CES week saw one of the key discussions in sports media, in addition to gambling, center around how machine learning would impact the fan experience. Cynopsis caught up with Warren Packard, CEO of THUUZ Sports, the Bay Area sports tech company that has created measurable “excitement ratings” for media companies, built the automated highlights machine for FOX Sports for the World Cup and works with NBC Sports, Eleven Sports, the NFL and many others on everything from custom automated highlights for fans to the concept of “Catchup to Live” for those with short attention spans and a need to watch a live game where and when they want it, to ask about what the value, and the worry is, for machine leaning and media companies.
Packard on the value of quantifying excitement: Real-time excitement ratings, along with dynamically generated headlines and real-time game excitement alerts, form the main pillars of Subjective Sports Metadata.The value of incorporating this into fan apps and sports guides is undeniable: Alerting fans to exciting games converts them into viewers, increasing tune-in, maximizing the value of the sports content, promoting the value of premium sports tiers, reducing customer churn, and creating unexpectedly delightful entertainment experiences. In addition, offering a next-gen sports guide with personalized excitement ratings and dynamic headlines provides fans with a go-to guide for sports that enables the fan to know which games are the most exciting at all times, yielding a “red zone” experience that spans all sports and is finely tuned to individual fan preferences.
On the worry that automated highlights detracts from watching a game: Not at all. We live in a world now where people value their time and want custom content. We can not only provide exactly what a fan wants through our data collection, we can help drive them to an exciting game as it is happening. Allowing them to snack on even more sports events through automated highlights simply deepens their engagement to the sports, leagues, and players that they enjoy following.
On expanding automated highlights: For any property or event where video exists, we can enable fans and rights holders to create infinitely customizable highlights, both live and historical, effectively in real-time. It is a platform that we believe will once again enhance and create added value for any rights holder, and we are looking forward to expanding it with partners across the globe.
On the value add of automated highlights beyond the rights holder: There will be great added value for brands who can customize the packages being provided. There will also be a smart and solid way that this will tie to gaming and legalized gambling, by providing on-demand, snackable highlights of infinite variety that can tied to live betting, especially on a mobile device. All of this will bring added revenue to all partners, and a better, customized experience for the consumer.
