Whether it’s tracking a footballer’s trajectory and kick speed or monitoring the real-time power of a Tour de France rider, performance athlete data is expanding its reach in sports as specialist companies seek to generate big business.
Analysts say there is huge potential, not only to help coaches further refine their training and match strategies, but also to provide fresh content to broadcasters or attract fans to online betting markets.
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Sports data analysis has exploded since the days of “Moneyball,” the 2011 hit film starring Brad Pitt about manager Billy Beane’s groundbreaking exploitation of player statistics for the Oakland Athletics baseball team.
Powerful wearable sensors, new camera technologies and the power of artificial intelligence are attracting companies looking to exploit these possibilities.
“When a club or professional federation has data on its players, we can analyze it and make recommendations on how to optimize their performance or avoid an injury,” said Frank Imbach, director of the French group SeeSports.
Some companies use cameras in stadiums and arenas to track individual players at all times, whether they have the ball or not.
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Others rely on body sensors that can determine breathing speed, rate, or cardiovascular measurements.
“This very reliable data makes it possible to recreate 100% of what happens on the pitch, without just following the ball,” explains Arnaud Santin, co-founder of the British start-up SportsDynamics.
– Off-season potential –
This holistic approach, which SportsDynamics offers as a Silicon Valley-inspired Software as a Service (SaaS) model, potentially allows customers to analyze not only their own players, but also those of their opponents.
“For big games, we can deliver 50 frames per second,” Santin said. “Technological development allows us to accelerate very quickly.”
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Several industry experts expect exponential growth as European and Asian markets quickly catch up with U.S. adopters.
“Reports predict that the European sports analytics market will reach a size of billions of dollars over the coming decade,” said Lodovico Mangiavacchi of global consultancy EY.
“A study by Market Research Future projects that this amount will reach $7.5 billion by 2032,” he said.
“Behind these numbers are investments in wearable devices, sophisticated video analytics tools and Internet of Things devices,” he added.
Germany-based Data Sports Group uses live television coverage of sports such as rugby and cricket to deliver content to media clients and also fantasy sports and gaming providers.
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For bookmakers, DSG “gives their punters tools, like statistics and reference material over an archival period, so they can make decisions about it,” said Rajesh D’Souza, its commercial director.
Game and player data can also be used to create content like fantasy league matchups that will keep fans coming back even in the off-season, when there are no big games.
– Valuable figures –
Increasing amounts of valuable data raise questions about who has control of it, as well as the need to invest in protecting data from theft.
In Europe, this personal data requires compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding user privacy.
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But in all cases, “professional athletes, in the majority of cases, sign a contract that allows their clubs and the league to use their data,” explained Santin of SportsDynamics.
A sign of expectations of enthusiastic demand, sports data contracts have multiplied.
In February, US data and technology specialist Genius Sports announced a deal to buy betting and gaming content platform Legend for $1.2 billion.
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