By Frank Scandale @Fscandale @TheDailyPayoff
The National Football League and Sportradar US, a major statistics data supplier, announced today a multi-year agreement to make the global company the league’s exclusive distributor of statistics to digital outlets beginning with the 2015 NFL Season.
Sportradar US will become the NFL’s exclusive distributor for official real-time scores, player statistics and play-by-play data (Game Statistics and Information System/ “GSIS”) as well as the NFL’s proprietary Next Gen Stats.
Ulrich Harmuth, President of Sportradar US said the deal underscores the company’s commitment to securing its spot as the top outfit in the U.S. sports data market.
“We are thrilled to partner with the NFL in developing a completely new data category that will boost the fan experience as well as improve how the NFL and its partners interact with their fans,” he said.
He explained that since entering the US market about 18 months ago when it took over SportsData LLC in Minneapolis, MN, the company has been convinced about the sports data market being a great opportunity to do “all kinds of sports data” in the future. “We believe the US sports market is the largest in the world.”
He said the company upgraded the Minneapolis headquarters and the infrastructure there as an indication of its long term commitment to its venture in the US.
He said the NHL, for example, would be one of “six or seven interesting leagues” in the US that Sportradar would be interested in pursuing down the road.
“We managed to grow quickly in the past and there will be a need to continue to grow,” Harmuth said. “The NFL is a major step for us. We are also the official statistics provider for NASCAR, so if there is an opportunity to go for further licensing deals, we know we have a compelling product…and are completely willing to invest further resources.”
Vishal Shah, VP of Media Strategy and Business Development at the NFL , explained the reason for the deal.
“Statistics are core to the fan experience, and being able to broadly deliver new, differentiated viewpoints is compelling. Next gen stats is an exciting initiative that adds tremendous breadth and depth to our sport,” he said. “The ability to partner with Sportradar US, with its focus on technology and high quality data distribution, enables the NFL bring these great experiences to the rapidly growing sports data market and our fans.”
This partnership will allow the NFL to distribute statistical data in new and innovative ways, across apps, social media platforms, and connected devices.
Next Gen Stats, the initiative first introduced in the 2014 NFL season, consists of real-time, location-based data such as speed, acceleration and distance traveled, for all players, in all games.
This unique information, alongside GSIS, will be distributed by Sportradar US to give fans a closer look into the game, and allow them to experience it in ways never seen before. Insights from Next Gen Stats also will be available for fans in-stadium, at home, and everywhere else that NFL content is consumed.
While the company said the deal will not impact the US gambling market, it will further the development of Fantasy Football.
“Fantasy Football players are constantly looking for that extra bit of insight or information that will give them the edge against their competition,” Harmuth stated. “The NFL’s Next Gen Stats will provide a whole new level of insight into player performance, strengths and tendencies. For example, data about a player’s formation location, routes and speed over time as well as his performance or record against specific players or teams, will provide fantasy sports players with unique information as they consider future player performance and their selections.”
Both the NFL and Sportsradar have said that statistics will not be shared with gambling houses in the US. Harmuth explained the company has two verticals of business – one is for media and business, the other is to serve gambling customers. In Europe, they are completely separated, he said. “In the US we only offer one vertical – the media – and no data to gambling customers.”
Asked how this might change if the regulations were loosened on sports betting in the US, Harmuth replied: “We know what we have today, so we are fully focused on media sales, and not worrying about what might happen three to five years away.”
Harmuth said his company and the NFL agreed to not disclose financial details of the deal. However, Sports Business Daily reported via industry sources that the Sportradar would pay the NFL $5 million per year in exchange for an equity stake in the company. https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/04/20/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NFL-sportradar.aspx
Sportradar US is the U.S. subsidiary of Sportradar AG, which supplies more than 800 businesses in over 80 countries with data. Headquartered in Switzerland, Sportradar has offices in more than 30 locations around the world.
Sportradar US, which until recently operated as SportsData LLC and was acquired by Sportradar AG in 2013, has been said to be the fastest-growing sports data provider in the U.S. In addition to providing official league feeds from the NFL and NASCAR, the company said it now covers more than 20,000 live events across professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey and golf events, plus collegiate football and basketball. The company provides data solutions for leading global companies such as Google, Turner Sports, IBM, Facebook and Twitter. Sportradar US is headquartered in Minneapolis and recently opened a new 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art office dedicated to collecting, processing and monitoring data as well as client support, IT and development teams.