Monday, July 8, 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.
- Second Half of National Women’s Soccer League to Air on ESPN: ESPN has signed a rights deal to broadcast National Women’s Soccer League matches for the remainder of the 2019 season. The agreement will encompass 14 total matches, with eight airing on ESPNEWS and the remaining six, including the two semifinals and the championship game, airing on ESPN2 in October. The broadcast deal comes after Lifetime and A&E Networks ended their three-year partnership with the NWSL one year early, in February, leaving the league without a TV home just two months before its season began. A total of 55 players on France 2019 World Cup rosters play in the NWSL, including U.S. stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan. On Sunday, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to secure its fourth World Cup.
- Alipay Commits 1 Billion Yuan to Develop Women’s Soccer in China: Chinese mobile payment platform Alipay announced it will invest 1 billion yuan ($145 million) over the next decade to support the development of women’s soccer in China. Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma and Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai will also contribute to the fund. The money will be used in areas such as performance improvement of the national team, injury prevention and treatment, career development of retired soccer players, coach education, and youth player development. “We are very grateful for Alipay’s unprecedented, 10-year commitment to women’s football in China. Women’s football is not just a sport, but also a powerful social cause that encourages girls and women to pursue their dreams and ambitions,” said Cai Yong, Executive Committee Member of the Chinese Football Association.
- NTT Extends IT Deal With Tour de France Organizer ASO: Global IT solutions firm NTT has extended its partnership with ASO, which runs the Tour De France, until 2024. The extended agreement will see NTT implement new TV graphics that show a 3D map of the live race, and develop an augmented reality viewing feature for fans watching at home. For the first time at this year’s Tour De France, NTT is testing a new machine learning model called “Le Buzz” that analyzes athlete movements within the peloton to predict events such as crashes, breakaways or other changes in the race dynamics. The 106th edition of the Tour De France began in Brussels on July 6, and will end in Paris on July 28.
- Fox Sports Signs Broadcast Deal With Electric SUV Racing Series: Fox Sports has signed a multi-year broadcast agreement with Extreme E, an electric SUV off-road racing series operated by Formula E. The racing format will see electric SUVs race in extreme environments that have been damaged by climate change. Extreme E is scheduled to debut with a five-race season in 2021, with all races being aired on FS1, FS2 and the Fox Sports app to viewers across the U.S., Canada and the Carribean. Fox Sports will hold the broadcast rights for the league’s first three seasons. “Extreme racing in extreme environments, all using the latest electric technology makes for inviting programming across multiple audiences,” said Bill Wanger, FOX Sports EVP and head of programming, in a press release.
- FIBA and Genius Sports Extend Data Partnership: FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, has announced a long-term extension with data provider Genius Sports. The two have been partners since 2004, developing and implementing data infrastructures for more than 200 basketball leagues. The extension will further support the usage of FIBA Organizer, a digital competition management tool, and FIBA LiveStats, a play-by-play data collection system that captures data from games in real-time to be distributed across official websites of leagues and federations, mobile apps, social media, broadcast, OTT and highlights platforms, fantasy sports, sponsors and in-venue scoreboards. FIBA and Genius Sports also plan to collaborate to eliminate the presence of unofficial data feeds and prevent betting-related corruption.
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