For OneTwoSee, a Philadelphia-based software-as-a-service startup, its local partnership with Comcast is proving to be a progressive one, pushing forward right as the NFL season nears.
Last year, they were able to close a $1.3 million finance round led by Robin Hood Ventures. With this deal in place, OneTwoSee is building a foundation with Comcast to continue the NFL version development of the Comcast X1 Sports App, which debuted last fall. Through this cloud-based platform, visual displays juxtaposed to the NFL games–or any kind of programming–are projected on a fan’s TV screen.
The X1 operating system is enabled from a set-top box, where fans can discover this feature via a small, on-screen notification. The app functions as a complementary tool to inform fans about pre-game matchups, live in-game stats, and post-game analysis; all of which is aggregated from external sources. None of this, though, comes at an extra charge or based on a fan’s current sports package.
Specifically for this NFL season, the live component comprises of the following: the Current Drive view instantly cycles between four to seven screens depending on game situation, including last play description, stats leaders for current drive, win probability, and top fantasy sports performers (using generic calculation).
So, NFL fans can receive these stats on their TV screen rather than constantly looking down to their smartphones. They have access to stats on each game–regardless of their respective market or channels they’re subscribe to. By being able to peruse such information next to whatever the user is watching, it increases likelihood of tune-in to the games. Chris Reynolds, OneTwoSee’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, mentions to SportTechie that’s been a desired goal all along, especially with regards to the sports-watching TV experience.
The fact that Comcast’s X1 sports app reaches north of five million users, it presents notable scale for OneTwoSee to expose and engage its product to NFL fans. Eventually, this framework can be opened up to most of Comcast’s 22 million user base. Thus far, though, 20 percent of households have used the app over the course of each week for the MLB version. And in perhaps the most telling sign to date about its promise for NFL games: 30 percent usage prior to World Cup games.
Preston Smalley, Comcast’s Executive Director of Product Management, informs SportTechie that the personalization component will come in later updates, where fans can select solely their favorite teams or players. Broad-based stats can be offered more granularly down the line, depending on what the end-user wants, with fantasy football becoming more robust as well. The investment towards OneTwoSee represents “a differentiator” for Comcast amidst its competition–important to provide value added in their most pivotal vertical.
Regardless of what one’s watching on TV, OneTwoSee’s HTML5-based visualizations enable Comcast users to never miss a down during NFL season.
