Tuesday, June 18, 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
- UFC Opens Events and Production Facility in Las Vegas: The UFC has opened a state-of-the-art 130,000 square-foot production facility in Las Vegas, comprised of more than 50,000 square feet of production space and another 70,000 of office space. The facility, called UFC Apex, has built-in advanced production capabilities with an arena space that can be configured to accommodate a variety of live events, including other sports competitions, concerts, stage shows, and esports tournaments. Next year, a control room will be installed that will allow UFC to produce and broadcast live events remotely from any location in the world.
- Former NBA Commissioner David Stern Joins WSC Sports: WSC Sports, the automated video highlights provider for the NBA and several other professional sports leagues, has announced that former NBA Commissioner David Stern will join the company in an advisor role. John Kosner, the former executive vice president of digital media at ESPN, has also been added to the team. Both will help guide the company as it hopes to expand into new sports, locations, and products—including sports betting. Since leaving the NBA in 2014, Stern has been an active investor and advisor. He also sits on the board of SportsCastr, a live social streaming service that has partnerships with the NFLPA and WNBPA.
- LPGA Tour and Opendorse Expand Social Publishing Partnership: Athlete marketing platform Opendorse will now provide all players on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA’s developmental Symetra Tour with access to its social publishing platform. The new, expanded agreement also allows 25 LPGA Tour events to push content to players for promotion on their social media channels. In the first year of Opendorse’s partnership with the LPGA, 85 golfers and ambassadors published LPGA content to personal social channels via the platform.
- FanX Loyalty Program Adds AR and Ticketing Integration: From Now On’s FanX loyalty program, which offers rewards points to students and alumni who check in at school sporting events, is adding augmented reality functions and integration of ticketing platforms. From Now On works with more than 70 schools, teams, leagues, and events—including Ohio State, Nebraska, and the NAIA. According to the company, college programs that began using the platform at the start of the 2017-18 academic year saw monthly active users grow an average of 64 percent year over year.
- Team Dignitas Announces Deal With Esports Betting Company: Esports organization Dignitas announced a multi-year partnership with the Esports Entertainment Group betting company. Both Dignitas and Esports Entertainment Group are owned by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, whose assets also include the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils. The deal sees VIE.gg, an online peer-to-peer esports betting platform, become an official partner to Dignitas. VIE.gg offers online wagering opportunities on esports games such as League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch.