The NBA has finalized a major three-way deal with Sportradar and Second Spectrum in which it will shift its data distribution rights and motion tracking to the pair of companies. Sportradar will immediately begin providing integrity services to the league to monitor NBA betting activity around the world for irregularities. The company will then become the NBA’s official provider of real-time statistics starting with the ’17-18 season, supplanting rival Stats LLC. Second Spectrum will also have a new motion tracking system in place for the league for '17-18, replacing Stats’ SportVU system the NBA has used since ’09 and league-wide for every game since ’13. Second Spectrum will become the league’s official optical tracking provider. All of the new Sportradar and Second Spectrum contracts with the NBA last through the ’22-23 season. “We’ve been very impressed with Sportradar’s fresh approach to the space, and their commitment to innovation with regard to data capture, distribution and visualization,” said NBA Senior VP/Basketball Strategy & Analytics Evan Wasch. The NBA’s shift of its data rights from Stats to Sportsradar was originally rumored last month. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Sportradar termed reports of the deals being worth $250M “not accurate.” “This is a big step forward for our U.S. business,” said Sportradar Managing Dir Ulrich Harmuth. "One of our key objectives has been to not just grow our data distribution business, but really advance what is possible with regard to cognitive science, data analysis and storytelling.” Sportradar counts among its investors Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban, Hornets Owner Michael Jordan and the Revolution Growth private equity firm controlled in part by Monumental Sports Chair & CEO Ted Leonsis.
