The Professional Fighters League is launching a new app on Wednesday that will bring livestreamed matches directly to consumers outside the U.S., and encourage fans to make predictions on match outcomes as the league prepares for a move into sports betting later this year.
Fresh off a $30 million Series C funding round made public at the end of April, the organization is working to expand its data capabilities and incorporate real-time and historical statistics within its broadcasts, streams, and the app itself.
The idea, according to PFL CEO Pete Murray, is that in-match gamification will increase engagement. He hopes this educates fans about the various ways they might be able to leverage available data to improve predictions on metrics such as which fighter will win or the top strike speed in a particular match. PFL is launching this as part of a broader strategy to move into real-money wagering later this season.
“The PFL really lends itself to this communal experience because every fight counts,” Murray said. “There’s more engagement opportunities with fans. There’s predictive gaming. And as we look at engaging consumers in this manner, it’s also priming the pump for our gaming and gambling strategy.”
The PFL and its partner SportsMedia Technology previously unveiled a “SmartCage” for this season. That system uses biometric sensors embedded both in a fighter’s gloves and around the cage to offer performance stats—“Cageonomics”—in real time.
When the 2019 season kicks off on Thursday, those analytics will be used across streams and broadcasts and published live through the app. Fans can expect to see data on the volume of punches and kicks, power ratings, heart rates, and the energy exerted. Location data for where each fighter is in the smart cage, the motion of fighters, and a percentage of time a combatant spends up against the cage, will also be available. Athletes and trainers will additionally be able to use the analytics to review and improve upon performances.
The mixed martial arts circuit is the only to present MMA in a traditional sport-season format with a regular season, playoffs, and a championship. It announced a multi-year deal with ESPN in February to televise and stream its matches in the U.S. across ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and the over-the-top subscription service ESPN+. TSN has the exclusive rights in Canada.
Fights will also now be available to fans in markets around the globe via the new app, with coverage in local languages. The PFL said it has some 300 million fans across 150 countries.
Developed in partnership with social app maker and cloud streaming company Kiswe Mobile, the PFL Live app will serve as a second-screen experience to complement live matches. It will enable fans to join public chat rooms, dubbed “hangs,” or create their own private ones. It plans to serve as a hub for scores, athlete bios, results, standings and stats, while offering users access to exclusive content and news spanning from weigh-ins and workouts to interviews and press conferences.
The gamification component will be free-to-play at first, inviting users to participate in a range of trivia, polls, quizzes, and even a custom pick ‘em game. Top-ranked fans will appear on a leaderboard, and points can be used to win prizes such as merchandise, tickets, and experiences. However, Murray said the PFL is putting “finishing touches” on a sports betting plan and plans to make announcements during the regular season about activating real-money wagering in the post-season, which will take place in October.
“We will be delivering the Cagenomics data throughout the fight so fans can get on board with the technology and data our team has worked so hard to create, and really get an understanding of what’s happening with the fight,” Murray said. “We think this type of app and experience will help educate consumers to interact with the PFL and tap into this data. But the next opportunity from a business standpoint is certainly to monetize this in the gambling space and we’re excited to test this as we pave the way for launching PFL gambling.”
PFL Chief Digital Officer Daniel Ghosh-Roy said the league will also collect data about fan activity to better understand what types of questions—or bets—will get the most traction. That will allow the PFL to tweak its gambling strategy ahead of an official launch to maximize engagement.