Intel has confirmed plans to shutter its wearables business after an unsuccessful few years trying to get it off the ground, but it remains heavily invested in the sports industry generally.
After spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the past five years attempting to build a wearables business that saw it dabbling in fitness trackers and smart glasses, the chipmaker confirmed to The Information this week that it plans to shut down the division.
Intel has been distancing itself from health trackers over the past three years, according to CNBC, which reported last summer that Intel laid off roughly 80% of the Basis smartwatch team at the end of 2016 and shifted its focus to augmented reality. This week’s report signals that Intel is cutting ties with its Vaunt smart glasses as well, putting a final nail in the coffin that will bury its consumer hardware business.
The shift away from augmented reality glasses and health trackers, however, comes as Intel has doubled down on sports generally. Intel has been creating virtual reality content for major events, including most recently for the Winter Olympics and NCAA March Madness tournament, and positioning itself as a primary supplier of processors to esports leagues.
Here are some examples:
NBA
In November, Intel announced a multiyear partnership with Turner Sports to bring virtual reality to NBA fans. The deal positioned Intel as the “exclusive provider of virtual reality content” for marquee matchups for the NBA on TNT using Intel True VR technology.
Separately, and beginning with the NBA’s 2018 All-Star weekend, Intel became the authorized global provider of VR and 360-degree video for official NBA broadcaster partners around the world, bringing courtside seating and unique in-arena game views to fans around the world.
Olympics
At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Intel orchestrated the largest-scale virtual reality event to date with the first live virtual reality broadcast of the Winter Games. With roughly four dozen employees on the ground in South Korea, Intel shot 30 live events, including 18 live events shot with 360 cameras and another 12 pre-produced segments shot using 360-degree cameras.
Intel’s efforts offered users multiple cameras views of live events in virtual reality that they could switch between at will, as well as a director’s cut that automatically stitched together a virtual reality broadcast for the end user. The feed had data overlays pulled from the traditional broadcast, such as the athlete’s name and nationality, real-time statistics, and a leaderboard.
NCAA
For the second year in a row, Intel provided a live virtual reality stream of the NCAA March Madness tournament. The VR cast covered 21 games spanning the first and second rounds, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4 and National Championship. Intel also provided fans with 360-degree highlights from the Final Four.
A single VR ticket cost $2.99 and included multiple camera views and audio direct from the TV broadcast. Access to all 21 games cost $19.99.
Esports
While Intel’s investments in sports may be on the newer side, its focus on esports has lasted more than a decade. The company has been sponsoring esports tournaments for several years through the Intel Extreme Masters, its namesake international esports tournament held throughout the world. This year, Intel brought esports to the Olympics for the first time by hosting an Intel Extreme Masters tournament ahead of the opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang.
The company recently struck a multi-year financial and marketing investment with Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League, an esports league that mirrors the structure of traditional sports by placing teams in large cities. Intel is also an official partner of the NBA 2K League, the NBA’s inaugural esports league.
SportTechie Takeaway
Consumer wearables are tough to crack. An uncertain market for wearables devices have caused a number of well-known brands to fold in recent years, including Jawbone. Fitbit, one of the biggest brands in wearables, has also struggled for years to revamp its business.
But Intel may see a niche in the digitization of sports by positioning itself as a leader of virtual reality content and provider of esports technology. In addition to Intel’s recent partnerships with the Olympics, NBA, NCAA and esports, it partnered with the NFL last season to provide Intel freeD technology in 11 NFL stadiums, which provided fans with immersive replays via 38 ultra-high-definition cameras placed through each stadium that created 360-degree highlights and content from player perspectives. Also last year, Intel struck a three-year partnership with Major League Baseball to provide live and on-demand VR content for free throughout the 2017 MLB regular season, and teamed up with the PGA Tour to produce and distribute live virtual reality and 360 video at six PGA Tour events in 2017 and 2018.
It’s also dipped into the world of performance at sporting events with its drones. At last year’s Super Bowl, 300 Intel drones lit up the sky during Lady Gaga’s halftime performance. At this year’s opening ceremony at the Pyeongchang Olympics, 1,218 drones created sparkling aerial art, depicting the Olympic rings and representations of various sports and athletes.