Friday, Mar. 29, 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.
- The NHL Will Compensate Players for the Use of Betting Data: The NHL is planning to compensate its players as part of the league’s player data partnerships with betting operators. The league announced a partnership with William Hill at this week’s inaugural Sports Betting Summit in Washington, D.C., adding William Hill to the list of partnerships that includes FanDuel and MGM. “The revenues from player tracking would fall under hockey related revenues, and our system gives the players 50% of our revenues. This also has the indirect benefit of causing other revenues to grow. Not so much attendance, but for example our media platforms. The players will share in that as well,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, according to Axios.
- Twitch and MVPindex Launch Esports Sponsorship Valuation Tool: Brand social engagement analysis company MVPIndex has partnered with Twitch to launch a new sponsorship valuation tool for esports brands. The new platform will use artificial intelligence to track and measure text mentions in social media posts, logos featured in-stream and video-on-demand, as well as audio mentions by esports athletes and content publishers on Twitch. “[MVPindex’s] ability to deliver critical engagement data in days instead of months will help us and our partners cultivate rewarding relationships between commercial brands and our community,” said Colan Neese, Senior Manager of Audience Insights at Twitch.
- Pro Football Hall of Fame is Planning to Enter Daily Fantasy Sports World: Gaming software developer Bet Construct and casino management and consultancy firm Atlantis Gaming Corporation are working with the Pro Football Hall of Fame to develop a daily fantasy sports product for the U.S. market. The game will operate via Bet Construct’s fantasy sports software, and hopes to leverage the HoF’s brand to attract a large user base. A formal announcement from the Pro Football Hall of Fame with more details on the product is expected soon, according to a press release.
- Sling TV Adds MLB Network and MLB Strike Zone to Channel Lineup: OTT streaming service Sling TV will include the MLB Network and MLB Strike Zone channels on its platform during the 2019 MLB season. Both are now part of Sling TV’s Sports Extra add-on service, which costs $5 per month to Sling Orange customers and $10 per month to Sling Blue customers. More than 150 regular season games this season will be live streamed to subscribers as part of the new offering, according to a press release.
- GameStop and Complexity Gaming to Build Esports Facility at The Star in Frisco: Jerry Jones’s Complexity Gaming has partnered with video game retailer GameStop to launch a new 11,000-square foot esports training center alongside the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The center will offer a public gaming area for local esports players, fans, and sponsors. “We are aiming to become the unofficial pop warner league of esports where GameStop provides fun and unique cultural experiences for player development while preparing the next generation of professional gamers,” said Frank Hamlin, CMO for GameStop, in a press release.
- Saudi Arabia Hosts Hackathon to Predict Soccer Game Results: The Saudi capital of Riyadh hosted the country’s first sports-based artificial intelligence hackathon today. One hundred and fifty teams of programmers and data scientists competed to develop AI models that can predict results of the upcoming matches in the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Cup League. The hackathon was organized by the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones. “The Thakaa hackathon tournament is the first-time technological sports hackathon using AI techniques designed specifically to discover the skills of amateurs and specialists in AI,” the SAFCSP said in a statement.