Thursday, June 25, 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
- MLB Will Use Flexential Data Management for Digital Products: Major League Baseball will use Flexential for data management to support MLB’s digital products, including MLB.TV. Flexential’s Denver data center will serve as a secure central location to reduce latency of MLB.TV’s real-time streaming video, according to a press release. “We always strive to deliver our fans uninterrupted, high-quality access to MLB content at every step of their consumption experiences,” said Truman Boyes, MLB SVP of infrastructure. “Flexential was able to respond to our needs in record time with an environmentally-responsible infrastructure to support us as we serve our Clubs and their fans.”
- Australian Researchers Find Evidence of CTE in Rugby Players: Scientists from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW Health Pathology, and the University of Sydney have published the first evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in rugby league players. Researchers studied the brains of two deceased middle-aged National Rugby League players. “I have looked at about 1,000 brains over the last 10 years, and I have not seen this sort of pathology in any other case before,” said Michael Buckland, a lead author in the study, in a statement on Thursday. An NRL spokesperson said the league will review the study before making a detailed comment.
- Chris Paul and JJ Redick Invest in RSPCT Shot Tracking: Shot tracking startup RSPCT has received investment from NBA players Chris Paul and JJ Redick, and from retired player Larry Hughes. RSPCT’s sensors can track shot-making percentage as well as each shots’ accuracy and full trajectory in real time. The company plans to provide its shot-tracking data to both leagues and gaming companies as legalized sports betting grows. RSPCT says its technology is already being used by NBA teams, schools, and youth academies including the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.
- MLS Permits Teams to Sign Betting Jersey Sponsorships: Major League Soccer will now allow its teams to sign jersey sponsorships with sports betting companies, according to Front Office Sports. The change makes MLS the first North American pro sports league to allow sports betting companies promote their logos on team jerseys. Several MLS clubs have reportedly already been in sponsorship discussions with betting companies, and the New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union have discussed stadium naming rights deals with sports betting companies. The MLS previously signed a non-exclusive sports betting partnership with MGM Resorts in March.
- Twitch Subscriber Streams Offer Exclusive Partner Content: Twitch announced Subscriber Streams, a new feature that will let streamers offer exclusive content to viewers who subscribe to their Twitch channels. The feature will at first only be available to Twitch affiliates or partners streamers. Non-subscribers who arrive at a channel that’s hosting a Subscriber Stream can watch via a live content preview. Once the preview ends, they will be asked to subscribe to the channel if they wish to continue watching.
- Riot Games Will Use Nielsen Sponsorship Valuation for Esports: Video game publisher Riot Games will begin using Nielsen to measure sponsorship valuation across esports leagues, including League of Legends events. Riot Games will stream viewership data to Nielsen so that it can be incorporated into Nielsen’s Esport24 sponsorship ROI product. Nielsen will measure brand exposure throughout 2019 and 2020 for competitions such as the North America League of Legends Championship Series, LoL European Championship, and three international LoL events in Asia. Prominent sponsors for League of Legends include Nike, State Farm, Mastercard, and Dell/Alienware.