#92 💪🏽 Behind the scenes: Paris 2024's unseen innovation projects and broadcast tech

News, features & insights from the world of Sports Tech. Every Week.

Sharing our top takeaways from an amazing visit to the Paris Olympics, including insights on innovation projects and the broadcasting experience. Plus, an article from our friends at 3D Digital Venue on how AI is transforming the in-venue experience into something truly digital.

As always, have a great weekend!

Inside Paris 2024: All New Innovations and Tech

SportsTechX had a packed couple of days at Paris 2024. Here are our highlights:

Were invited to an event hosted by the CNOSF and the Paris 2024 Innovation & Tech teams, to showcase some of the Innovation projects they worked on.

Highlights included:

• Their digital twin partnership with OnePlan

• 3D Printed solutions (incl. in the toilets!) and Vision Pad for disabled athletes and fans

• Connected virtual marathon alongside the real one

The audience also got to learn about the projects they tried but didn’t execute, for whatever reason. Great learnings for future events. Thanks to the team for the invitation and their openness to share.

We also visited the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), from where the Olympics are broadcast to the world. Got a private tour of the facility + spent time in the innovation showcase center. Highlights:

• Intel's work in broadcasting the Olympics in 8k

• Messed around with volumetric data capture, including creating an AR avatar. Set up by Brooklyn based Evercoast, in partnership with Intel

• Booths from Alibaba and Omega showcasing their use of AI and Computer Vision in various ways: automated highlights, bio-mechanical tracking and cropping, object and athlete recognition... was quite a bit.

Fun fact: The Olympics produces 11,000 hours of footage. But only 4,000 of those are live sports, the rest is stock and misc. camera footage that the various broadcasters use to amplify the storytelling.

Other highlights:

• Watched the Men's Skateboard finals at the Parc Urbain fan park at the Place de la Concorde. Hosting an urban sports event in such a historic spot, with sculptures and gardens all around, made for a really cool mix of modern vibes and classic beauty. Only in Paris!

• The perfect way to cap off the trip was to watch India win the Hockey Bronze vs Spain. India hadn't had a particularly good time in Paris so to be there to watch the boys bring home a medal in a cracking game was brilliant.

Yup, was a busy two days but an incredible experience. Looking forward to LA28 and all the innovation that edition will bring. If the Tom Cruise closing ceremony showing was anything to go by, it should be a fun one 😎

Turn Gen AI Potential into Value in the Sports Tech Industry

As the excitement around generative AI (Gen AI) grows, several sectors are looking for ways to capitalize on its potential. In the Sports tech industry, the promise of AI-driven innovation is particularly appealing, with the potential to transform how venues operate and engage with fans. According to the Global Sports Attitudes and Behaviors Report by Morning Consult and IBM, fans value more personalized experiences and time-saving digital sports content, with the majority recognizing the positive impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) on these experiences.

Discover how 3D Digital Venue uses AI to transform venue operations and fan engagement. Learn about the development of AI-based algorithms that generate efficient, accessible digital twins, as well as the strategic approach required for effective AI integration in the SportsTech industry.

Top News from the World of Sports Biz & Tech

⚽ FIFAe, the esports division of FIFA, announced its first-ever multi-title football esports event that will take place in Liverpool, from 28th August – September 1st. It will include two football-themed esports events: Football Manager and eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer.

🏀 Veritone announced a multi-year agreement with the NCAA to serve as its official global archive of record and exclusive, worldwide footage agent for all NCAA championship content.

🎾 Sports investing platform Commonwealth launched a new investment offering that will let tennis fans financially support the next generation of players, where users can buy shares of players on its roster and fund their professional journey.

⚽ The English Premier League will bring in an AI-powered camera system, developed by Genius Sports, to speed up the VAR process.

📊 Zoomph released Zoomph Broadcast, an updated dashboard and reporting tool for analyzing sports viewership and partnerships, providing customers access to all critical broadcast metrics with industry-leading speed and accuracy. (Hear from their founder on our pod) 

⚽ LALIGA and AnyRoad announced an all-new fan membership club for LALIGA fans in North America. LL12: The LALIGA Club is the official fan club for North American fans, offering them exclusive, official merchandise, unforgettable game-day experiences, and members-only events and content.

🏈 NFL's Facial Recognition Technology sparked fears of fan surveillance after a viral post on X claimed that the NFL would start using FRT to verify the identity of people entering [each] stadium. The league had reportedly partnered with Wicket, a facial recognition software company for the same.

💪🏽 In India, IIT Madras has its sights set on the Olympics 2036. The institute will incubate 300 sports tech startups to enable Indian athletes close the gap with global frontrunners.

🏀 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is looking into opportunities in Europe with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on a potential new league or tournament, however there are no definite decisions as of yet. 

 🏈 Dallas Cowboys become first team in the world to be worth $10B according to a recent report by Sportico, an online sports business publication, who released a list of the 10 most valuable NFL franchise.

🏎️ Adidas is close to landing a deal with the Audi F1 team, which would mark its second agreement in the Formula 1 market with a major German manufacturer, after Mercedes F1

Money Talks:

💰 Hapana, a global software-as-a-service platform for gyms, raised $17 million in a funding round led by Australian VC funds OIF Ventures and Bailador.

💰 Indian esports and gaming platform Oneiric11 Gaming, secured $1 million in a pre-Series A round co-led by NG Family Trust and TAC Holdings, along with participation from other investors.

💰 MOOV, a lood Pressure Monitoring smart ring, raised approximately $100k in a crowdfunding campaign.

🤝 Sports data provider StatsBomb was acquired by US-based sports technology and data firm Hudl, for an undisclosed amount. 

💰 FC Barcelona has secured a €40m ($43.6m) investment from hospitality and catering service provider Aramark that will enable the club to balance its accounts ahead of the new LaLiga season.

💰 The two-time NBA champion and Phoenix Suns forward, Kevin Durant, bought a minority share of French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain.

💰 Delhi Capitals co-owner the GMR Group agreed to purchase the majority share in Hampshire County Cricket Club (CCC), reportedly valued at £120m with debts of around £60m.

Latest from our channels

🎙 #216 Gemini Sports Analytics: First AI cloud for sports

This week on the SportsTech Allstars Podcast, we have Jake Schuster, founder and CEO of Gemini Sports Analytics.

Takeaways

• Simplify the user experience and focus on the needs of decision-makers.

• Early clients are valuable and should be treated as investors.

• Make it easy for investors to connect you with others.

• Build a mobile experience for general managers.

• Focus on componentized models and metrics.

• Address the frustration with analytics departments and untapped potential of tracking data and data visualization.

🔙 STX Article: Innovative Fan Engagement- The Future of Sports in the Metaverse, Web3, and Beyond

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Innovation in Broadcasting Tech