Today, the National Football League announced a multi-year agreement with Sportradar US. Beginning in the 2015, NFL season, Sportradar US will become the NFL’s exclusive distributor of comprehensive statistics to digital outlets. It will also become the sole provider for the NFL’s own Next Gen Stats, as well as the Game Statistics and Information System (GSIS) which is comprised of official real-time scores, player statistics and play-by-play data.
This new partnership will build upon the successes of Next Gen Stats, which was introduced by the NFL last season. These Next Gen Stats will provide real-time, location-based data such as speed, acceleration and distance traveled for all players, for all games starting with the 2015-16 season (think MLB Statcasts for NFL). This data will be available to fans for all games this season, via various customer integrations on broadcast TV, digital, mobile, and other emerging technology platforms. At this time, it is too early to forecast specific use cases. However, Sportradar US expects the data to be displayed within traditional coverage of NFL events as well in the creation of new, never-before-seen products and features.
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As Ulrich Harmuth, President of Sportradar US tells SportTechie via email, “This data will be available to fans for all games this season, via various customer integrations on broadcast TV, digital, mobile, and other emerging technology platforms. At this time, it is too early to forecast specific use cases. However, Sportradar US expects the data to be displayed within traditional coverage of NFL events as well in the creation of new, never-before-seen products and features.”
Harmuth explains that there will be many possibilities to distribute Sport Radar data to NFL fans. “No company outside the NFL has had access to this data to date, the impact on fans, players/teams is hard to predict. But by opening up a new data set to outside companies, the NFL and Sportradar US anticipate an exciting new level of how to engage with fans by creating new, never-before-seen products and features incorporated into first screen broadcasts and secondscreen apps. This new dimension of data will be available for those who can harness existing or even developing platforms to bring it to life and give the fans the insight they are craving!”
This upcoming 2015 NFL season will bring even bigger changes to the way fans experience the game. The NFL and its partners understand that statistics are a huge and important part of the overall fan experience, and the GSIS coupled with Next Gen Stats will provide fans with a one-of-a-kind view into the game. NFL VP of Media Strategy and Business Development, Vishal Shah, believes the Next Gen Stats initiative adds “tremendous breadth and depth to the sport,” and that the ability to deliver “new, differentiated viewpoints” in a broad way is “compelling.” Fans at the stadium, at home, or anywhere else the NFL game is available will be able to receive these insights and statistics.
This agreement was an important milestone for Sportradar US, as it just rebranded itself prior to this deal. The President of Sportradar US, Ulrich Harmuth, said that he is “thrilled to partner with the NFL,” and that the development of a completely new data category will “boost the fan experience as well as improve how the NFL and its partners interact with their fans.”
As for the millions of fantasy football die-hards who mainly care about how the numbers and stats they use to manage their rosters, Harmuth had this to say: “We cannot speak to the NFL’s product plans for its fantasy offerings. However, we expect Next Gen Stats data to be displayed within traditional coverage of NFL events as well as become an important data set for fantasy gaming enthusiasts to use in managing player rosters. After all, Fantasy Football players are constantly looking for that extra bit of insight or information that will give them the edge against their competition. The NFL’s Next Gen Stats will provide a whole new level of insight into player performance, strengths and tendencies. For example, data about a player’s formation location, routes and speed over time as well as his performance or record against specific players or teams, will provide fantasy sports players with unique information as they consider future player performance and their selections.”
A subsidiary of Sportradar AG, Sportradar US is one of the fastest growing sports data providers in the country. It provides data solutions to other companies such as Google, Turner Sports, IBM, Facebook and Twitter. For more information about Sportradar US, visit their website.