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Feature Story
Sports Tech AllStars Recap: Innovation in Sports Organisations
We spent a bit of February and all of March talking to sports teams, leagues and organizations to understand the challenges around innovation.
This was in lead up to a report weāre working on with Teamworks about the Key Innovation Challenges at various Sports Organisations. The report will consist of a survey of these leaders, going across sports, geographies and cultural backgrounds, alongside presenting key trends, insights from data analysed and case studies around Sports Innovation.
You can download the previewĀ hereĀ and keep an eye on your inbox for the full report, to be released soon.
We spoke to:
Ā šFee BeyerĀ (Business Development) andĀ Hayden GutryĀ (Head of EMEA) –Ā Teamworks
šSven KƶrnerĀ –Ā Digitalization and Innovation Lead atĀ Swiss Unihockey
šĀ Niels HenrikĀ –Ā Head of SportsTech atĀ DIF Innovation Lab
šĀ Luc MureauĀ –Ā Innovative and Advisory atĀ Johan Cruijff ArenA
Top News from the World of Sports Tech
š®Esports lounge networkĀ True GamersĀ announced plans to build a large-scaleĀ $280 million āesports islandāĀ in Abu Dhabi which will include training facilities, a tournament venue & content creation spaces.
š¦Ā ESPN will streamline things for sports fans byĀ integrating links to video feedsĀ from regional sports networks into its main app and website.
ā³Ā TGL has confirmed tee off dates, with the first 3 matches scheduled for the first 3 Tuesdays of Jan 2025.
ā½Ā Liverpool FC joined forces with GoogleĀ DeepMind to createĀ TacticAI, an AI based assistant capable of predicting where deliveries from corners will land.
ā½Ā Global enterprise SaaS platform,Ā Kitman Labsā dataĀ analytics platform to be deployed across Luton Town FCās menās first team following the academy deal with Premier League.
šĀ The Chicago Blackhawks and NBC Sports Chicago announced a collaboration with the NHL to bring fans theĀ first-ever local animated real-time sports telecastĀ on April 6.
šĀ Blackhawks fansĀ can buyĀ physical tickets embedded with highlightsĀ from game nights, developed in partnership with fan experience companyĀ Eventshop.
š¾Ā ATP announced a partnership with DreamFightĀ acquiring a stake in the platform to develop a product to reimagine the tennis fan experience for the ATP Challenger Tour.
š¦Ā NBCUniversal revealed multiple new featuresĀ coming to the Peacock, streaming service for 2024 Paris Olympics in July, including multi-view display, stakes for events, elimination risks and data on competitors.
Not Sports Tech but you should know:
ā½Ā TheĀ German Football AssociationĀ (DFB) announced thatĀ Nike will be the official kit supplierĀ for national soccer teams from 2027 until 2034, ending a 7 decade partnership with Adidas.
šĀ The 2024 NCAA TournamentĀ averaged nine million viewersĀ per window through Saturdayās second-round games, the most ever in the first 3 days.
šĀ Viacom 18 owned Jio Cinema clockedĀ 200 million viewers in the first six matchesĀ of the Indian Premier League, with a target of 650 million this season
Money Talks:
š°Ā Australian sports social media platformĀ Forever NetworkĀ raisedĀ $6 million in a Series AĀ round led by Yolo Investments.
š°Ā Basketball ForeverĀ raisedĀ $4 million in a Series AĀ funding round led by Yolo Investments, for their new North American venture.
š°Ā Audio technology specialistĀ Edge Sound ResearchĀ raisedĀ $1.9 million in a seed roundĀ led by VC fund Potential Capital.
š°Ā Romanian sports tech startupĀ NordensaĀ has raised ā¬1.65 millionĀ ($1.78 million) in seed fundingĀ to grow the worldās first fan-powered platform for football talent discovery.
š°Ā Minneapolis-based referee focused sports startup,Ā Refr Sports, raisedĀ $535k in pre-seedĀ funding, led byĀ Groove Capital.
š°Ā AI sports tech challenge platformĀ LILLIUSĀ announced anĀ undisclosed investmentĀ fromĀ GSR.
š°Ā Sleep fitness companyĀ Eight SleepĀ announced Taylor Fritz as their athlete ambassador andĀ investor (amount undisclosed).
š¤Ā RevelystĀ acquired a skill-based golf simulator competition platformĀ PinSeeker for an undisclosed amount. It will be integrated intoĀ Foresight SportsĀ in Revelystās Precision Sports Technology platform.
š¤Ā US basedĀ Gordon BrothersĀ completed theĀ acquisition of Catch Co., a portfolio of fishing brands, for an undisclosed amount.
š¤Ā Bahrain based sovereign wealth fundĀ Mumtalakat, acquired full ownership of McLaren, from 60 toĀ 100 percent for an undisclosed amount.
Latest from our channels
šļøĀ #197Ā Johan Cruijff ArenA: Smart Stadium in a Smart City
In the last leg of our theme of talking to sports teams, leagues and organizations, we have Luc Mureau, Innovative and Advisory at Johan Cruijff ArenA.Ā On this episode Luc talks about innovation being at the heart of the arena. He also talks about why innovation is so necessary in this day and age, about their program reimagine football, then sustainability, fan experience and sport performance being the key areas of interest, different challenges faced while implementing these innovations, and what’s coming up in the ArenA. Watch the full videoĀ here.
ā”Ā STX Weekly: Last week’s newsletter, in case you missed it.