There is no doubt that machine learning and customized data tied to streaming will be driving the path forward for greater fan engagement. At the heart of that evolution are a handful of tech companies, one of which is Second Spectrum, founded in 2013 and acquired by Genius Sports in 2021. The company serves as a fully integrated sports AI provider, offering tracking, analytics and data visualization services and allowing clients to automatically index action on the court, pitch or field within seconds. Clients span from leagues such as the NBA and English Premier League to media partners such as CBS, ESPN, FOX and Turner. Most recently Second Spectrum worked with the NFL and CBS on two cutting edge fan engagement innovations, “RomoVision,” and with Nickelodeon on their NFL Wildcard broadcast. Cynopsis asked Rajiv Maheswaran CEO and Co-Founder, to give us some insight.

Maheswaran on the growth of Second Spectrum: When we started in 2013, tracking data was a big pile of numbers that were left on the ground by most people in the ecosystem. We developed the first machine learning systems that actually understood the game like an elite human. We started in the NBA and this understanding and the ability to make valued products gave us unique insights into how to build tracking and let to a landmark partnership with the NBA. Today we have expanded across sports working also in soccer with the English Premier League, Major League Soccer, Danish Superliga among others. As part of Genius Sports, we’re excited to grow our technological footprint in American football powered by partnerships with the NFL and CFL and others. We also have deep relationships with major media companies like ESPN, Turner Sports, BT Sport, CBS, Bally Sports among many others.

On the launch of “RomoVision” with the NFL and CBS: It was an incredible experience. The CBS team was amazing to work with. We iterated through many different iterations of what was possible to do when combining NFL’s Next Gen Stats (NGS) tracking feed with live video. I think where we landed together on RomoVision because it’s a perfect marriage of technology and talent coming together to bring transformative storytelling to fans in terms of understanding the game better. Tony Romo is the perfect person to bring both the passion and understanding together and really let it fly. We always said we build “Iron Man” suits for people whether they are coaches, fans, producers, or broadcast talent. In this case, Tony Romo is the perfect Tony Stark for the RomoVision suit.

On the expansion of machine learning for fan engagement: Machine learning has grown a lot in the sports ecosystem and it’s just starting to make its way to fans. In the team world, we already provide over 500 “semantics” in the NBA and over 200 for soccer. These are essentially sports words or events that elite coaches understand like various pick and roll defenses or type of runs in soccer. These are things that humans can’t mark or tag efficiently or sometimes at all. Coaches use these to get highly curated highlight packages. Soon fans who are basically limited to getting highlights based on very primitive events like shots and goals will be able to have the power to see any set of highlights they want that is much more tailored to their interests. There is also a lot of machine learning in our augmentation technology. You end up with a very poor fan experience if you augment everything you know all the time. We use machine learning under the hood to automated finding events that we use to associate graphics with and learn when to turn them on and off to optimize the experience of fans. There is a lot of technical work and artistry to getting things like Clippers CourtVision or Manager and Hype Modes for BT Sport in the EPL or for RomoVision and slime trails to work well.

On how Second Spectrum works with brands: I think with both data and augmentations brands have access to very differentiated content than they would have access to before and top-level brands really want to associate themselves with top-level content. One example is our partnership with AWS and also their partnership with Clippers CourtVision which they have sponsored for years. We have several modes that highlight a lot of analytics that we have built (on AWS) like shot probability into augmented video for fans who are into numbers can really dive into. Second Spectrum brings some unique capabilities that can highlight them in ways very few others can. Another example is our work with ESPN and Disney on the Marvel Arena of Heroes execution of an NBA game. We powered a broadcast that was live on both two linear channels and also digital where we had cartoon name tags, trails on threes, Marvel-based asset explosions on make field goals and dunks and many other things that really integrated the content of Marvel and basketball. It really showed off how a brand could create a really integrated and compelling experience with a sports property. We are going to see a lot more brands do things like this because it’s incredibly powerful and the technology we are building is going to make it easier and easier.

PROGRAMMING

With the CBA deadline preventing a shortened MLB season slated for today, talks continued through the weekend to end the player lockout with the two sides reportedly not close to a deal. Friday saw issues that included a draft lottery and a 14-team playoff field. Players reportedly moved on revenue sharing, and arbitration.

FIFA’s response to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine was not warmly embraced by European nations, with descriptions that included “tepid” and “toothless” for not immediately expelling Russia from World Cup qualifying on Sunday. Instead, the governing boy ordered the country to play without its flag and anthem at neutral venues under the name of its federation — the Football Union of Russia. Separately, the English Football Association announced that its national teams would refuse to play Russia for the “foreseeable future” while UEFA on Friday pulled the 2022 Champions League final from St. Petersburg, moving it to Paris. FIFA also acknowledged they are in contact with the Polish Football Association, the Football Association of the Czech Republic and the Swedish Football Association to find appropriate and acceptable solutions regarding the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers after the countries refused to play the Russian team.

Matchroom and DAZN locked in a two-fight deal with Canelo Alvarez. With the first event slated for May 7 and available to DAZN subscribers around the world when he takes on Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas on May 7. The second fight in the two-fight deal is set for September. “We’re delighted to continue growing our long-term partnership with Canelo, beginning with a spectacular war between the pound-for-pound king and a very tough and determined champ in Dmitry Bivol,” said Ed Breeze, DAZN EVP, Rights. “Both fighters were eager for this battle, and we’re thrilled to make it happen around the world on DAZN as well as in the U.S. & Canada by way of the introduction of DAZN PPV. It’s a truly mega matchup and we look forward to broadcasting it to fight fans all over the globe.”

The pinnacle of marketing – mark your calendars for the Cynopsis CMO Exchange, taking place on May 24. With sports continuing to blaze the trail on how audiences interact with content and brands, this event will showcase the top marketers from leagues, networks, brands, teams and more as they share the state of the industry, new trends, pivoting as audience consumption changes and more that will impact all of media and entertainment. Stay tuned for more info!

With the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games kicking off on Friday, NBCUniversal revealed the 17 commentators who will anchor its record 230+ hours of programming. Ahmed Fareed and Corey Robinson will serve as hosts and will be joined by 15 play-by-play commentators, analysts and reporters. NBCUniversal’s Paralympic Games coverage, which will once again be presented by Toyota, will feature a record 120 hours on television; seven total hours on the NBC broadcast network, including three in primetime, a first for a Winter Paralympics; and an advertiser roster of 30+ companies.

OTT VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: FULL AGENDA RELEASED

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Speaking companies include Gamut, Premion, Discovery, Future Today and The Toy Book.

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SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

Callaway Golf reportedly hit pause on its longstanding partnership with Phil Mickelson, becoming the fourth longtime sponsor to either end or halt its partnership with the six-time major champion. The move comes after Mickelson’s comments about the PGA Tour and organizers of a Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway league that were published last week.

PEBBLES, Nike and LeBron James teamed up and will release of the Nike LeBron James 19 Low Magic Fruity PEBBLES shoe, described as “a colorful pair of kicks that features actual photography of Magic PEBBLES red and yellow flakes and a color changing airbag that uses the power of the sun’s UV light to transition from clear to a vibrant purple translucent Nike Air colorway.”

LAFC named Rockstar Energy Drink as the new ‘Official Training Kit Partner of LAFC’ for the 2022 Season. The First Team training kit will feature the Rockstar Energy Drink logo front and center on all training tops. In addition, all players and technical staff will wear it during official team training sessions and pre-game warm-ups throughout the 2022 Season.

The Colonial Athletic Association locked in Jersey Mike’s Subs as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 CAA Men’s Basketball Championship. As presenting sponsor, the CAA will provide Jersey Mike’s with prominent branding inside the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington DC, which will be hosting the event. Also included will be brand integration into the CAA’s digital and social media platforms covering the games and related events. The agreement was secured by the CAA’s multi-media rights partner Van Wagner.

Manchester United pulled Russian airline Aeroflot’s sponsorship rights after Russia’s invasion. Russia’s Aeroflot was banned from flying to the United Kingdom on Thursday. United made Aeroflot its first Russian sponsor in 2013.

DIGITAL, DATA & TECH

Fanpage became the exclusive NFT provider for Athlete Licensing Company. “Partnering with ALC is a fantastic opportunity for us,” said Billy Rodgers, Fanpage CEO. “Not only does it give us the ability to work with some of the most promising college athletes in the US, but also to work with amazing people. The team at ALC is brilliant, committed and has an amazing vision for their company. But more than that, as former college athletes, they have a true heart for the kids they represent that comes through in everything they do. We’re expecting a ton of success together.”

ESPORTS

This week’s Call of Duty League Major I – kicking off on Thursday – will see Mountain Dew serve as presenting sponsor of the event and will activate with the MTN DEW Spark Zone, a reserved section for key Call of Duty League fans. Other activations will include Aim Lab, Razer and Scuf.

FACEIT has launched FACEIT Ads, a new advertising platform targeting brands looking to reach out to esports audiences. The company states that the new division is designed to provide brands with ad space on FACEIT’s platform in addition to serving as consultant to brands looking to understand the gaming audience. FACEIT Ads will be topped by Moritz Natalini.

Renegades and GameTime secured a partnership with the United Dairy Industry of Michigan to offer the Midwest Collegiate Invitational presented by Milk Means More. The invitational will see a three-part tournament with 12 universities invited to compete in the main event league play begins on march 6 with the championship slated for April 9. “We are always focused on driving the growth of the esports ecosystem — from high school and college events, to amateur and professional competitions,” said Chris Roumayeh, GameTime VP of Operations. “To partner with Milk Means More on this invitational is a dynamic opportunity, and we are super excited for these universities to battle it out in Rocket League to see who will be crowned the champion.”

2022 Cynopsis Best of the Best Winners + Rising Star Honorees Announced

Last Thursday, Cynopsis’ Best of the Best Awards honored today’s leaders in TV programming, campaigns and more during a virtual ceremony. The full list of Best of the Best Winners, Rising Stars and New & Noteworthy can be found below.

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ON THIS DAY in
1903: Barney Dreyfuss and James Potter buy the Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000.

IN THE KNOW
Name three of the five boxers who beat Muhammad Ali. (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Which university lays claim to the most Men’s College World Series Championships? Answer: University of Southern California. Kudos: Michael Ritz-Lenox Advisors/NY; Michael Goodman-Radio One Atlanta/Atlanta; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton; Mark Lehman-Braves/Atlanta; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station; Bill Robertson-USHL/Bloomington; Joe Lyons-ESPN/Dallas; David Hauptman/Denver; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Cynopsis Team