An innovative platform where sports meet gaming
Studies show that more than 70 % of fans are unable to watch their favourite team in their home stadium due to factors such as location or financial considerations. On the other hand, hundreds of European football leagues are still missing proper broadcast and the needed attention. The primary reason is the high cost of properly producing and broadcasting the matches. As a growing number of sports fans is shifting to more convenient viewing devices, like mobile phones, tablets and smart TVs, to enjoy live games, the EU-funded OZeye project comes at the right moment to fulfil these needs. “The future of sport needs a more engaged audience. What the pandemic has taught us is that we need to accelerate making the fan experience more interactive and engaging,” states project coordinator Gudjon Gudjonsson. “The new generation of fans expects to be able to share their experiences without geographical boundaries. If we can open the physical stadium, we can broaden the fan base and keep sports more relevant.”
Gamifying the sports experience in all its aspects
What if sports production had a tech stack akin to a video game? That was the core question that led the OZeye team to apply gaming ideas to design their platform. Based on a gaming engine, built on robust machine learning to analyse what’s going on in the game in real time, the ‘OZ Connected Stadium’ expands into a layer of services through augmented graphics, avatars and applications. OZeye platform has a high engagement potential offering the audiences a range of game participation through contributions of commentators, live stats suppliers, subtitle programmers, video highlight editors and social network interactions. As it can repurpose and monetise captured game content, curated data feeds, training videos, data modelling as well as stock video and image clips, it is addressed to media outlets, betting sites, e-sports platforms, referees, coaches, talent scouts and advertisers. All these features make it also an ideal tool per se for unserviced leagues.
The sports spectacle of the near future
“Our view is that sports and gaming are melding into one, one step at a time. History might record this transformation as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, but, as a matter of fact, the evolution had already started. The coronavirus has just been a catalyst for accelerated change,” notes Gudjonsson. The team is looking forward to the commercial deployment of 5G networks across Europe that will deliver high data throughput, reduced latency, higher system capacity and massive device connectivity. They are also working on transforming the spectator himself into a broadcaster by giving him the superpower to watch the game from his favourite camera angle. “We see a future world where most sports venues and stadiums will be upgraded as ‘Connected Stadiums’. Our role as a company is to be the leading enabling partner to realise this vision,” concludes Gudjonsson. “If sports can embrace gaming technologies, particularly in its broadcasting, the world as we currently know it is about to change forever. To which we say, game on.”
Keywords
OZeye, sports, game, platform, broadcasting, football, AI
