The Australian Football League (AFL) will deliver in-game real-time player data to its fans, including highlighting speed and distance covered during the game.
Two Australian companies, Telstra, a media and communications company, and Champion Data, a provider of sports statistics and broadcast technology, will work together using the Telstra Tracker to provide the data that will be displayed on signage at Melbourne Cricket Grounds and Etihad Stadium in Melbourne during rounds four and five of the AFL.
The AFL plays Australian rules football, commonly called “Aussie rules” or “footy.” The sport is similar to rugby requires players to punt a rugby-style ball between posts at either end of the field and receive marks for wide receiver-like catches.
“This project creates a bridge between fans and athletes, where the digital and physical converge. It is another layer in the story and has the potential to become a permanent feature for sports fans around the world. This exciting project is a global first: no other sport delivers fans such a comprehensive view of live player tacking data,” said Champion Data director, Chris Hume in a statement.
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SportTechie Takeaway
Australian leagues in general have been among the most forward-thinking when it comes to using athlete wearable data to enhance the fans’ experience, whether in-game or via OTT/broadcast. Catapult Sports worked with Telstra Tracker and the Australian Rugby League last year to deliver information about the athletes’ heart rates and pulses during crucial game action.
This new deal to display the data live and in-game stems from the AFL’s recent collective bargaining negotiations, which resulted in the players agreeing to license player GPS data to third parties (with some limitations).
Here in the U.S, Major League Baseball’s CBA prohibits the commercialization of wearable tech data and the NBA is merely exploring the idea with the potential for in-game use and commercialization down the road. In the NFL, Zebra Technology’s tracking devices are embedded in NFL players’ shoulder pads pursuant to a five-year deal with the league. That deal has resulted in some teams displaying stats like speed and distance run on in-venue video boards.
NFL Players Inc. president Ahmad Nassar structured a deal with Whoop to permit his players to wear the company’s wristbands to collect and commercialize the resulting data. That data, which includes sleep patterns and heart rate, is more interesting to Nassar than what the AFL is announcing. At SportTechie’s State Of The Industry event earlier this year, he called data such as distance traveled and speed run “vanity metrics”, noting that they might be interesting “at best, on a broadcast level.”
Suggested further reading
International Rugby Players Set To Spar Over Wearables Data
Catapult Sports Provides Player Tracking Devices For Australian Rugby Series
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