Catapult
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| Photo by: Catapult |
■ Headquarters: Victoria, Australia; Chicago
■ Key executives: Adir Shiffman, executive chairman; Brian Kopp, president of North American operations
A leading entity in performance analysis through wearable technology, Catapult has made a major U.S. entry in the last two years, building up dozens of pro and collegiate clients. The company this year further built its capabilities through the acquisition of XOS Digital and Irish GPS tracking firm PlayerTek.
FanThreeSixty
■ Headquarters: Kansas City
■ Key executive: Robb Heineman, CEO
An offshoot of Major League Soccer’s Sporting KC, the company formerly known as Sporting Innovations aggregates and analyzes data through a proprietary platform to provide a unified view of the fan, with clients including the U.S. Tennis Association and Speedway Motorsports Inc., among others. The company is formally aligned with SeatGeek’s new open ticketing platform, which seeks to rework many of the norms around primary ticketing.
Gracenote
■ Headquarters: Emeryville, Calif.
■ Key executive: John Batter, CEO
The Tribune Media Co.-owned provider of audio recognition and metadata products last year made a sizable move into the sports data market with the acquisition of Dutch company Infostrada Sports and Canadian entity SportsDirect Inc.
KAGR
■ Headquarters: Foxborough, Mass.
■ Key executive: Jessica Gelman, CEO
Also known as Kraft Analytics Group, the company is part of the Kraft Sports Group that also owns the New England Patriots, New England Revolution and Gillette Stadium. The company recently partnered with Learfield to create the Klear Intel joint venture that will service college sports programs with analytics services. Gelman is also one of the co-founders of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
MLBAM
■ Headquarters: New York
■ Key executive: Bob Bowman, MLB president of business and media
Major League Baseball’s digital arm has been an innovator in analytics, particularly through its Statcast product. Blending optical tracking and radar technology, Statcast in its three seasons of use has opened up an array of new statistical measures in baseball, including exit velocity for hitters, route efficiency for fielders, and spin rate for pitchers.
MVPindex
■ Headquarters: Dallas
■ Key executive: Stan Woodward, CEO
MVPindex is a prominent firm in the measurement of social media impact and return on investment, born out of social media consultancy Stout Partners. Co-founder and president Shawn Spieth is the father of PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth.
Navigate Research
■ Headquarters: Chicago
■ Key executive: AJ Maestas, president and founder
Navigate is an established data-driven player in helping brands, teams and leagues determine the value of sponsorships and other marketing investments, including dozens of naming-rights deals.
Opta
■ Headquarters: London
■ Key executive: Ross MacEacharn, CEO, Perform Content
Opta collects, packages, analyzes and delivers data to more than 800 clients in more than 40 countries. Those clients range from broadcasters like ESPN to clubs and leagues like Real Madrid, the English Premier League and MLS, to betting companies and sponsors. The company, which was acquired by Perform in 2013, recently opened U.S. offices in New York and Charlotte to further its growth in North American sports.
Qcue
■ Headquarters: Austin, Texas
■ Key executive: Barry Kahn, co-founder and CEO
Qcue was among the pioneers of dynamic pricing for sports ticketing. The system is based on the supply-and-demand model used by airlines and hotels for many years. Qcue’s analytical software systems help teams, mostly in baseball, correctly price their tickets in real time tied to such factors as the day of game, weather conditions, gate giveaways and pitching matchups. It has deals with most MLB teams, multiple NHL, NBA and NFL clubs, and many major colleges.
SAP
■ Headquarters: Waldorf, Germany; Newtown Square, Pa.
■ Key executive: Bill McDermott, CEO
The global software giant has its fingers in many projects, including statistics partnerships with the NBA and NHL, a digital marketing alliance with Phizzle, and club-level deals with New York City FC and the German national football team.
Second Spectrum
■ Headquarters: Los Angeles
■ Key executive: Rajiv Maheswaran, CEO and founder
After working with several individual NBA teams, including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers, on coaching products and fan experience enhancements, the company recently partnered with Sportradar to strike a long-term data partnership with the NBA. Second Spectrum will become the league’s official optical tracking service beginning next year and running through the 2022-23 season.
Sportradar
■ Headquarters: St. Gallen, Switzerland; Minneapolis
■ Key executives: Carsten Koerl, founder and CEO; Ulrich Harmuth, president, Sportsradar US
After starting as a service provider to bookmakers, Sportradar acquired Minneapolis-based SportsData in 2013 and has rapidly expanded its U.S. business. It has signed deals to provide analytics to the NFL, NBA and The Associated Press, and in 2016 created an esports business line to help media companies cover competitive gaming. It also recently added a game integrity play to its deal with the NHL.
Stathletes
■ Headquarters: St. Catharines, Ontario
■ Key executive: Neil Lane, CEO
While usage of analytics among NHL teams is still growing, Stathletes is perhaps the most widespread, using intensive video analysis to break down games and provide insights on player and team performances. While the firm does not disclose its clients, its biggest success thus far might be its co-founder, John Chayka, who was hired from the company by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015. In May, he was named GM, at 26 becoming the youngest person to hold that position in NHL history.
Stats
■ Headquarters: Chicago
■ Key executive: Ken Fuchs, CEO
Change has been the name of the game lately for Stats, one of the oldest and most well-known entities in the industry. A 2014 purchase by San Francisco private equity firm Vista Equity Partners paved the way for the acquisition of several smaller entities. But the rise of top competitors such as Sportradar and the loss of key contracts with the NFL and NBA led to significant staff reductions and an executive restructuring. The company now has a new brand strategy, corporate logo and downtown Chicago headquarters.
TruMedia Networks
■ Headquarters: Boston
■ Key executive: Rafe Anderson, president and CEO
Led by former Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group executive Anderson, TruMedia works with dozens of pro teams and media entities on a variety of analytics solutions. Tony Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars senior vice president of football administration and technology and the son of team owner Shahid Khan, bought the company last year after the Jaguars were a TruMedia client.
Turnkey Intelligence
■ Headquarters: Haddonfield, N.J.
■ Key executive: Haynes Hendrickson, president
Part of the broader Turnkey Sports & Entertainment operation, Turnkey Intelligence provides a variety of surveying, measurement, lead scoring and sales enhancement products for ticket and sponsorship sales.
Umbel
■ Headquarters: Austin, Texas
■ Key executives: Higinio Maycotte, co-founder, CEO; Lisa Pearson, president; Travis Turner, co-founder, chief architect
Umbel collects data to provide a complete view of a client’s customers, fans and members. It then helps clients use that data to drive ticket, premium and sponsorship revenue. Clients include Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the Indiana Pacers and Wimbledon.
Zebra Technologies
■ Headquarters: Lincolnshire, Ill.
■ Key executives: Jill Stelfox, vice president and general manager, location solutions; Eric Petrosinelli, general manager, Zebra Sports
Tracking player movements and turning that into usable data has fast become a major business. The data is used by teams, fans, broadcasters and fantasy sites. Since 2014 Zebra has collected data for the NFL, capturing what it dubs Next Generation stats. It does this by placing sensors in shoulder pads and tracking everything from separation speed to distances run. Seven NFL teams use Zebra in practice, and the company also has a deal in place with the College Football Playoffs. What’s next? This year Zebra has put a chip in NFL footballs to measure space between the balls and goal posts on field goals.
— Compiled by Eric Fisher, Ben Fischer, John Lomardo, Ian Thomas, Don Muret and Daniel Kaplan
