Stats Signs Deal To Become MLB's Real-Time Data Licensor

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Stats LLC has struck a multiyear deal with MLBAM to become baseball's official real-time data licensor. Building on similar pacts Stats holds with the NFL, NBA and other major properties, Stats will distribute real-time and post-game data to its media clients around the world, and the deal also covers the affiliated minor leagues, Arizona Fall League, World Baseball Classic, Caribbean World Series and other events where MLBAM collects data. Stats' involvement essentially replaces a somewhat similar pact MLBAM held with SportsTicker prior to Stats' acquisition of its one-time rival last year. Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the deal is a fairly traditional data licensing and distribution deal and does not include anything from Stats' ongoing motion tracking work with its SportVu unit. Nor does the agreement allow for the licensing of any location and trajectory-based data developed by MLBAM in partnership with Sportvision. "The motion tracking and thinking about incorporating the kinds of things we're doing there is a conversation we're still going to want to have with them," said Stats Exec VP Steve Byrd. "But this is a huge deal for us. It was the biggest property out there we didn't have, and we have tons of opportunity particularly in places like Japan and Taiwan where we have a strong presence and there's big demand for this data. This sets us up exactly where we want to be." Stats will still cover every MLB game on its own, as it has in the past, to create a backup data feed instead of just relying on MLBAM's feed.