Tuesday, July 9, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology stories you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web
- Catapult and ShotTracker Combine Data for College and Pro Basketball: Catapult and ShotTracker have formed a partnership to combine their data tracking capabilities for college and professional basketball teams. ShotTracker, which provides data to 61 collegiate basketball programs, will integrate with Catapult’s video analysis platform. Catapults’s NBA users, which include the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, will now have access to an additional 70 ShotTracker statistics. “This partnership enables our brands to deliver a collection of never-before-seen data that will help prevent athlete injury, improve physical performance and enhance the development process on the basketball court,” said Davyeon Ross, ShotTracker’s co-founder, in a press release.
- MLB: The Show Esports Tournament Planned for China: Major League Baseball announced its first venture into esports will be a tournament scheduled to take place in China later this year. The three-month long tournament will see eight teams compete in MLB: The Show and will take place across Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi’an. The league made the announcement on its Chinese Weibo account. At SportTechie’s State Of The Industry conference in February, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred first teased the the league’s interest in esports. “Engagement of a younger audience is the principle objective for us,” he said.
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- Data Skrive Will Produce Automated Sports and Gambling Content for the AP: The Associated Press has signed a four-year deal with automated content creator Data Skrive to produce automated sports and gambling content. Data Skrive will generate game previews, recaps, and predictions across all major sports leagues for the AP and its wire service. Data Skrive is the sister company to HERO Sports, which also provides the AP with computer-generated sports coverage. “We are pleased to announce Data Skrive as our preferred automation solution for sports and gambling content,” said Barry Bedlan, AP’s director of sports products. “After providing The Associated Press with robust NBA and NHL game previews in 2019, we were eager to leverage their technology to expand our content production for hungry fan bases everywhere.”
- NBC Sports Group Plans Global Reach of Golf’s Ryder Cup: The PGA of America and the European Tour have partnered with NBC Sports Group to develop new global digital initiatives for the Ryder Cup. The long-term partnership includes a website that will serve fans of both the U.S. and European teams and a new app that will enhance both the onsite and overall viewing experience, according to a press release from PGA of America. The partnership will go into effect before the start of the 43rd Ryder Cup in Wisconsin in September 2020. “This is an important next step in expanding the global reach of The Ryder Cup,” said Jeff Price, CCO of the PGA of America. “This relationship will allow us to deliver the best possible digital, social and emerging technology experiences to fans around the globe.”
- Monumental Sports Network Will Integrate Sportradar Data: Monumental Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, has partnered with Sportradar to enhance Monumental’s streaming network. Monumental Sports Network, which streams live Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics games for subscribers in the D.C. area, will integrate data feeds provided by Sportradar into a new live scoring feature and will add real-time betting odds. The partnership encompasses league-wide data from the NHL, NBA, WNBA, NBA G-League, and Arena Football League. Sportradar is also building a feature that allows users to hide betting-related content from Monumental Sports Network, should they not wish to see it. MSE has previously detailed plans to add a sportsbook to Capital One Arena.
- DAZN Expresses Interest in NFL Streaming Rights: Sports streaming service DAZN is reportedly interested in placing a bid for NFL broadcast rights if the league ends its relationship with AT&T. “We’re definitely interested in looking at the NFL rights,” said DAZN CEO Simon Denyer, according to Bloomberg. DAZN already owns NFL streaming rights in Canada and the NFL has until September to decide whether it wants to continue its deal to air Sunday games on AT&T’s DirecTV. As DAZN significantly expanded globally last year, the company also reportedly racked up losses totalling $627 million, according to Bloomberg.
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