NFL Expands Sportradar Partnership

The National Football League and Sportradar have announced an expansion of their existing partnership, which will license the distribution of NFL official league data and content to more fans around the world.

Since 2015, Sportradar has been the NFL’s exclusive distributor of official play-by-play statistics, as well as the NFL’s proprietary Next Gen Stats (NGS) player tracking data to media outlets. The original partnership included the creation of Sportradar’s cutting-edge research platform, Radar360, which is used by the NFL, its member clubs, and media outlets.These aspects of the partnership will continue in the new agreement.

The renewal significantly expands upon the existing partnership, including exclusive distribution of real-time official play-by-play data and NGS data to sports betting operators in the U.S. and internationally where sports betting is legal and regulated. Official licensed data will improve the speed and accuracy of NFL data and enhance protections for consumers. In addition, Sportradar will now have the right to distribute live audio-visual (AV) game feeds to sportsbooks in select international markets.

The NFL will also use Sportradar’s integrity services to monitor betting across all NFL games (preseason, regular season, and postseason). The NFL and its clubs will also have access to Sportradar’s integrity education workshops and products to ensure the continuation of the NFL’s high standard for integrity.

“Sportradar has been an excellent partner the last four years and has provided the league, our teams, and media marketplace with innovative data products,” said Hans Schroeder, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NFL Media. “We look forward to working with Sportradar to deliver fast, accurate official league data that will innovate and improve experiences for our fans across platforms.”

“We are thrilled to become NFL’s exclusive data distribution partner, undoubtedly one of the most important partnerships in Sportradar’s history. We are confident we will maximize our strong partnership with the NFL and deliver ground-breaking products across the gaming, fantasy and the media worlds,” said Carsten Koerl, Chief Executive Office of Sportradar.

“As the unequivocal global leader in sports data, we are ideally positioned to support the NFL in providing innovative products to enhance the way fans experience the game and help maintain the continued integrity of the NFL competition.”

NBA Increases Primetime Games For European Viewers

The National Basketball Association today announced that the 2019-20 NBA regular season will feature a record 48 primetime games in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of the league’s ‘NBA Saturdays’ and ‘NBA Sundays’ primetime initiative.

For the first time, a primetime game will be available to fans both on Saturday and Sunday from the start of the season. The NBA’s full regular-season schedule was released yesterday, with the 74th regular season tipping off on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 and concluding on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

With more scheduled earlier tip-off times for games in the U.S. than ever before, fans in the region will be able to watch weekly live primetime games on Saturday and Sunday starting at 8.00pm CET from the start of the season, providing fans with a full weekend of primetime NBA action.

Some of the league’s biggest stars will feature as part of the weekend primetime games schedule, including the Houston Rockets’ James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard.

The games will also showcase international players including 2018-19 Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece), 2018-19 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia), 2018-19 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz; France), 2018-19 All-NBA First Team member Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia) and 2018-19 Kia NBA Most Improved Player and NBA Champion Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors; Cameroon).

Fans will also be able to catch the NBA Paris Game 2020 presented by beIN SPORTS live in primetime on January 24, when the Charlotte Hornets host the Milwaukee Bucks.

Fans can go to nba.ecal.com to download their team calendar to their mobile device to receive tip-off time alerts and broadcast information for every game

 

Kiswe Mobile: “The Cloud Enables Sports To Have Authentic Conversations With Fans”

In an age of on-demand and personalized media, the changes in the sports and entertainment world are so large and rapid that it takes a special kind of thinker to envision the future and elucidate where it’s all going. Kiswe Mobile CEO & President Mike Schabel is one such executive. iSportconnect TV caught up with him in London for a fascinating discussion of a huge transformation happening in real time.

As video consumption has changed drastically over the years, Kiswe has found a way to bring more authenticity and interactive elements to live events. Its CloudCast platform allows remote talent from all around the world to commentate on live events in real time and interact with fans as the broadcast is rolling to all platforms.

Mike is a PhD in chemical engineering who spent many years at Bell Labs and Alcatel-Lucent working on cutting-edge innovation  ̶  a background that gives you an idea of Kiswe’s high-powered pedigree.

Jeong Kim, the Chairman & Co-Founder, is Co-owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent of the NBA Washington Mystics and the NHL Washington Capitals and owner of the Verizon Center arena. He was President of Bell Labs and is a Board Director of Samsung.

Fellow Co-Founder and Chief Architect Wim Sweldens was President of Alcatel-Lucent Wireless. Co-Founder & Business Development Director Jimmy Lynn was VP of Strategic Partnerships at AOL before setting up advisory firm JLynn Associates.

Our interviewer is iSportconnect Editor at Large Jay Stuart.

W Series: “Our First Season Delivered Much Better Viewing Figures Than We Expected”

The debut season of the W Series roared to a finish this weekend at Brands Hatch. iSportconnect TV was at the event, where Jamie Chadwick, the newly crowned inaugural champion at the age of 21, shared her excitement with us, and W Series CEO Catherine Bond Muir and Chairman Sean Wadsworth looked back at the successful first season, and ahead to continuing progress in 2020. “It’s all about fan and audience engagement,” the chief exec said – “and producing really good motor racing.”

 

USA Football: “We’re Giving Structure To The Way Kids Play The Game”

It might come as a surprise to hear that American football, the most popular sport in the USA at the top level, does not have a national pyramid structure like major sports in other countries. High school football and college football are obviously well established, but even they have fragmented governance without any national body over them to set standards. That is the role USA Football is designed to play. Scott Hallenbeck, the CEO, speaks to iSportconnect TV about the big task at hand, starting with taming the ‘wild west’ of youth coaching and participation, where independent operators make their own rules.

Hookit Rankings: Barcelona Tops Social Interactions

Football clubs make up the entire Top 10 on the list of the most followed teams in sports, according to the July rankings compiled by sponsorship analytics and evaluation platform Hookit. English Premier League teams account for half of the Top 10 in social interactions. LaLiga’s FC Barcelona is number one, followed by Manchester United and Juventus. See all the leaders on iSportconnect TV.

Wearable Technologies: “We See Growth In Patches Delivering Athlete Data”

The wearables market is expected to be worth $80 billion annually by next year. And it all began with sports wearables, as Christian Stammel, Founder and CEO of WT | Wearable Technologies Group, points out in this interview with iSportconnect TV. Fashion-first wearables have become more important over the years, but the high-tech end of the market, sports products remain a key sector because sports people are often quick to buy devices that can give them a competitive edge.

WSC Sports Gets $23 Million Capital Injection

WSC Sports has raised $23 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $39 million. The new capital will be used to further expand WSC’s growth across new sports, products and geographic regions.

Tel Aviv-based WSC Sports’ platform generates personalized sports videos for every platform and every sports fan – automatically and in real-time.

Currently being used by leading media rights owners such as WarnerMedia, NBA, MLS, US Open, PGA Tour, Bundesliga and others, WSC Sports’ platform utilizes advanced AI capabilities to analyze live sports broadcasts, identify each and every event that occurs in the game, create customized short-form video content, and publish to any digital destination.

This enables partners to instantly generate and distribute professionally edited personalized clips and videos on a large scale to engage audiences and maximize video monetization opportunities.

The new funding round was led by Eyal Ofer’s O.G. Tech Ventures (the international tech investment arm of Ofer Global), along with NTT DOCOMO Ventures, HBSE Ventures (the venture arm of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment), Maor Investments, ISF and Go4it Capital.

Roy Oron, Managing Director at O.G. Tech, will be joining the company’s board of directors. This follows the June announcement that David Stern, Commissioner Emeritus of the NBA, and John Kosner, former Vice President of Digital Media at ESPN, have joined WSC Sports as advisors.

In 2018, WSC Sports analyzed more than 17,000 sporting events and produced more than 850,000 videos for its customers.

“I am thrilled that such strategic investors have joined WSC Sports and am incredibly appreciative that our existing investors believe in the company and continue to support us. I am proud of what we have built so far with our amazing team and unique culture, and confident this new round of funding will help us to continue to grow and impact the way sports media rights owners provide the best experience to their fans” said Daniel Shichman, CEO and Co-Founder, WSC Sports.

Eyal Ofer, Chairman of Ofer Global, said: “We are proud to be a part of WSC Sports’ journey as it leads the way in revolutionizing the way in which people consume sports around the world. O.G. Tech’s lead role is consistent with our strategic ambition of focusing on unique growth opportunities led by exceptional founders. We are delighted that this funding will help the company with its global expansion across new sports, products and countries.”

 

Mexico Secures Grand Prix On Formula 1 Calendar Until 2022

Formula 1 has confirmed that the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix will continue to be held in Mexico City until at least the end of 2022.

The agreement between Formula 1, the Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE), the promoter of the event, and the Government of Mexico City was formally signed today in a press conference held in the Antiguo Palacio del Ayuntamiento in Mexico City.

The agreement means the city will carry on staging a round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which first hosted the race in 1963.

There is an incredible enthusiasm for Formula 1 in Mexico demonstrated by the fact that over 1.3 million fans have attended the race since 2015, the global cumulative television audience from 2015 to 2018 was 380 million and there is an F1 fan base of 45 million across the country.

The Grand Prix is one of the most spectacular of the year, loved by the drivers and the fans. This year, the race, which has seen the drivers’ title decided five times in the past, celebrates its 20th edition. From 2020 the official event title will change to Mexico City Grand Prix to emphasise the support given by the Government of Mexico City.

Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO, Formula 1, said: “We are pleased to have renewed our partnership with Mexico City, which will now host the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix until at least 2022. Ever since it returned to the championship calendar in 2015, this event has always proved to be amazingly popular with the public and fans, not just in Mexico, but also around the world. Proof of this is the fact that the race promoter has won the FIA award for the best event no fewer than four years in a row and, in those four years, over 1.3 million spectators have attended the Grand Prix.”

“The Grand Prix has also been an important economic driver for the city, reinforcing its credentials as a centre for tourism. I would like to thank the Mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and the entire government of Mexico City for all their efforts in ensuring that Formula 1 continues in Mexico and I look forward to seeing another big crowd of fans at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez from 25 to 27 October for the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Mexico 2019.”

Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Mayor of Mexico City, said: “The presence of Formula 1 in the city for further three more years, was achieved for the first time through a new financing model in which public resources are not used. Previously the Federal Government collaborated with the payment for the event. The Mexico City government will be an intermediary, creating a trust that will raise the private investment required to deliver this international event. The price of the tickets will remain the same as in previous years.”

Alejandro Soberon, President and CEO of CIE, said: “I want to deeply thank Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum and the Government of Mexico City for the vote of confidence they have entrusted in us. At CIE, we remain committed to promoting and operating the highest quality events in the world. Through this international platform, we have the opportunity to showcase the diverse cultural wealth of this fantastic city. We look forward to welcoming the thousands of tourists, both domestic and foreign to this award-winning event. In addition, I want to thank the Formula 1 fans both in Mexico and abroad – without a doubt, your energy and passion has made our Grand Prix a very unique and special experience.”

 

World Baseball Softball Confederation: “Our New Urban Baseball Discipline Is Booming”

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is looking ahead to returning to the Olympic programme next year in Tokyo with competitions in both of its sports. The main Olympic qualifier in baseball, the WBSC Premier 12, has become a major event in its own right. Its importance was highlighted by the recent announcement that USA Baseball has named four-time MLB World Series winner Joe Girardi as manager of the U.S. national team for the second edition of the WBSC Premier12 tournament in November. WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari speaks to iSportconnect TV about a range of subjects, including the launch of a new compact discipline, Baseball5.