A Rundown of Sports Technology Innovation Throughout 2018

This year in sports technology saw the long-awaited legalization of sports betting, wearable devices promising granular levels of biometric analysis, an FDA-approved smartwatch, video assistant referees at the World Cup, the marriage of digital and brick-and-mortar worlds, and the further adoption of esports personalities in sports.

If 2017 were the year that broadcasters started investing in over-the-top services, 2018 was the year the market was flooded with streaming competition. Interactive games that let people make cashless wagers on game outcomes graduated into real-money wagering.

The SportTechie Awards recently highlighted the best in class for 2018, however this rundown serves to highlight some of the year’s major sports technology headlines.

Wearables

Apple unveiled the latest version of its smartwatch in September with one notable addition: FDA approval. The company announced upgraded functionality for its heart rate sensor that puts the Apple Watch in an entirely new category of medical-grade devices.

The Apple Watch sensor can now read a user’s electrocardiogram and alert users when their heart rate is too low or too high and if they’re displaying signs of atrial fibrillation (an irregular, rapid heart rate). Apple’s ECG readings, which are further supported by the American Heart Association, can be taken by a user simply placing their finger on the watch’s crown for 30 seconds.

Fitbit launched Fitbit Care, an enterprise health platform for wellness and prevention and disease management. Fitbit also teamed up with Google’s Cloud Healthcare API to work more closely with doctors to provide personalized healthcare.

The Humon Hex, a device that measures muscle oxygen use in real time to get a read on exertion, helped Jamaican sprinter Briana Williams win the women’s sprint double at the World U20 Championships at age 16, and helped underdog Henry Cejudo defeat reigning-UFC Flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson.

Sports Betting

In what might be considered the biggest sports technology story of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court in May moved to allow the legalization of sports betting. The ruling sent data companies (such as Sportradar), fantasy sites (such as FanDuel and DraftKings) and sports leagues (such as the NBA) racing to establish a foothold in the handful of states that have begun legalizing sports betting.

Over the past few months, FanDuel, fueled by a takeover by U.K.-based betting house Paddy Power Betfair, opened its first brick-and-mortar sports betting location near Metlife Stadium in New Jersey and partnered with the NHL and NBA to deliver fantasy and betting experiences to fans.

MGM has established itself as one of the premiere sports betting companies, inking deals across major league sports. Meanwhile, the New York Jets are working with MGM to build sports betting enhancements into the Jets’ existing in-app prediction game, “I Called It.”

VAR

The world’s most popular sport was given a major makeover in 2018 with the addition of video assistant referees. Debuting at the FIFA World Cup for the first time, VAR was used by referees throughout the month-long soccer tournament, overturning 16 calls during the first 62 matches alone.

The Russia 2018 World Cup was the first time video replays were used to assist refs at soccer’s biggest tournament after a decade of consideration. The VAR system was comprised of a team of assistant officials, located in a remote video room, who used technology to help make calls.

The system deploys an automated three-dimensional line system (calibrated with lasers before the match begins) that can spot infractions, such as red card offenses or offside penalties. The tech is assisted by multiple cameras placed around the stadium that help with triangulation.

Since the World Cup, a number of leagues have moved to adopt VAR. Both UEFA and CONMEBOL plan to implement VAR in 2019.

Spring Pro Football

This year saw the resurgence of spring football with the announcement of two new competing leagues scheduled to kickoff in 2019 and 2020. The Alliance of American Football said that it would launch with free streaming options and access to fantasy and other gaming experiences. The league will prioritize in-game data to fuel a fan engagement platform, with every player donning some sort of wearable and back-end algorithms generating prediction data by tracking real-time position, velocity and biometrics.

the XFL announced that it was planning its return after a 17-year hiatus with a focus on drafting players cut from the NFL and experimenting with player-tracking technology and in-game betting.

Digital Brick-and-Mortar

A wave of traditional brick-and-mortar retailers started to implement technology into their stores and shopping experiences. Nike launched a store that meshed some of the features of its mobile app with a new store in Los Angeles, which it claimed could adapt to consumers’ changing tastes and demands in real time. The concept store features interactivity that is specifically tailored towards NikePlus members.

Meanwhile, Lululemon began experimenting with a subscription service. The loyalty program, as executives have referred to it, offers users access to discounted shipping for online orders and access to exclusive yoga classes and events in the real world.

Streaming Fragmentation

In 2017, broadcasters and internet companies were just getting their feet wet in the world of sports streaming. In 2018, those efforts were put into overdrive. A number of streaming services offering extensive live sports programming launched in the U.S.

ESPN rolled out ESPN+ and announced that it had surpassed 1 million paid subscribers within the first five months (thanks in part to a transfer of subscribers from its 20-year-old ESPN Insider service). CBS Sports HQ launched as a free over-the-top service, while NBC added a number of niche sports (from skiing to motocross) on its paid streaming service NBC Sports Gold.

One of the biggest new entrants to the streaming scene in the U.S. this year was DAZN. The subscription service launched in the U.S. with a focus on combat sports, such as MMA (through a deal with Bellator) and boxing (via Matchroom), but recently partnered with MLB.

Virtual Reality

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics ushered in a new era of virtual reality storytelling for professional sports. In what was the largest-scale virtual reality event to date and the first live virtual reality broadcast of the Olympic Winter Games, Intel rotated roughly two dozen 180-degree cameras across 18 live events over the Games’ two and a half weeks. It shot 30 events in total—another 12 with 360-degree cameras—to create a mix of VR live streams and video-on-demand content.

Red Bull adopted augmented reality into its mountain biking event Red Bull Rampage through a partnership with Intel. Fans were able to explore a 3D model of the mountain, zoom in and out and around the course with a touch of their fingerprints, and explore exclusive content. The energy drink/digital media company said it planned to launch addition AR experience for other events.

Meanwhile, virtual reality further creeped into fitness and training. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard team used STRIVR’s virtual reality platform alongside the team’s SkyTechSport simulator, an indoor ski machine that mimics race conditions, to train for the Winter Olympics. Researchers at Villanova have created a virtual reality experience with audiovisual cues to help the Villanova Wildcat baseball team train, while virtual reality ice hockey training platform Sense Arena, which is backed by Boston Bruins’ right winger David Pastrňák, launched in the Czech Republic and the U.S.

In-Game Tracking

While Zebra Technology’s RFID chips have been in NFL shoulder pads for a few seasons now, other leagues started to catch up in 2018 with new implementations of in-game technology. At the World Cup, FIFA permitted electronic performance and tracking systems to be used for the first time. Each national team received two tablets from FIFA, one for an analyst sitting elsewhere in the stadium and the other for a coach on the touchline, which enabled them to exchange information in real time about player tracking data.

SAP provided real-time data and analytics to the German National Team during the World Cup. The company also recently struck a deal with Manchester City to bring technology to the pitch so that coaches, analysts, and players can access real-time data from the sidelines during games for the first time.

The NHL revealed plans this year to put tracking chips into its pucks for the first time, which will enable the league to track movement on the ice at a rate of 200 times per second.

Esports

Twitch, the streaming service that has long been popular with the esports community, continued to cement its presence in the world of traditional sports in 2018. One way esports and sports merged was through the launch of Twitch co-streaming for Thursday Night Football, in which popular Twitch streamers, including esports celebrities GoldGlove and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, added their own color commentary to games.

This year also marked the inaugural season of the NBA’s NBA 2K League, while NASCAR launched its own official league with the backing of drivers and their teams. The NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers invested in professional esports team the Pittsburgh Knights.

Blockchain

While 2017 may have been the year of Bitcoin and digital currency, 2018 was the year that blockchain, the foundational technology of cryptocurrency, started to seep its way into real-world applications. Sportscastr led the blockchain charge in the sports world with the launch of its FanChain token, which rewards users of its video streaming platform for participation. The company, which inked deals this years with the NFLPA and WNBPA unions, seeks to make FanChain the ubiquitous token of the sports industry. As part of these efforts, it teamed up with event organizer FanWide to reward fans for attending viewing parties, and enabled them to use the digital currency to buy goods at the roughly 10,000 bars hosting these MeetUp-like events.

The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, owned by serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban, launched “the nation’s first” blockchain fitness app with partner Lympo. The app uses a crypto token-based incentivization platform to reward users with a token that holds real monetary value for leading healthier lifestyles and completing walking and running challenges.