Sports Tech of the Year – for Sport and in Sport
Beyond Sports
Beyond Sports reveals the player’s perspective to the entire TV-watching audience. Football fans are put right into the action, meeting the needs of new generations for compelling sports content.
A Beyond Sports innovation, powered by Second Spectrum data. World’s first live VR analysis on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Football.
Using AI, fully animated 3D virtual simulations are constructed from Second Spectrum’s positional tracking data of premier league matches within 0.16 seconds.
Virtual cameras show any moment from any perspective, delivering unique insights impossible from traditional broadcasting cameras.
Wearing a VR headset, the analyst is transported into to eyes of the player on the field and composes his VR analysis live on television.
Whether it’s a magnificent tactical play or a doubtful decision by the referee, Monday Night Football shows it from the optimal perspective using Beyond Sport’s software.
Flamingo
Flamingo has been working with Formula 1 (F1) for over a year to help the team understand the most compelling aspects of its races, in order to grow its audience. As we knew from our previous work in pinpointing its specific appeal, F1 needed to modernise the sport and attract younger audiences, while maintaining its heritage and staying true to its core essence. In order to do that, it needed to know exactly what elements of its races fans were drawn to.
Flamingo was able to create a unique, data-led method of matching fan conversation to time stamps of races in order to accurately model real-time reactions to races.
We tested the data produced against two established methods: Galvanic Skin Response and dial-testing, as well as a control group of human observers. Not only did the four techniques agree, but the three other techniques relied on small numbers of people being tracked for reaction only. Our new platform not only boasted many thousands of individual commenters per race, but told us not just that they were engaged, but what they were engaged by, and why. This information has been used to optimise many elements of the F1 experience.
Formula 1 & Goodform
F1 Fan Voice has been run jointly by Formula 1 and Goodform since 2018, utilising Flex MR’s market research platform. It is a prime example of how existing technology has been adapted and used in an innovative way in order to deliver to a unique product for fans.
F1 Fan Voice provides Formula 1 with the single most important tool to achieve its the business objective of ‘putting fans at the heart of everything we do’.
It represents a move beyond using solely demographic and behavioural data, which remains common across sporting organisations, and instead places the same emphasis on attitudinal data and truly getting to know what fans think and feel.
For an investment the equivalent of 1 to 2 large research projects, it provides Formula 1 with a powerful, flexible dataset for insight into fan attitudes, with the ability to reach out to 100,000 Formula 1 fans in an instant to understand their views and reactions.
It delivers value across all departments of F1’s business, from sponsorships to motorsport, and has been a pivotal element in the success of many of F1’s key commercial revenue streams, including F1 TV.
Formula 1 & Meshh Sensor Technology
Historically, F1 had limited insight into how fans experienced their live events.
With Meshh’s innovative footfall analytics technology, they’re now able to objectively measure movement patterns across circuits, quantifying real world engagement in ways previously restricted to digital channels. This allows F1 to ensure that commercial revenue opportunities are being maximised across their 22 race weekends.
Utilising discreet, flexible, sensor-based collection methods allows F1 to measure transient spaces and temporary installations – including fan activations, merchandise, F&B and grandstands.
Supported by unprecedented levels of insight into visitor behaviour, F1 have refined their approach to race weekends including:
• Amending their retail strategy to support the F1 Megastore with satellite stands across circuits
• Changing locations of fan activations to maximize awareness and engagement
• Changing layout of food & drink/merchandise stands to ensure they are at busier entrance/exit gates
Meshh also supported the launch of F1’s Event App, improving information and wayfinding at races and increasing value for money perceptions.
Our research also revealed marked differences in crowd behaviour across different circuits, with implications for how 2020 events (particularly the newer races) are designed.
Formula 1 & Yonder
Formula 1 racing is a fast paced, intense and action packed sport. Broadcast coverage is core to the offer, reaching 470m fans in over 200 countries. It is vital that the coverage maximises fan experience by generating as much as excitement as possible.
In an effort to gauge this, Populus developed an innovative research methodology, using in home biometrics (measuring galvanic skin responses) to monitor how fans engaged with races being broadcast live on TV.
The data gathered over the course of the season helped to shine a light on elements of the broadcast that were most engaging, as well as periods in races that did not create an emotional response. This gave Formula 1 (F1) the data and insight they needed to develop elements of their broadcasting, including camera angles, replays, team radio and commentary.
PlayerMaker
PlayerMaker is a next-generation player development and coaching enhancement solution with an innovative footwear sensor that uniquely provides technical, tactical and physical performance insights. PlayerMaker uses machine learning algorithms to analyze both player and team performance, with results that are superior to anything else available. Our intuitive device monitors gait tracking and classifies each foot and ball interaction with every touch. Across our team of experts, PlayerMaker has invested over 4 years of data collection and development in order to create the perfect algorithms. The PlayerMaker device has been refined by collecting and training algorithms over 416,000 events, spanning more than 1 5 million running meters PlayerMaker’s physical parameters, like a player’s velocity profile, were proven to be very accurate We are working with football clubs and academies at all levels around the world with our investor being former Arsenal Manager, Arsène Wenger.
On The Ball Global
On The Ball Global is an innovative and one of its kind football training application that offers a subscription to access a content gallery of over 1500 drills with Premier League stars showcasing the exercises. The drills are presented to the user in a tailor session depending of their technical and fitness level and consist of seven steps that work in every aspect of the player development ( Warm up, Agility, Technique, Power Drills, Shooting, Strength and Conditioning & Warm Down). We also offer in the Gym training and Custom Sessions to maximise the athlete potential. The player is able to track their development (Skill, Speed & Strength) and see how they progress as they use the application and access their stats.
Our mission is to bring the opportunity gap in sport closer and that aspiring players can access world class training for less that $1 per day.
On The Ball Global also offers a gallery of motivational videos in how some of our Premier League & elite athletes achieved their goals and the challenges they faced.
We are the most downloaded ever football training app and continue growing as the most exciting online football fitness community.
PayPal UK and Cake
PayPal facilitates people’s passions. With quick and easy payments, it saves consumers time to focus on what’s important – e.g. football!
The Football Association (The FA) identified 40% of matchday fees went unpaid, meaning the grassroots game was missing out on millions. PayPal became The FA’s Official Payments Partner to enable players to pay fees via PayPal through The FA Matchday app, reducing admin and freeing up time, so grassroots teams can focus on their performance.
Red Light Rising
Red light Rising is proud to be the leading supplier of premium quality red and infrared light therapy devices, supplying top athletes in professional sports clubs all over the UK, Europe and the world. Many athletes, novice and professionals alike are reaping the benefits of red light therapy in their daily lives, their recovery and performance. With a very low barrier-to-entry red light therapy can be fully harnessed in as little as 20 minutes a day to provide an increase in recovery and performance
