Digital Sport XP'

While sporting events are taking place in empty stadiums due to the health crisis, the IT services company Inetum, Top Sponsor of Paris Saint-Germain Handball, wanted to offer its employees and clients a new digital experience during a French Championship match. They had a one-off chance to watch the Parisian club play against Montpellier Handball in a so-called Digital Sport XP’ event on Saturday, 17 April. A special, immersive experience that took them virtually next to the court, with an unusual pair of commentators – Daniel Narcisse and Marc-Antoine Le Bret.

An unusual pair for a top-notch clash

In a time of COVID-19 and sports competitions before empty stadiums, Inetum, Top Sponsor of Paris Saint-Germain Handball, innovates to give its clients and employees an exceptional privilege – being immersed in a match without spectators, commented live by an unusual pair. By means of a dedicated capture device, viewers could follow the action online as if they were there.

Placed in the stands, right next to the court, they could communicate virtually through comedian and imitator Marc-Antoine Le Bret, with Daniel Narcisse, a legend at Paris Saint Germain Handball, and one of the most awarded athletes in French sport.

Inetum employees and clients could thus experience the Lidl Starligue match between Paris Saint Germain, holder of the title and seven times French Champion, and Montpellier Handball, currently second in the championship and twice European Champion, live next to the court. A top-notch clash that the Parisian club won 31-28 on 17 September last.

A digital innovation for sports and entertainment

This digital immersion is a unique initiative in professional handball competitions. Though the aim was to create a warm and entertaining atmosphere for the evening’s match, it demonstrates the Inetum Group’s innovative capacity and its ambition to keep adapting to change – that which makes positive digital flow the hallmark of the IT services company in France and worldwide.

Says Inetum CEO Vincent Rouaix: “It’s been more than a year unfortunately that spectators have been kept from going to sports events. We know that sport is an everyday vector of emotion and enjoyment for everyone, and we all know how much we’ve been missing it. With this important match, we wanted to let people benefit from our privileged access to the club and our spirit of innovation to create a new experience thanks to our top partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Handball. This close relationship allowed us to bring our employees and clients – sports fans and amateurs alike – an unusual new format to attend a high-level event and experience the atmosphere of the stadium during a match.”

Jean-Claude Blanc, General Manager of PSG, adds: “We are very happy that our partnership with Inetum is turning Paris Saint-Germain events into a new experience, as this is a first of its kind in handball. In current circumstances, I’m sure that it has given Inetum employees and clients the chance to experience the thrill of the sport during an important match on the way to the title.”

Building on the success of this initiative, Inetum will continue to innovate to bring innovative sponsoring actions and develop the historic partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Handball that has united them since 2021 around shared values like solidarity, ambition, excellence, commitment and of course, innovation.

Watch the highlights of the Digital Sport XP’ event on video.

About Inetum, Positive digital flow:

Inetum is an agile IT services company that provides digital services and solutions, and a global group that helps companies and institutions to get the most out of digital flow. In a context of perpetual movement, where needs and usages are constantly being reinvented, the Inetum group is committed towards all these players to innovate, continue to adapt, and stay ahead. With its multi-expert profile, Inetum offers its clients a unique combination of proximity, a sectorial organisation, and solutions of industrial quality. Operating in more than 26 countries, the Group has nearly 27,000 employees and in 2020 generated revenues of €1.966 billion.