STOCKHOLM—Spring Media, an international full-service sports agency offering production and streaming services, marketing and rights management, has inked a deal with Pixellot, an AI-automated video and data solutions provider for sports, to produce Eredivisie, the Netherlands’ highest level professional ice hockey league.

The multi-year agreement gives Spring Media the exclusive rights to produce and distribute all games from the top Men’s Dutch ice hockey league over the next five seasons using Pixellot’s AI-automated multi-camera production technology. Spring Media will present the games on its OTT platform powered by Staylive, Pixellot said.

The deal also gives all league clubs access to the Pixellot system for their own purposes so they can stream youth games and games of teams at other levels, it said.

"The Eredivisie has been eagerly awaiting a broadcast partner that can take us to that next level in showcasing all the hard work and talent of our elite players, coaches and teams," said Theo van Gerwen, CEO of the IJshockey Federation "Pixellot and Spring Media represent that ideal combination of innovative technology and an engaging fan-focused streaming platform that will finally give our supporters the wall-to-wall live coverage they crave."

Spring Media offers a glass-to-glass solution to rightsholders across all sports tiers. It has advised several leagues across the Nordics and is expanding into other territories, it said.

"We are excited to be partnering with Pixellot on this long-term growth endeavor, showcasing a league that we deem undervalued and with great potential,” said Maxime Devillaz, head of marketing and communications at Spring Media. “We pride ourselves in being production agnostic, always working with the most fitting solution on the market for our clients’ needs, and we’re confident that this partnership with Pixellot will be a key component to the growth of Dutch ice hockey.”

More information is available on the Pixellot and Spring Media websites.

Olympic sports, particularly the less popular ones like water polo, field hockey, volleyball, and handball, often face challenges in many countries maintaining revenue streams and fan engagement outside the high-profile Olympic Games.

However, advancements in AI and automation are providing new opportunities for these sports to sustain and even grow their revenue between Olympic cycles. Automated video production technology is becoming an essential tool in this effort, enhancing visibility, generating valuable data, and creating new opportunities for future stars to shine.

The Revenue Challenges Between Olympics
During the Olympics, sports benefit from extensive media coverage, sponsorship deals, and the potential for financial rewards from medal wins. However, once the games conclude, many of these sports struggle to maintain visibility and revenue.

The key questions are: How can these sports continue to grow fan bases? How can they generate the additional revenue needed to develop further? And how can they find and nurture the next generation of talent?

Democratizing the Playing Field
AI is revolutionizing sports production by making high-quality content creation more accessible and cost-effective, thus leveling the playing field for all participants. Automated production technologies such as those pioneered by Pixellot enable the filming and broadcasting of games without the need for a full production crew. This technology allows sports that haven’t been covered because of the high production costs can’t afford to be with even less popular sports to consistently produce and share content with fans, maintaining engagement year-round.

As a result, niche sports (men and especially women) and youth sports can all benefit from live and on demand video coverage which changes the games for many sport types, leagues and players. The integration of AI in sports production not only improves the quality and accessibility of content but also enhances the competitive landscape, fostering a more inclusive and equal sports ecosystem.

Benefits of Automated Sports Production
There are many benefits that automated production brings to the sports arena, the major ones being:

• Cost Efficiency: Reducing the need for large production teams lowers the cost of broadcasting games, making it feasible to cover more events, including smaller and regional competitions.
• Consistency: Ensures regular content creation, keeping fans engaged and attracting new viewers.
• Quality: Progress in camera quality and AI algorithms ensure high-quality video production with features like automatic highlights and analytics.

Popularity Surges and Youth Participation
The visibility provided by the Olympics often leads to temporary surges in popularity for niche sports. For example, during the 2016 Rio Olympics, sports like rugby sevens and field hockey saw a significant increase in viewership and participation.

According to a report by the International Olympic Committee, the inclusion of rugby sevens in the Olympics led to a 30% increase in participation in the sport globally. Similarly, field hockey saw a 20% increase in youth participation in the year following the 2016 Olympics.

Youth participation in sports often sees a boost after the Olympics, driven by the visibility and excitement generated by the games. A study by the Aspen Institute found that youth sports participation in the United States increased by 5% in the year following the 2016 Rio Olympics, with sports like gymnastics, swimming, and track and field seeing the most significant gains.

Monetization Opportunities
AI-driven sports production drastically cuts costs and opens up new monetisation avenues through enhanced fan engagement and targeted advertising.

Here are several ways AI can drive revenue:

• Commercial Sponsorships:|
  Automated production allows for consistent exposure of brands during live broadcasts, making sponsorship deals more attractive and valuable.
• OTT Platforms:
  Over-the-top (OTT) platforms can leverage AI to deliver personalised content to viewers, increasing viewership and ad revenue. Highlight reels, game recaps and even club OTT’s can be tailored to fan preferences.
• Subscription Services:
  Fans can subscribe to premium content, such as behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews, and ad-free viewing experiences.

Enhancing the Fan Experience
AI enhances the fan experience by providing more interactive and engaging content. This not only helps in retaining existing fans but also in attracting new ones. Features like real-time statistics, interactive polls, and manual interactive viewing experiences can significantly enhance how fans interact with the sport.

Conclusion
AI and automated video technologies are a critical component for sustaining and growing the revenue of less popular Olympic sports during and between Olympic Games. A powerful tool for enhancing visibility, generating valuable data, and creating new opportunities for future stars, these technologies will play an increasingly vital role in the success of emerging sports as well as the development of athletes and team fans alike.

STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports Next and Pixellot are expanding their partnership to bring livestreaming to youth and amateur sports venues around North America, combining the streaming and highlight editing capabilities of the former with the AI-automated game-coverage cameras of the latter.

"We're delighted to strengthen our partnership with SportsEngine, bringing revolutionary AI-automated video technology to a broader audience,” said David Shapiro, president North America, at Pixellot. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to enhancing sports streaming experience at all levels, making professional-quality live broadcasts accessible to amateur and youth sports venues free of charge." 

The solution relies on NBC Sports Next’s newly launched SportsEngine Play, a subscription streaming service for capturing and viewing live and on-demand video of youth and amateur sports, and Pixellot’s AI-automated cameras. The combination will be offered at no cost to venues, the companies said.

The partnership enables easy, integrated setup of the technology. Together, SportsEngine Play and Pixellot AI-automated cameras produce a professional, high-quality production, they said.

SportsEngine Play can be used to livestream and deliver on-demand content as well as to create highlight reels. The NBC Sports Next platform also is building a comprehensive collection of player development and training content, including exclusive instructional videos from more than a dozen world-class athletes, as well as offering live streams of amateur sporting events, such as the 2024 All-American Bowl. 

Pixellot is already being used at more than 10,000 U.S. high schools to provide AI-automated sports cameras and analytics.

"Expanding our partnership with Pixellot is a pivotal step in our mission to elevate the streaming of youth and amateur sports,” said Brett MacKinnon, senior vice president and general manager, Youth & Recreational Sports, at NBC Sports Next.

“By integrating Pixellot's state-of-the-art camera technology with our SportsEngine Play streaming platform, we're setting new standards in sports broadcasting, making it easier and more affordable for venues to not only share their sporting events with a wider audience but also benefit from a new revenue stream." 

More information is available on the NBC Sports Next and Pixellot websites.

ATLANTA—Pixellot has announced that it has become an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technology Partner on the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partner Path and that it is working with AWS  on infrastructure for AI-automated sports production and data solutions for federations and leagues.

Pixellot said that it has become a Technology Partner following the successful completion of the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR). 

"We are excited to become an AWS Technology Partner," said Pixellot CTO and co-founder Gal Oz. "In a world where consumer preferences are shifting constantly, the significance of working with a scalable and flexible global cloud network allows Pixellot to offer its customers advanced video technology and data solutions.  Using AWS's powerful infrastructure, we can now offer content creators more cost-effective, high-quality video services than ever before. We are honored to join the other sports tech leaders spearheading the transformation powered by AWS Sports."

As a partner Pixellot gains access to a wide array of AWS resources, receiving prescriptive guidance on building, marketing and selling solutions with AWS. 

Pixellot said that this collaboration will enable Pixellot to leverage the power of AWS's cloud ecosystem to enhance its services and ensure the best possible customer experience. Using AWS’s industry-leading services Pixellot will further scale its operations and services, using localized cloud services across the AWS global network, providing low-latency and a higher level of service, the company said. 

Pixellot works with federations, leagues, governing bodies and media companies, offering an end-to-end solution for streaming, analyzing and monetizing sports events globally, the company said. 

It offers an AI-automated sports production and streaming solution that enables live and on-demand broadcasting without requiring a camera operator or producer on site, providing an affordable and unique TV-like experience for all athletes. The partnership with AWS will further enhance Pixellot's ability to deliver dynamic video content in engaging, cost-efficient and user-friendly formats, the company said.

Artificial intelligence video technology company Pixellot has unveiled its latest AI-automated camera, the Pixellot Show 3.

According to the company, the S3’s development has been based on eight years of field experience and collaborative customer feedback. It has been specifically designed to address the current challenges of sports organizations looking to livestream games easily and cost-effectively, making it ideal for sports leagues and federations, educational organisations, and broadcasters, said Pixellot.

The 12K three-camera, 3.5 kilo (7.7 lb) array includes a 50 per cent boost in resolution that improves the AI visual tracking algorithms, significantly upgrading ball and player tracking, resulting in a smoother and more refined video output, added the company.

The camera system can be operated under varying conditions for 19 different sports, including full pitches or small courts, indoors and outdoors, from distance, or close to the pitch.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Pixellot Show S3 to the market, creating a new standard for sports streaming as part of our end-to-end sports video and data solution,” said Alon Werber, CEO of Pixellot. “The S3’s superior image quality and improved AI capabilities enable sports streaming with unparalleled precision and clarity. We also made sure to significantly simplify the system installation process making it easier for sports organizations to scale at a faster and more cost-effective pace.”

“The Pixellot Show S3 represents another milestone in automated sports technology,” added Gal Oz, co-founder and CTO of Pixellot. “Together with our open platform which integrates video, data, and monetization capabilities, the S3 empowers sports organizations and coaches to capture and share games at a whole new level of quality. The S3 provides multiple capturing modes to cater to the needs of the viewers and the coaching staff and runs on Linux OS for advanced security and privacy.”

TEL AVIV, Israel—Pixellot, a provider of AI-Automated sports video and analytics solutions, has announced that its innovative AI-powered baseball camera system, DoublePlay, will capture and stream thousands of games for Cooperstown All Star Village (CASV).    

Cooperstown is renowned for being the home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Cooperstown All Star Village (CASV) is a 70-acre resort with hotels, restaurants, and twelve state-of-the-art youth baseball fields that host week-long summer baseball camps. Each week 10,000 youth players, from 700 teams, enjoy festivities and play competitive games. This year’s tournaments will be held from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  

CASV will use twelve Pixellot DoublePlay systems to livestream all the games, and provide highlights so that families will never miss a moment of their child’s once-in-a-lifetime experience at this iconic baseball resort. 

These video moments can also be saved through a unique package of content showcasing the child’s Cooperstown baseball journey.   

“Partnering with Pixellot for our youth baseball camp enables us to provide the players and their families a powerful and unrivaled package of content to remember their time here,” said Rick Abbott, CEO of CSAV. “Through Pixellot, we can now bring the highest quality video coverage of games and our festival events for young players and their families. Alongside reliving great memories, this is an invaluable platform to attract more young people to the national pastime.”   

“We are excited to be working with Cooperstown All-Star Village to help create a once-in-a-lifetime youth baseball experience,” added David Shapiro, president of North America at Pixellot. “Leveraging our cutting-edge DoublePlay solution, which is used by MLB to broadcast the Draft League and the Appalachian league, Cooperstown All-Star Village can cost effectively, and easily capture every catch, strike, and home run during the tournament. With this unparalleled content package, parents and extended family will be able to enjoy the Cooperstown experience for years to come.” 

ATLANTA & TEL AVIV, Israel—Pixellot and PlayOn! Sports will continue their partnership of delivering automated sports production capabilities to high schools across the U.S., as the two companies have announced a seven-year extension.

Pixellot is a developer of AI-based automated production equipment, responsible for technology that automatically produces, enriches and distributes sports and video highlights from any playing field to a screen. PlayOn! Sports, meanwhile worked with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to create NFHS Network, a streaming service for high school sports.

Starting in 2017, Pixellot and PlayOn! have worked together to install 1,500 Pixellot systems at high schools across the country. As part of this new extended agreement, the companies anticipate increasing those installations to 20,000 over the next few years and a goal of more than 1 million live events broadcast per year.

ATLANTA & TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—PlayOn! Sports and Pixellot are working on a group project that looks to bring automated sports production to U.S. high schools. Through this partnership, schools can use Pixellot systems to cover and broadcast home games on the NFHS Network.

The Pixellot fixed installed system deploys computer vision technology to capture and produce games without the need for a video crew. Game footage is automatically streamed to the NFHS Network portal where it can be watched live or on demand.

According to the official press release, PlayOn! Sports is currently deploying Pixellot systems for basketball, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and wrestling broadcasts, with extended automated coverage of additional sports expected soon.