Pixellot Brings Its AI to China to Stream Shanghai Football Association Games
By Tom Friend
Pixellot’s video content continued to expand Wednesday after the AI-powered production company struck a deal with the popular Shanghai Football Association (SFA).
Games from three adult leagues and one youth league within the SFA will be streamed via Pixellot’s unmanned cameras and broadcast on third-party outlets such as Migu sports, Tencent sports, CCTV.com, Douyin, BMB and more. The plan is for other cities within the Chinese Football Association to eventually follow suit.
“Football is one of the most popular sports in China, so it is very exciting to see that our AI automation technology has been chosen to lead the revolution in mass sports coverage,” Alon Werber, CEO of Pixellot, said in a statement. “Our systems will not only bring much more quality coverage to fans – but it will also bring team and player improvement as well as help improve officiating.”
One of the many computer-vision companies based in Israel, Pixellot has received more than $87 million in funding and telecasts 150,000 hours of live video content per month. With the SFA deal, its video library will only grow. “It’s maybe what ESPN is generating in five years,’’ Pixellot co-founder Gal Oz told SportTechie recently, “and we do it in a month.’’
Wagering App Lucra Sports Raises $10M; Investors Include Bucks Owner Marc Lasry, John Isner and Emmanuel Sanders
By Andrew Cohen
Peer-to-peer sports wagering startup Lucra Sports has raised a $10 million Series A investment led by Raptor Group. Notable investors in the round also included Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, tennis star John Isner, NFL wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, SeventySix Capital and Victress Capital.
Raptor Group was founded by Jim Pallotta, the former co-owner of the Boston Celtics and Italian soccer club A.S. Roma. Lucra’s app is live in 37 states and contains social features to let users propose wagers to other friends in their network where they can set their own odds and spread terms. The app also lets users create wagers across sports, such as whether Serena Williams will have more aces in a match than Steph Curry will make three-pointers in a game.
Lucra Sports also features head-to-head stats and leaderboards to rank users. The company brings in a 5% fee on the winner’s payouts for all wagers. USWNT soccer player Julie Ertz and her husband, Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, are seed investors in Lucra Sports.
Phoenix Suns Add Interactive Ticket, Merchandise Sales Through Verb
By Andrew Cohen
The Phoenix Suns are partnering with video commerce platform Verb to add merchandise and ticket sales integration to the team’s digital content. The multi-year deal is Verb’s first with an NBA team and follows similar partnerships with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Verb’s software will let the Suns add on-screen “buy it now” buttons and other shopping widgets to video livestreams and digital content. Verb Technology Company is headquartered in Utah and is publicly traded on the Nasdaq. The company expects to sign more deals within the NBA and other sports leagues.
“The implementation of Verb’s video-based software solutions should help us continue to grow and future-proof our marketing technology stack, supporting elevation of our content strategies for ticket sales, merchandise sales, and overall brand awareness,” Tramon Thomas, the Suns’ VP of brand digital and social, said in a statement.
AI Coaching App Mustard Partners With Clayton Kershaw for Training Content
By Andrew Cohen
Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw has joined the board of advisors for biomechanics analysis app Mustard. Kershaw will supply live video coaching sessions to Mustard’s mobile app aimed at training youth athletes.
Mustard’s deal with the three-time Cy Young Award winner was facilitated by MLB Players Inc. and athlete licensing firm OneTeam Partners. The deal will enable Mustard to seek instructional content from more MLB players to add to its in-app content library called “In the Kitchen,” which will launch in April with sessions from Kershaw and Mustard co-founders Tom House and Jason Goldsmith.
“I believe that Mustard’s connected-coaching concept using computer vision is the future of coaching,” Kershaw said in a statement.
Instructional content from Kershaw and other Mustard partners will include tips on pitching mechanics, functional strength coaching, work ethic and mental performance. Mustard’s AI analyzes smartphone video of a pitcher’s throwing motions alongside its database of mechanics from professional pitchers to give personalized feedback and suggested training drills.
Mustard raised $3.75 million in seed funding in January and its investors include OneTeam Partners, Drew Brees, Nolan Ryan, Mark Cuban, Justin Rose, Ronnie Lott and the MLS Players Association. The company plans to expand its baseball coaching app to other sports such as softball, football, soccer and golf.
MLB Catchers Remain Skeptical of Robo Umps, Believe It Could Make Pitch Framing Obsolete
By Andrew Cohen
Mets catching prospect Hayden Senger is among a growing list of catchers concerned with how the automated ball-strike (ABS) system would negate the need for pitch framing, arguably the position’s most valuable defensive skill.
“We grow up trying to perfect that move and trying to fool umpires. It kind of takes the most important part away from our game,” said the 24-year-old Senger who reached Double-A last season and is currently in big-league spring training with the Mets. “Framing the ball is the most important part of being a catcher.”
Senger previously experienced catching with ABS when it was trialed in the Arizona Fall League. This season will see MLB test Hawk-Eye’s automated ball-strike (ABS) system in Triple-A games and use it to challenge ball and strike calls made by human umpires in Single-A.
MLB attempted to accelerate deployment of ABS in the majors during this off-season’s collective bargaining negations, but the union reportedly fought to keep ABS out of the big leagues through at least the 2023 season.
“I don’t think [automated strike zones are] going to be as efficient, and I think the pitcher still needs somebody back there that makes them feel good and who they trust,” Mets catcher Tomas Nido told the New York Post. “On the surface, you think it’s going to completely change the dynamic of the catching position,” added Mets manager Buck Showalter.
Former MLB catcher Tyler Flowers and current Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire have also voiced concerns over ABS making pitch framing obsolete. Even if robot umpires do compute their way to the majors, Senger is committed to keeping the skill alive to build maximum rapport with the pitchers he works with.
“Even if [ABS] does come into play, I’ll probably still frame balls,” Senger said. “It’s good to give the pitcher where they’re missing, if you just catch [the ball] and throw it back, the pitcher might not be as comfortable with you back there. It’s always good to make the pitcher feel good about the pitches he’s throwing.”
The NFL passed a resolution at its annual meetings that mandate the use of wearable devices to track players’ load management during all preseason practices. The collected data is then anonymized and aggregated for review by the NFL’s engineers.
The league also passed a separate resolution requiring all offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers to wear the Guardian Cap for all helmeted activities from the start of training camp through the second preseason game.
Most NFL franchises already provide tracking devices to their players for training camp and regular season practices— whether it is the same Zebra RFID tags used to power Next Gen Stats on game day and individual teams such as the Los Angeles Rams during every workout or whether it is other GPS wearables from Catapult or StatSports. Those sensors provide detailed physical performance data such as total distance, speed, number of accelerations and decelerations, and their use can now be required by all 32 NFL teams.
The raw data is then provided to the NFL’s engineers strictly for player health and safety initiatives. They already had access to some of that data and began using it to study injury rates and schedule changes, as part of its Digital Athlete program developed in conjunction with AWS.
The soft-shelled Guardian Cap NXT is a protective covering worn on top of a standard NFL helmet. It won the 2017 league-sponsored HeadHealthTech Challenge and touts a reduction of impact up to 33%. Following research conducted by NFL engineers in consultation with NFLPA consultants, the NFL began permitting linemen to wear the Guardian Cap in Aug. 2020.
German National Soccer Teams to Use Catapult Wearables, Video Tools
By Andrew Cohen
Catapult has signed a new three-year deal with the German Football Association, the country’s governing body for soccer. All 15 men’s and women’s German national teams (including youth levels) will use Catapult’s video analysis tools, while 10 national teams will also receive Catapult’s wearable devices.
Players will wear Catapult’s Vector device to track on-field movement and performance data. Teams will also use Catapult’s MatchTracker software that analyzes videos from in-stadium cameras to display data on an opposing team’s playing strategies, time of possession and movements of individual players.
Germany’s national teams will use Catapult to optimize player performance and help reduce injuries. Catapult acquired SBG Sports Software last year for $40 million to boost its video analysis capabilities. Clubs in Germany’s Bundesliga soccer league were already among the 3,400 teams across the world to use Catapult’s wearable and video products. Other clients include teams across the NFL, English Premier League, MLS, MLB, NBA and Major League Rugby.
The Apple TV+ Friday Night MLB Doubleheader Will Stream for Free and Begin With Max Scherzer and Shohei Ohtani Season Debuts
By Tom Friend
Apple TV+’s maiden entry into live sports will begin Friday, April 8, with a free and appetizing doubleheader.
The New York Mets and newly-acquired pitcher Max Scherzer will take on Scherzer’s former team, the Washington Nationals, in Game 1. That will be followed by a Houston Astros-Los Angeles Angels matchup that is expected to have defending American League MVP Shohei Ohtani both pitching and hitting.
Earlier this month, MLB and Apple struck a deal that allows Apple TV+ to carry exclusive Friday night doubleheaders throughout the season, meaning they will not simultaneously air on the participating teams’ local networks.
Along with releasing its game schedule through June 24th, Apple also announced Tuesday that all games will air for free on any device that can sync with Apple TV+—such as the Apple TV app on iPhones, iPads, Apple TV 4K and HD, smart TVs and more. Some of the more appealing matchups include the Rays at the White Sox on April 15; the Nationals at the Giants on April 29; the White Sox at the Red Sox on May 6; the Padres at the Braves on May 13; the Tigers at the Yankees on June 3; the Guardians at the Dodgers on June 17; and the Cubs at the Cardinals on June 24.
Besides its venture into baseball, Apple also remains a leading contender to obtain the rights to the highly valuable (and expensive) NFL Sunday Ticket.
Lionel Messi Joins Crypto Fan Token Company Socios in $20 Million Deal
By Andrew Cohen
Soccer star Lionel Messi has a new three-year deal to become a global ambassador for cryptocurrency-fueled fan token company Socios. Messi will be paid $20 million over the three-year deal, according to Reuters.
Messi will promote Socios to his 400 million social media followers. Socios has deals with more than 130 organizations, including many top European soccer clubs, UFC and NBA, NFL and NHL teams. Socios makes tokens for sports franchises that fans can buy to access rewards such as game-worn jerseys or vote in polls that influence team uniform designs and the songs played in stadiums.
Reuters also reported in Aug. 2021 that Messi’s deal with Paris Saint-Germain included an undisclosed amount of his signing fee being paid in the club’s crypto fan tokens issued by Socios. Last year, Socios’ parent company Chiliz raised $50 million to expand its tokens into U.S. sports. Socios has also faced some pushback from regulators, such as when the UK Advertising Standards Authority asked Arsenal FC to “ensure that they did not mislead consumers by omitting material information in their ads, including that Fan Tokens were a cryptoasset that had to be bought using another cryptocurrency.”
Major League Soccer Joins Forces With Sorare, Which Will Produce NFTs for the Entire League
By Joe Lemire
Major League Soccer is partnering with Sorare, the NFT-backed fantasy sports game. Sorare will create NFTs for every MLS player.
Sorare raised a $680 million Series B round in September, boosting the company valuation to $4.3 billion, at which time the Parisian startup opened its first U.S office. The MLS deal is its first with a U.S. sports league since that time. Sorare is now the league’s first official NFT fantasy game.
Nearly 200 soccer organizations struck licensing deals with Sorare, including some of Europe’s biggest clubs—such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and Juventus—along with the MLS Players Association. Sorare and the MLSPA first teamed up in July 2020 and renewed the relationship in May 2021.
The UK Gambling Commission announced an inquiry into Sorare back in October, seeking to determine whether the blockchain-based fantasy game was a form of gambling. Sorare dismissed the claim, saying “it is normal and expected to receive regulatory questions” and that “we are very confident Sorare does not offer any forms of regulated gambling.”
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