Wednesday, May 29, 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
- Red Bull to Discontinue Air Races After 2019 Season: Red Bull announced it will cease operations of the Red Bull Air Racing series at the end of the current season. The league has hosted more than 90 races since being established in 2003. In a news release, Red Bull cited a lack of significant outside interest as a reason for shutting down the series. While Red Bull’s last air racing competition will occur in Japan this September, a new air racing series, Air Race E, is set to debut in 2020, featuring electric-powered planes.
- Premier Lacrosse League to Use SyncThink Eye Tracking: The Premier Lacrosse League has announced a partnership with neurotechnology and brain health analytics company SyncThink. All 12 PLL teams will use SyncThink’s Eye-Sync system to perform sideline, in-game assessments. The objective is to help determine the status of players with suspected head injuries, and to evaluate whether they should return to play. The PLL is the first professional sports league to integrate SyncThink into its mandated league-wide concussion management protocol. The inaugural season of the PLL begins Jun. 1 and will broadcast across NBC Sports platforms.
- Australian Rugby League to Produce Video on Blackbird Platform: The Australian National Rugby League has signed a two-year deal with Blackbird to use its cloud video editing platform. The league will use Blackbird to clip, edit, and publish short highlights during live matches and optimize its editing workflows. Highlights will be posted to NRL.com, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. According to Blackbird’s press release, the NRL was Australia’s most-watched sport in 2018. Blackbird’s proprietary video editing system is also used by sports companies such as MSG Networks, IMG, Peloton, and Deltatre.
- New Gatorade Highlights App Aims at Youth Sports: Gatorade has launched a new mobile app called Gatorade Highlights. The app is aimed at teen athletes, and allows users to record and upload their own game highlights. Within the app, users can also overlay moving stickers on their videos and add their name, number, team, and position to the highlights. The app is free to download on both the App Store and Google Play.