Sports Innovation 2024: New viewing experiences and tracking systems provide a glimpse into the future

Tracking systems that help to generate real-time 3D graphical representations of sporting action, as well as mobile-first streams, and immersive ways to watch sport, were in plentiful supply at Sports Innovation in Dusseldorf (20-21 March 2024).

Mobile-first was a theme during a session called ‘Towards New Horizons: Innovating the Future of Sports Media & Broadcasting’.

Sky Germany SVP of continental production operations Alessandro Reitano showcased 9:16 live coverage of ‘Der Klassiker’ between Bayern Munch and Borussia Dortmund.

“This is an immersive experience that could transform the market. It’s incredible that we can put each step of our media value chain into one product.”

“You have to pick up the new fans where they sit,” he said. “There are potential customers out there who only want highlights or comments. It’s not the million-dollar business case yet, but you have to explore 9:16.

“Give these new viewers what they need. Produce content in a different form and talk to them. We take the world feed and add to it. This is not a short game. You have to orchestrate it.”

Barney Carleton, director of broadcast planning and strategy at the NBA, added: “9:16 is important for the customer journey. We get valuable data on the fans and then utilise that data to better serve them content.

“[GenAI] can help us to create a whole lot of content. We view this as an opportunity to better serve fans content but also create that content. We are cognisant of how we position that content and the messaging. It’s about personalising it for the fan.”

Immersive experiences

The DFL showed enhanced Bundesliga match coverage on an Apple Vision Pro headset, working with immersiv.io (pictured, top).

In the demo, the user in a virtual environment could customise and personalise the experience, moving and watching different modules showing live video feeds or statistics, for example.

It also included a tabletop 3D graphical representation taken from skeletal data of the players provided by TRACAB. This included player name data overlays. The addition of AI will bring more data to this, it was noted.

Luccas Roznowicz, DFL head of digital innovations, said: “This is an immersive experience that could transform the market. It’s incredible that we can put each step of our media value chain into one product. It opens up a lot of room for innovation such as camera views specifically for the immersive viewing experience. It’s a test case for now. Let’s see what the fans say about it.”

Ben Ladkin, MD of MLB Europe, on the same panel, added that: “Different fans want different things The tech is there to allow us to provide that.”

The key, it was agreed, was that whatever the media, product or device involved, the experience must be simple for the user.

“There are lots of opportunities to recreate the fan experience,” said Roznowicz. “These advances need to be easy to use though. This is important. And we might just be at the point where it is as easy as drinking a cup of water.”

Tracking the play

Tracking tech and tracking data is essential for making many immersive experiences possible – and tracking tech was ubiquitous during Sports Innovation 2024.

One of the most noteworthy was showcased on stage as well as at the exhibition with Tru-Motion from TRACAB offering Skeletal Tracking and 3D visualisations (pictured, above).

At Sports Innovation it was outputted in real-time on the big screens with the computer-generated version just just 2-3 seconds behind the action on the pitch. All the tracking was done with cameras. There were no sensors worn. This has potential use cases not just for broadcast analysis but also for 3D replays from different angles, or new immersive experiences such as following a specific player during a game.

The players were unidentifiable on the demo but enhanced player avatars, with hair, skin tone and other differentiators that allow them to be identified are not far off, according to TRACAB.

It is a system that may also have uses for coaching. Discussing the demo, Manuel Baum, the RB Leipzig academy coach said: “You have to build a bridge between the football guys and the data guys. But it gives you a better understanding of the game than is possible at the moment.”

Hawk-Eye Innovations and others were also showing tracking systems and related real-time computer-generated representations at the event.

Sport Innovation 2024 took place in Dusseldorf 20-21 March.

Read more Sports Innovation 2024: Wonderment and warnings in equal measure as AI dominates Düsseldorf event

Former Germany and Borussia Dortmund right-back Patrick Owomoyela taking on the AWS Free Kick challenge during Sports Innovation 2024