Tuesday, Apr. 16, 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.
- Peyton Manning to Host and Produce New ESPN+ Football Show: Two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Peyton Manning will serve as host and executive producer of a football-themed show debuting on ESPN+ in July. The five-part, 30-episode documentary series Peyton’s Places will celebrate the NFL’s 100th season and examine the history and cultural impact of the game. “This is a journey through 100 years of history, visiting the people and places that have made the NFL what it is. From throwing a football off a skyscraper to re-enacting the Immaculate Reception and running Elvis Presley’s football plays, every episode on ESPN+ will surprise even the most die-hard fan,” Manning said in a press release.
- Aser Group Invests in Sports Data Labs’ Tracking and AI Platform: Aser Group, the parent company of English soccer club Leeds United and sports broadcast company Eleven Sports, has announced a strategic investment in data collection platform Sports Data Labs. Part of Aser’s investment will go towards SDL’s development of the human data market for sports betting. The company is now the lead investor in Sports Data Labs. As part of the announcement, Leeds United and SDL have agreed an additional partnership that will focus on developing opportunities within soccer for the use of real-time sensor technologies originally designed for non-sports applications.
- Softball BC Signs on to TeamSnap Sport Management Platform: Sports team management app TeamSnap will become the official team and local sport organization management platform for Softball BC. TeamSnap will support more than 640 softball clubs across British Columbia as part of the partnership. The company’s mobile and web-based software platform will deliver integrated solutions for communication, scheduling, payment collection, website creation, and hosting. “Securing a provincial partnership with TeamSnap will be key in helping to lower administrative costs for teams and streamlining operations for administrators, coaches and managers,” said Rick Benson, executive director of Softball BC, in a press release.
- Interregional Sports Group to Provide Virtual Ads During La Liga Matches: UK sports production company Interregional Sports Group has agreed to a three-season deal with Spanish telecommunications firm MediaPro for the rights to virtual perimeter and virtual goal-side advertising for La Liga matches. The deal covers 53 games until the end of the 2021-22 season, all of which will feature either FC Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid. Brands will be able to select geo-targeted broadcast markets where they want their advertisements to appear. ISG also holds virtual advertising rights for Serie A and Formula 1 racing, according to a press release.
- Fanatics to Run All of Washington’s NFL Team’s Retail Channels: Washington’s NFL team announced a 10-year omnichannel retail partnership with Fanatics. The company will now operate all online retail and brick-and-mortar store locations for the team, including the Hall of Fame store at FedExField. “We know our fans are shopping for [team] merchandise through a variety of channels, and by emphasizing the strengths of Fanatics, we have the ability to meet their demands, while also positioning our franchise for the next phase of retail,” stated Bruce Allen, president of the Washington team. Fanatics is also the NFL’s official e-commerce partner and maintains retail relationships with more than 20 NFL teams.