Sports Performance & Tech, Issue 23

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SPORTS PERFORMANCE & TECH OCT 2016 | #23

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How The US Open CHIEF Is Embracing STRATEGY Cognitive OFFICER Computing

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FP&A INNOVATION

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How The British Cycling Team Dominated Using Big Data

Why The NFL’s Digital Progression Is Second To None

The British Cycling Team were almost unbeatable at the Rio Olympics. We T H E a presentation L E A D from I NHead G look at how of Performance, Andy Harrison, gave some clues to this success /10

Many have been critical of the NFL in terms of how it utilizes data, but the V Ois Ithat C they E are O N A L Y T I C S truth oneFof the A most technologically advanced sports in the world /22

ANALYTICS

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ISSUE 23

EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to the 23rd Edition of the Sports Performance & Tech Magazine

One of the founding principles of the Sports Performance & Tech magazine was to help inform on sports analytics. Having spent a lot of time around sports scientists and data scientists who work within sports, it became clear that there was a need for a publication that discussed the challenges they face and new developments in the area.

Since its inception 4 years ago, we have seen some amazing developments. From the amount of data being collected through to how it is being actioned, it is an almost unrecognizable practice.

However, recent weeks have shown that, although we are doing some amazing things as an industry, there are others that we aren’t - namely data protection.

The hacks from the Fancy Bears group have shown that there are some considerable weaknesses in the system that need to be fixed. It is bad to have your money stolen, but

having your medical records leaked to the world is a far more intimate and disturbing proposition.

We are doing some truly amazing things with the data we collect, but despite improving performances and decreasing injuries, the most important element of any data collection programme should be security. It has been claimed that the hack occurred because of a spear phishing scam, where an individual was conned into giving their login information to a hacker who then breached the system. It shows that we need to protect our data better and train our people better too.

It is something that many organizations already take seriously, but we need to make sure this importance is seen everywhere, not just for the select few.

If you are interested in contributing, please contact me at ghill@theiegroup.com

George Hill managing editor

The implications of this isn’t simply the embarrassment of having to explain TUEs or medical conditions, it is that it could potentially put future athletes off.

If somebody has a lifelong condition that is easily treatable with something under a TUE, are they likely to want to risk being outed as a cheat when they are simply levelling the playing field?

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push the boundaries with data Sports Analytics Innovation Summit April 5 & 6, 2017 | London Previous Speakers Include

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contents 6 | HOW MANCHESTER UNITED HIT £500 MILLION TURNOVER

18 | SPORT’S SECOND SCREENTWITTER’S SALVATION?

Manchester United have become the first British soccer club to generate over £500 million in a single year, we look at how they managed this

Twitter has been in a bit of a spin recently, but with the increased use of second screen devices during sports matches, they may have a resurgence

10 | HOW THE BRITISH CYCLING TEAM DOMINATED USING BIG DATA

20 | UNDER ARMOUR LOOKING TO TECH TO TAKE NIKE’S CROWN

The British Cycling Team were almost unbeatable at the Rio Olympics. We look at how a presentation from Head of Performance, Andy Harrison, gave some clues to this success

The sports clothing brand is utilizing new technology to try and challenge Nike for their crown, but will it work in the long term?

22 | WHY THE NFL’S DIGITAL PROGRESSION IS SECOND TO NONE

14 | HOW THE US OPEN IS EMBRACING COGNITIVE COMPUTING

Although Wimbledon may be the most historic tennis tournament, the US Open is looking to the future with its use of cognitive computing 16 | WHY THE SACRAMENTO KINGS MAY BE THE NBA’S MOST TECH-SAVVY TEAM

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers may be making the headlines, but the Kings are winning in the new technology game

managing editor george hill

Many have been critical of the NFL in terms of how it utilizes data, but the truth is that they are one of the most technologically advanced sports in the world WRITE FOR US

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| assistant editor james ovenden | creative director chelsea carpenter

contributors charlie sammonds, sean foreman, shivanee pattni, alex collis

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HOW Manchester United Hit ÂŁ500 Million Turnover

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Image Credit: NURUL AINI / Shutterstock.com

Charlie Sammonds Chief Sports Writer

The English Premier League is widely accepted to be the world’s most enthralling soccer competition. Always played out at a ferocious pace, the league is best known for its blend of dazzling skill, astute tactics, and nononsense tradition. In no other league in the world can you see a defender as traditionally stalwart as John Terry heavily tackle a player as cultured as Mesut Ozil with all the aggression and authority of yesteryear. Ferocity meets excellence in a league considered the ultimate test of both player and manager, and the world watches on eagerly.

This keen interest is reflected in its quite incredible commercial success.

Leicester City’s shock league victory in the 2015-16 campaign came at a perfect time for the tournament’s dealmakers, with sponsors looking to buy into the unpredictable soap opera for incredible sums. Barclays, who has sponsored the league for the past 16 years, has loosened its grip on the rights, leaving an open space for three other brands - Tag Heuer, EA, and Nike - to join it in sharing sponsorship privileges.

When this increase in sponsorship revenue is coupled with the groundbreaking £5.136 billion deal paid by Sky and BT - at a 71% increase on the previous deal - for just three years of broadcasting rights, the money flowing into the Premier League is huge. The Premier League has long been the most commercially appealing league in European football thanks to its rich history and the sheer number of great clubs. And, within that league, there is no more commercially viable brand than Manchester United.

Despite the criticism leveled at the club’s owners, the Glazer family, they have been successful in turning the club into a financial powerhouse by exploiting the emerging US and Asian markets. Alex Ferguson’s

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successes as manager cemented the club’s place on the world stage as a marker of footballing excellence, and marketable stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney have proven effective. Having said that, United’s commercial weight comes from more than just the last 20 years.

The more intangible, unquantifiable value is in the 114-year heritage of the club and its entrenched place in both Mancunian and footballing culture. Old Trafford stands as an icon, and the largely unchanged club crest is one of the most immediately recognizable in world sport.

Anyone shocked that Manchester United deemed an £89 million outlay for midfielder Paul Pogba worthwhile should have a glance at the club’s earnings report. The news broke this week that the Manchester side is the first British football club to break £500 million in yearly earnings, clocking in at £515.3 million for the 2016 financial year, according to the BBC. The Red Devils were only edged globally /8

by La Liga giants Barcelona (£570 million), who benefitted from a strong Euro against the pound following the UK’s Brexit decision. Such is United’s commercial revenue that it alone some £268.3 million - would place the club 11th in the latest Deloitte Rich List, ahead of Tottenham, AC and Inter Milan, and Roma.

In fact, such has been the swell in United’s earnings that Paul Pogba’s transfer actually constitutes a lower percentage of the club’s annual turnover than the signings of Rio Ferdinand and Juan Veron (£29.1 million and £28.1 million respectively) did back in the early 2000s.

Manchester United certainly isn’t the only British club to have seen revenues skyrocket - the effect of the new lucrative TV rights deal for Premier League clubs is yet to be properly felt, but could see even the league’s least affluent clubs splashing out incredible fees for players.

Now, with Jose Mourinho at the helm and £148 million spent in the summer 2016 transfer window alone, United are well and truly box office once more. One also has to bear in mind the fact that this incredible turnover is without involvement in the Champions League, thanks to the club’s fifth place finish last term. If English football’s biggest club can find trophy winning form under their new manager, there is nothing to suggest this swelling of profits will slow down anytime soon.

Image Credit: Mitch Gunn / Shutterstock.com

All The Leading Lights In Sports Tech In One Library /9

George Hill, Editor-in-Chief

How The British Cycling Team Dominated Using Big Data During the Rio Olympics, the British cycling team had huge success. On the road, they picked up a bronze in the Mens Time Trial, with Chris Froome finishing behind Thomas Demoulin and Fabian Cancellara, however, it was in track cycling where they really dominated, with the team taking home 11 medals from a possible 30. / 10

They managed to win 6 golds out of a possible 10, and of the 4 where they didn’t win gold, one they didn’t enter a team and the other three they came second.

It was one of the most dominant displays in Olympic history, causing some teams to question the success

Image Credit: ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

Having the ability to look that far into the future comes from a historical use of data that is now paying dividends and is something at the forefront of thinking within the team

and insinuating they had some kind of secret advantage over the others. The truth is that they did - they used big data and analytics far better than any other team.

At a summit in April 2016, we heard from Andy Harrison, interim head of performance (at the time programmes director) who discussed the use of data in the British cycling team.

The key to what Andy was discussing was that British Cycling have adopted data for ‘multi time scales’. By this, it means how can you use data for a performance during your next competition and also use it to build success over time.

Part of the way this has come about is the British Cycling missions statement: ‘We are developing a sporting dynasty. Our succession of senior riders that are achieving international podium results makes Great Britain the dominant cycling nation.’

Image Credit: Diego Barbieri / Shutterstock.com

Data has had a considerable impact on this, with the recruitment of new riders especially important for the process, due to the magnitude of the long-term planning involved.

According to Andy, who was speaking in April 2016, ‘Over 6 to 7 months, we have put together the next 4 to 6 years of our strategy and how we will operationalize that post-Rio.’ The level of detail within this recruitment is down to the granular level, Andy even made the claim that ‘We think we can pretty much name who will medal in 2020.’

Ian Yates, Performance Pathway Manager, who presented alongside Andy, discussed the importance of this long-term planning. He talked about a situation that they had identified and changed 18 months before - that they may have a smaller pool in 8 years time than they needed. To remedy this they changed their programme from having 6 under 10’s to 60.

Having the ability to look that far into the future comes from a historical use of data that is now paying dividends and is something at the forefront of thinking within the team. Ian pointed out the importance of this in terms of tracking progression, ‘What should our riders be able to do, driven by what it takes to win at the top end but then how does that track back in terms of

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what does a 14 year old need to look like if they are offered an apprentice status.’

This use of historical data is imperative to tracking who has the potential to be the best at specific ages, by looking at the top performing cyclists throughout their progression and then comparing new athletes to their data at that point, Ian pointed out that ‘we looked at an Ed Clancy or a Laura Trott and backtracked the results that they got all the way back through.’

This allows for the identification of true podium potential at earlier and earlier stages, helping to develop rider across decades, rather than just when they start achieving enough results in local races to be noticed.

However, it is not only about creating the riders of tomorrow, it’s also about WITTW - what it takes to win. Here the team collect the data the shows exactly what is needed to win, which could be a certain power output, times in a race or simply their tactical skill. Some of these are simple to find, for instance using a power meter to measure power output and a stopwatch to calculate times, but the tactical skill is not something that can be displayed as simply. Often it is something that is seen as subjective, so is assessed by 4 separate coaches who all watches performances to ascertain skills. This according to Ian allows for a more ‘informed, tangible decision’.

This isn’t simply about pride and sporting prowess for coaches, though, although it certainly plays a part. They have a huge pressure on them as the only reason they receive money is because they win Olympic medals and, as Andy pointed out, ‘If we get it wrong we cannot buy talent, we fail, the program shuts and I can’t pay my mortgage.’ It means they need to perform every time they are on the track, but also peak at Olympic games. It is a difficult job, but one that data is having a huge impact on.

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What should our riders be able to do, driven by what it takes to win at the top end but then how does that track back in terms of what does a 14 year old need to look like if they are offered an apprentice status

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How The US Open Is Embracing Cognitive Computing Watson is revolutionizing the way fans can navigate the tournament this year

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Alex Collis Sports Analytics Evangelist

Recently, we published a piece on the Wimbledon Championship’s claim to be one of the most digitally astute sporting events in the world.

It is, with Hawk-Eye refereeing and other technological advancements, fully embraced by the tennis’ oldest tournament. But, with the mandate of a strong commitment to IBM’s Watson - a machine learning/cognitive computing platform - the US Open is coming for Wimbledon’s crown.

Used in the background at Wimbledon (largely to monitor social media and identify trends in fan narrative), Watson is currently making its debut as a fully fledged part of a tennis tournament, acting as what Digital Trends called a ‘cognitive concierge within the games’ official mobile apps.’ Guests will be able to ask the Guest Services within the mobile app questions as they would a real person, such as the nearest bathroom or different food stalls within the grounds. The system will learn from each interaction and be able to offer a more honed, helpful response with every usage.

Noah Syken, vice president of Global Sponsorships and Client Executive Programs at IBM, said: ’We’re excited to introduce IBM Watson’s gamechanging cognitive computing power to the US Open’s digital platform.

Watson is revolutionizing the way fans can navigate the tournament this year.

By tapping into unstructured data, Watson is enabling us to extract and apply insights that can improve how people engage with technology onsite, making their experiences more meaningful and natural.’

Data has been very deliberately placed ‘at the heart of the US Open digital experience,’ according to Noah. The company’s website highlights the fact that though 700,000 will experience the tournament first hand, some 15 million others will keep up via one of

the IBM-powered digital platforms, which give real-time information about the matches in progress, video highlights, analysis and statistics around the event. But Watson is the jewel in the crown, and it will be interesting to see how guests feel about interacting with Watson as opposed to, say, a warden at the tournament.

Fans at home will have engagement with the cognitive technology, too.

Watson is being used to speed up the output of digital content and make the content more accessible.

For example, the technology can automatically generate captioning for the tournament’s on-demand videos, and its facial recognition technology will be able to identify celebrities and players when compiling and publishing content. These capabilities all give the United States Tennis Association the upper hand in terms of delivering digital content to the public at speed.

‘We want to ensure that fans know that we are the source for all things US Open, that they’re not going to any competitive websites or other digital outlets to get it from someone else,’ said Kirsten Corio, the USTA’s managing director of ticket sales and digital strategy. ‘We want it to be from a source that is fast as possible, and IBM is great at helping us do that.’

Watson, along with cognitive computing more widely, is working its way into the mainstream. Fans at a number of 2016’s sporting events will have some contact with Watson, a technology that could revolutionize the way customers and guests interact with companies and events. IBM is pushing Watson to developers and making it easy for the technology to be integrated into existing solutions, so expect to hear a lot more from cognitive computing as the year progresses.

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Why The Sacramento Kings May Be The NBA's Most TechSavvy Team

Shivanee Pattni Sports Analytics Commentator

You don’t have to spend much time comparing to see that the NBA is the most technologically advanced sports league in the world. When held up against the likes of the MLS, NFL, or NHL, basketball’s interest in and commitment to technology is the most pronounced at every level. From player monitoring to stadium organization, the NBA is throwing investment into tech and is reaping the rewards.

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The NBA’s ascension as a model for technological proficiency began, as Forbes highlights, when former league commissioner David Stern ‘didn’t charge China’s government-run TV channel a dime to broadcast NBA games in 1987, knowing that getting more eyeballs - especially ones from overseas - on his product is more important than going for the quick buck.’ The NBA clips that the league

allows social media users to upload are an extension of this principle - they act as free commercials for the league, a trick more copyright-stringent leagues seem to have entirely missed.

And, in a league that clearly values the relationship between technology and sport, it’s the Sacramento Kings that may just be the most tech-savvy.

Owned by software company Tibco CEO Vivek Ranadive, the franchise may be the oldest in the NBA, but it’s setting technological precedents, culminating in the opening of its new Golden 1 Center home. The Kings have traded in their 28-year home the Sleep Train Arena - for the new multi-purpose, $556.6 million Golden 1 Center just 6.1 miles south.

If the NBA follows technology religiously, the Golden 1 is a cathedral.

Ranadive calls it the ‘Tesla of arenas,’ and indeed the technological triumphs of the stadium are many.

Fans can order food from their seat, find the bathroom with the shortest line, there is enough bandwidth to support a stadium four times as big, and a Walt Disney Co. engineer has designed the world’s largest indoor video scoreboard specifically to minimize eye movement, according to The Sacramento Bee. The paper also claims that the current ‘smart turnstiles’ - that fans simply tap their cellphones onto to find their seats - will eventually be replaced by facial recognition technology, all but eliminating the need for tickets, ‘digital or otherwise.’

Back in January, the Kings became the first professional sports franchise to allow ticket purchasing with Bitcoin. Customers can use Bitcoin in the team’s retail store and to buy tickets for upcoming games - Ranadive told ESPN.com that it was his children that had given him the idea having questioned why Bitcoin wasn’t accepted at other franchises. And, in another first, the Kings recently became the first NBA team to utilize chatbot technology in partnership with JiffyBots - within Facebook Messenger in the hope of ‘personalizing the fan experience and strengthening that bond,’ Kings CTO Ryan Montoya told GeekWire.

The Kings’ performance on the court has largely been disappointing since the early 2000s, finishing in a decadehigh third last season. As a business, though, the franchise is pushing the envelope of how sports can best integrate technology. The expensively erected Golden 1 Center is likely to be just the first in a coming wave of digital-heavy sports stadiums. The ‘Tesla of arenas’ will be serving fans Ranadive’s personalized experience this coming season and, if early reviews are anything to go by, the transition these tech-savvy gamegoers will be a smooth one.

For the fans, the interaction with the technological features of the new arena will primarily happen in the new, dedicated app. The Kings’ mobile app is by far the most developed in the NBA, with added capabilities like in-built Uber services, live scores, highlights and data visualization regarding the game in-play. Uber itself will feature a ‘Kings-branded icon in its own app for users in Sacramento,’ according to GeekWire, to make it easier for fans to get to and from the stadium on game days.

Image Credit: Natursports / Shutterstock.com

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Sport’s Second Screen: Twitter’s Salvation?

Shivanee Pattni Sports Analytics Commentator

In a rare victory over its bigger social media rivals, Twitter agreed a deal with the NFL last March to live-stream its popular Thursday night games. As the 140-character giant sees its user numbers plummet, Twitter is turning to video (particularly live streaming) in an attempt to rebuild. Facebook and other tech companies were involved in a tussle for the rights, and sports being live streamed on social media is set to become the norm.

The NFL reportedly took issue with some of the conditions of the

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other bids, though - Facebook, for example, had demanded full control over the advertisements that would air alongside the stream, ‘essentially cutting out the sales relationship between the NFL and marketers,’ according to sources cited by the New York Times. According to the newspaper, Twitter paid the NFL around $10 million for the rights to 10 Thursday night games, and agreed to share in the ad inventory. Its CFO, Anthony Noto, who previously worked for the NFL, said: ‘Having that live

programming every night when sports are playing — with no paywall, no logging in and directly from the source — that’s key to us.’

Twitter’s been incredibly active in securing deals for live sports, with Wimbledon already live streamed and arrangements made for NHL, MLB and NBA games to be live-steamed on the site - the New York Times also claims that the MLS and PGA are also in discussions with the social media giant over potential deals. Twitter’s move is an interesting one, because it taps into two growing trends in both sports but digital more generally.

Firstly - and perhaps not immediately obvious - is that Twitter’s live-stream push is a reaction to it’s overwhelming mobile-first user base. 90% of Twitter’s video views come from mobile devices, bringing in 86% of its ad revenue from its 257 million monthly active users on mobile.

Any sports fan will know that livestreaming games on a mobile device

Image Credit: Richard Paul Kane / Shutterstock.com

isn’t easy - sites are still optimized for desktop and pop-ups cause all manner of issues on mobile, so unless you have an expensive subscription to a broadcaster with a good mobile streaming service, it’s just not viable. If Twitter can offer mobile streaming that works as well as its Periscope client, for example, watching live sports on mobile could become a genuinely attractive (and inexpensive) option.

Secondly, and more importantly, Twitter is banking on the growth of second screen usage in sports audiences. According to Accenture, 87% of consumers use second screen devices while watching TV, and discussion on Twitter around sporting events as they’re taking place is pervasive. Twitter’s live stream combines both, with a feed of tweets related to the game placed alongside the game itself. The social media giant will be hoping that the live stream will act as a gateway for users to find the value in its primary offering, and

bolster the user numbers that have shown little organic growth. Studies have shown that the second screen conversation can be more engaging than the sporting event itself and, if Twitter can encourage the casual NFL spectator to engage in discussion around the game, it may have itself a new user.

In a world in which subscription fees for traditional broadcasters have ballooned, the ability to stream live sport without paywalls or even the need for an account will be refreshing for sports fans. Thursday Night Football draws an average of 17.6 million viewers per broadcast and if Twitter can harness this - along with the viewers from their plethora of other deals - it might just be able to reverse the trend that’s seen shares more than halve since Jack Dorsey returned to the company in July last year.

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Under Armour Looking To Tech To Take Nike’s Crown

If Nike’s business model focuses on diversity of product, UA is turning itself into a ‘math house’

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Sean Foreman Sports Technology Evangelist

The rise of wearables and technology in sports has brought traditional sports companies closer than ever to booming tech giants. With companies like Apple releasing wearables with similar fitness functionality to the likes of Fitbit, the crossover between sports and high end tech has never been greater. In fact, Apple has been collaborating with sports giant Nike for years, and the release of its new Apple Watch Nike+ signals the latter’s move away from creating their own wearable devices.

It’s no surprise that so many companies want a piece of the wearables market, though, given that it’s set to be worth $25 billion by just 2019, and new applications for wearable technology are being found all the time. From sport to healthcare to the warehouse, the use of wearable tech can streamline processes and provide otherwise difficult-to-garner information about patients, athletes, or employees. Not to mention the personal fitness tracker market, which is set to be worth $5 billion by the same year.

on its strengths elsewhere. The Apple Watch Nike+ is probably the clearest indication that Nike is distancing itself from the wearables niche, happy to offer software to consumer electronics companies but reluctant to continue producing and investing in hardware.

Despite being a relatively new market, dominant companies are threatening to emerge in each area of wearable application. And Fitbit’s current stranglehold on the fitness wearables sector is something Under Armour are looking to counter. According to Digiday, Under Armour is currently the world’s second-biggest sportswear manufacturer - thanks to exhibiting growth superior to both Nike and Adidas of late - and the Baltimorebased company is targeting Nike’s long-held crown.

Under Armour, on the other hand, is doubling down on its commitment to data collection and use. If Nike’s business model focuses on diversity of product, UA is turning itself into a ‘math house’ - so put by CEO Kevin Plank. According to Fast Company, the company ‘spent $710 million to acquire three quantifiable-self fitness apps and then developed its own wearable band, heart-rate monitor, and digital scale. It is committed to learning from the activity of more than 160 million users.’ The investment is something of a gamble given that connected sport and wearable technology accounted for just 1.3% of overall revenue in 2015. Nike’s revenue for the same year dwarfs that of UA $30 million to UA’s $4 million - and the giant’s commitment to diversity may well keep it that way.

The number one company has, in many ways, stopped trying to compete with UA in terms of tech acquisition. Rather than entering a potentially expensive tech arms race, Nike has stepped down its digital efforts since its FuelBand was discontinued in 2014. According to Fast Company, ‘it claims only about one-fifth as many fitness-app users as UA,’ and seems happy to focus

UA’s investment is a gamble. The company has positioned itself as the future of fitness and lifestyle wearables, adding millions of users with expensive acquisitions of the likes of MapMyFitness and MyFitnessPal. It will be years until UA is in a position to truly challenge Nike in terms of revenue and user numbers, and the growth of the company now depends precariously on the continued growth

of wearable fitness tech. Nike, at this point, will not be terribly concerned with missing out on a piece of the relatively small wearables pie. Indeed, it’ll be interesting to see quite how Nike’s partnership with Apple affects Under Armour’s strive for market share - if it doesn’t, though, Nike may be looking over its shoulder soon.

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It seems only a matter of time before the balls are used in all areas of the NFL

Charlie Sammonds Chief Sports Writer

Why The NFL’s Digital Progression Is Second To None The NFL is set to continue its ever-expanding project of becoming the world’s most digitally proficient sport, with RFID tracking to be extended from measuring player movement in-game to the flight of the ball. The move comes just two years after the NFL announced it would track every single player with RFID chips in an unprecedented collection of physical data. Some dismissed the plan as data collection for data collection’s sake, but it’s become an invaluable facet of game analysis and even training monitoring.

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The chips - no larger than a quarter - will be fitted inside the pigskin, and will record metrics like velocity, acceleration and distance. The information could, if the NFL deems it legal, be sent back to field-side computer monitors in under a second for analysis by broadcasters and coaching staff alike. Crucially, the chip doesn’t affect the flight of the ball at all, and the equipped balls have been tested by a number of veteran quarterbacks to ensure the feel is consistent.

For now, though, the chips will only be used in K-balls - the slightly slicker, harder balls used for kicking plays. The use will also be limited to the NFL’s Thursday night regular-season games.

Initially, the information collected will be used to assess what affect a slight narrowing of the goalposts would have on the number of field goals scored.

Last year, the league moved the kick from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line, which successfully dropped the conversion rate from 99.3% to 94.2% in a year - more could be done, though, to make kicks less of a formality and more of a competitive element of the sport. It’s the collection of this actionable kind of data that will convince even the least progressive of the merits of technology on the sports field.

game paper-free, and other in-play content.

The possibilities when the on-field technology inevitably meets with the technology in the seats are mindblowing. Think real-time replays, complete with statistical analysis of each play, beamed to each and every attendees mobile app. The rise of second-screen viewing in sports broadcasting will make its way into the stadium, as fans expect more information than can be picked up by simply watching each play unfold.

The NFL’s commitment to digital progression sends a message to sports like soccer that technology can drive positive change, and not just within areas like training and broadcasting, but in in-stadium experience and in critical analysis of matchday performance. The NFL is by no means reinventing the wheel, but is adopting technology in a way that’s very difficult to discredit - this is the approach that will see proper adoption.

It seems only a matter of time before the balls are used in all areas of the NFL, a development that will further reinforce the league’s position as the world’s most progressive in regard to the use of data-collection and technology on the field. And, off of the field, the NFL is leaps and bounds ahead of other - particularly European - sports in stadium connectivity and digitization. The San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, for example, has been stacked with the latest in mobile technology to improve the experience of attending the game. In partnership with VenueNext, an app has been in use in the stadium since 2014 that allows fans to order food to their seats, find their way to parking and other areas of the stadium, access the

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