International Sportstech News

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is launching a league-wide biomechanics program with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). Motion capture labs will be installed at the training facilities of all 30 teams within a year. The protocols have been developed in consultation with the NBPA as well as sports medicine and performance experts. Provisions for the screening program were included in the current collective bargaining agreement, requiring players to participate in up to four assessments per season. The four tech vendors are Qualisys, BreakAway Data, Bertec and Theia. P3 is also on board as a consultant.

CNBC has ranked the 75 most valuable athletic programs in the USA. The top of the list is dominated by SEC and Big Ten schools, due largely to each conference’s massive media rights deals. Ohio State University is the most valuable athletic program, worth an estimated $US 1.32 billion. The Buckeyes had $US 280 million in revenue in 2023, the most of any school. In aggregate, the SEC is worth roughly $US 13.3 billion, an average of about $US 832 million per school; followed by the Big Ten at about $US 13.2 billion, an average of roughly $US 734 million per school; the ACC at roughly $US 10 billion, or about $US 558 million per school; and the Big 12, at roughly $US 6.7 billion, or about $US 420 million per school.

Scrum Ventures, a San Francisco and Tokyo-based early-stage venture capital firm, announced the closing of its first vertically focused tech fund, Scrum Sports & Entertainment Fund I (SSE). The new fund, which closed at $US 68 million, invests in technology companies that support the growth of the sports and entertainment sector. SSE has already established a strong foothold in the sports and entertainment sectors, having made strategic investments in 16 promising companies.

Sportable, a global leader in sports data AI, is proud to announce the acquisition of Intaneous, a computer vision company specializing in transforming sports data into insights and visualizations that enhance the way audiences experience and understand sports. By combining Intaneous’ advanced computer vision and visualization technology with Sportable’s smart ball and player tracking solutions, the company is poised to offer a comprehensive end-to-end solution including automated augmented reality graphics, real-time sponsorship placements and automated highlights. This integration will deepen Sportable’s relationships in its core markets of football (US), football, rugby and Australian rules football while also enabling growth into new sports such as volleyball and tennis. 

Withings, a connected health company, unveiled Omnia, a concept for a personal health mirror that will give you a more holistic view of your health. Omnia features a mirrored interface equipped with voice commands, a 3D body model (digital twin), and a connected base with advanced health sensors. It conducts daily in-depth health scans by integrating data from Withings’ extensive ecosystem of devices—including smartwatches, scales, blood pressure monitors, sleep trackers, and even mattress and bathroom sensors—alongside weight, heart health, and metabolic health scans from its base.

Euroleague Basketball, the organiser of Europe’s premier professional basketball club competitions – the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup – and IMG, a global sports marketing agency, have announced the renewal of their partnership agreement. This extended collaboration will run through the 2035-36 season. Under the renewed agreement, IMG will continue to drive long-term growth for the league through media rights distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and streaming. IMG will also continue as the exclusive live events broadcast production partner.

As part of the Orlando Magic’s continuing commitment to innovation, the Magic will host the Orlando Magic Venture Challenge, Powered by LEAD, in collaboration with the DeVos family and LEAD Venture Corporation. Through the DeVos family and LEAD, the challenge will provide up to $US 750,000 in total investment capital to early-stage sports, health and wellness startup companies. The challenge will offer individual funding amounts between $US 50,000 and $US 200,000 for qualified startups. Applications open 6 January, with a six startups selected for a “Shark Tank”-style event on March 26 at Kia Center.

Disney is to merge its Hulu+ Live TV unit with sports streamer FuboTV, creating what is expected to be the second-biggest internet-based pay-TV outfit in the US after YouTube TV. The deal, which does not include the main Hulu service, will create a company with revenues of $US6 billion and more than six million subscribers across North America. The agreement paves way for planned Warner Bros Discovery, Fox and Disney sports streamer Venu. As part of the arrangement, the trio will pay $US220 million to Fubo, while Disney will provide an additional $US145 million loan in 2026. 

Therabody, a leader in wellness technology, has announced a strategic relationship with smartwatch provider Garmin to bring smarter recovery solutions to athletes to help better understand the ways to recover. The collaboration focuses on data integration, an AI-powered digital coach and scientific research to better understand the impact of recovery on performance.

Athletech News has analysed trends to watch in 2025, including the rise of longevity, the future of fitness wearables and strength training’s surge. The global wellness market is projected to grow to nearly $US 9 trillion in 2028 as consumers embrace new ways of living, moving and well-being. The rise of longevity services, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and holistic wellness presents massive opportunities for the health and fitness industries. The popularity of strength training is reshaping the way gyms look, while the rise of AI begins to transform the way fitness brands do business.

Netflix has secured the exclusive US rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for 2027 and 2031, marking the first time the tournament will appear on a streaming service. Netflix will produce exclusive documentary programming spotlighting the top players and their journeys. This continues Netflix commitment to premium live sports programming which has recently included the Jake Paul / Mike Tyson bout, NFL's Christmas double-header as well as WWE Raw on 6 January 2025.

Health-tracking ring maker Oura announced it closed a $US 200 million Series D funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Dexcom. The investment raises the company’s valuation to $US 5.2 billion. The company has shared that it recently surpassed 2.5 million rings sold and has seen its member base and revenue more than double over the past year. The Oura Ring hosts a number of different sensors designed to monitor a wearer's health while sleeping or engaging in physical activities.

The Technology Golf League (TGL), co-founded by golf icons Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, is set to begin on January 7, 2025. This new league aims to modernize the sport, featuring six teams composed of top PGA Tour players. Matches will take place at the SoFi Center, a state-of-the-art venue with a 1,500-seat capacity. This custom-built arena features an IMAX-sized screen, around 24 times larger than traditional golf simulator screens. The venue also boasts a uniquely engineered green complex that can rotate a full 360 degrees, allowing players to approach holes from various angles. The matches will provide a blend of simulator golf and authentic short game experience with real grass teeing areas and actual sand bunkers.

In a remarkable achievement that underscores the growing importance of technology in sports travel, EventPipe has crossed a significant milestone by surpassing $US 1 billion in gross hotel bookings. This breakthrough highlights the company’s innovative approach to event housing and sports travel management. EventPipe has rapidly emerged as a game-changer in the event housing technology landscape, simplifying and streamlining accommodation bookings for sports events, tournaments, and travel management.

Spiideo, a global leader in sports video technology, has announced the acquisition of Signality, an optical tracking and sports data generation company. The integration of Signality’s automated, real-time data and analytics technology into the Spiideo platform will further fuel Spiideo’s data and AI-driven solutions for media companies, leagues, federations, clubs, and schools. With millions of hours of automated sports production annually, Spiideo is used by thousands of team and installed in more than 6,000 venues across 60 countries.

Investors continue to embrace fitness software firms as Europe-based bsport becomes the latest brand to receive a cash infusion. Barcelona-based boutique fitness software platform bsport has raised $US31.5 million in a Series B funding round. bsport serves around 2,000 gyms and fitness studios across Europe and North America, predominately small and medium-sized businesses. Its platform include class bookings, payments, staff management, sales and marketing, and member experience tools. 

Endorphins Studios has launched as a next-generation content production company for health and fitness brands. The company will create immersive and personalized content experiences for health and fitness brands and creators, including video and photo production, AI content creation, game design, interactive learning simulations, and experiences in virtual (VR) augmented (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Endorphins Studios comes as ChatGPT developer OpenAI just released Sora, a video-generating AI that can create “realistic videos” from text, photo and video inputs.

PlayOn, the all-in-one fan engagement platform for schools, and Pixellot, one of the world’s leading provider of AI-automated sports video and data solutions, has announced a new partnership to exclusively offer Pixellot's VidSwap™ coaching tools platform for free to all NFHS Network member schools. PlayOn operates the NFHS Network, the leading broadcast network for high schools. Nearly 10,000 schools partner with the NFHS Network to broadcast over 800,000 events annually. Footage captured on Pixellot cameras is processed and made available for coaches on VidSwap, providing detailed analysis and game breakdowns.  

The two startups for the second edition of Champions Innovate, UEFA's groundbreaking programme focusing on the promotion of active and healthy lifestyle around the 2025 UEFA Champions League final, have been announced. Mastercard will partner with FC Urban, while adidas will work with Equip Sport. Originally conceived by the UEFA Innovation Hub, Champions Innovate is a collaborative partnership between UEFA, the host city of the UEFA Champions League final as well as UEFA Champions League commercial partners. FC Urban and Mastercard will aim to explore innovative technological solutions to make access to sports more inclusive and equitable in Munich. Equip Sport and adidas will aim to leverage their technological expertise to make sports experiences, both planned and spontaneous.

Sony’s Beyond Sports is collaborating with ESPN, the NFL, Disney, and The Simpsons to produce The Simpsons Funday Football, a real-time animated alternate presentation of the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys on Monday, December 9, 2024. A combination of data processing and real-time visualization technology from Beyond Sports will insert well-known characters from “The Simpsons” into the game action while the Bengals and Cowboys play in real time.

New York Red Bulls is set to become the first major sports team to offer blockchain-based ticketing for all events through a wide-ranging partnership with Sports Illustrated Tickets. Starting with the 2026 season, Sports Illustrated Tickets’ primary blockchain event ticketing platform Box Office will power all events at the 25,500-capacity venue. Beyond seamless access, the Avalanche blockchain will improve fan engagement by transforming event tickets into dynamic digital assets, offering exclusive perks, personalized content, creating a next-generation event experience

The 2024 Euroleague Basketball FanXP competition unveiled its winner at the SPORTBIZ EUROPE event in Barcelona, Spain, this week. The winning start-up, ZATAP, a Switzerland-based company, has redefined the connection between physical merchandise products and the digital world. By facilitating direct-to-consumer interactions, ZATAP helps brands and sports teams better monetize their customer base. The winning start-up, ZATAP, a Switzerland-based company, has redefined the connection between physical merchandise products and the digital world. By facilitating direct-to-consumer interactions, ZATAP helps brands and sports teams better monetize their customer base.

Athlete insurance and risk management provider Players Heath has closed on a $US 60 million funding round led by Bluestone Equity Partners. The Series C venture capital round will be used to expand the Players Health workforce to broaden its market reach, evolve its AI-based product personalization tools and provide funding for strategic mergers and acquisitions. The business supports over 40,000 sports organizations, insuring well over 5 million athletes. The youth and amateur sports insurance market is a sizable one, with about $US 3 billion in insurance premiums generated annually in the USA.

Premier League Player, the first officially licensed Premier League VR game, is now available on Meta Quest. Developed by Rezzil, the Manchester-based VR developer, in partnership with the Premier League, the game officially launched on 3rd December. The game is built on real-life player mechanics drawn from the data collected by the iPhone cameras positioned on the sidelines during games. The movements of the footballers are captured so precisely, users playing the VR game can virtually set foot on the pitch and reenact plays from actual EPL games.

Sportico is reporting that former NBA player Metta Sandiford-Artest is starting a venture capital fund alongside Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols, to be called Tru Skye Ventures. The duo is seeking to fundraise to the tune of $US 100 million by the end of the fiscal first quarter of 2025, targeting sports technology, the health and wellness industry, and digital media platforms.

Global sports brand PUMA, in collaboration with Manchester City, has launched an innovative AI kit design platform, giving City fans the unique opportunity to design the club’s official Third kit for the 2026/27 season. In a first-of-its-kind, the new PUMA AI Creator tool is powered by DEEPOBJECTS, a leading co-creation platform that leverages generative AI to allow fans to design their dream PUMA Manchester City kits using text prompting, customization tools and intuitive sliders. The winning AI design will be worn by City stars on-pitch and sold to fans, in a groundbreaking first for a professional football club.

360Player, a leading all-in-one digital platform for sports clubs, announced a $US 25 million investment from Five Elms Capital, a leading software investment firm. The funding will support 360Player's ambitious plans to expand its platform for clubs, coaches, players, and parents across new international markets. The company's suite of digital tools spans video analytics, player development, team management, and seamless financial services for clubs. 360Player currently serves over 420,000 users across 50+ countries, with recent rapid growth in key markets like the United States.

London-based fitness and wellness platform MAGIC AI, specializing in home fitness technology with computer vision and connected equipment for real-time exercise tracking, has raised $US 5 million in a funding round. MAGIC AI is a fitness platform that transforms home workouts with AI, holographic mirrors, and smart weights. The system uses computer vision and 3D cameras to provide real-time feedback on form, reps, and performance, offering a personalized training experience with guidance from athletes. MAGIC AI reports that it has surpassed 5,000 customers across 38 countries in its first year

DAZN, one of the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, has been confirmed as the exclusive global broadcaster of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. The landmark agreement will see all 63 matches at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which involves 32 of the best clubs worldwide, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN worldwide, with the possibility of sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks.

 Strava, the app for active people, today announced the release of its annual Year In Sport: Trend Report, which identifies the trends that shaped the global active landscape in 2024. Strava combined the billions of unique activity data of its global community of more than 135 million people across over 190 countries, alongside insights generated from a randomized global survey of more than 5,000 active people both on and off the Strava platform. New global data highlights a shift toward more balanced workouts, run clubs replacing nightclubs as social hotspots, plus the year’s top workout gear.

The global value of sports media rights has broken the $US 60 billion barrier for the first time, boosted by the Summer Olympic Games and UEFA Euro 2024, according to the new SportBusiness Global Media Report. The total value stands at $US 62.6 billion for 2024, a 12 percent increase on last year’s figure of $US 55.9 billion, with the year-on-year growth propelled by the presence this year of several marquee global events. Soccer and American football dominate, together bringing in 54.5 per cent of the overall value. 

Leading activity tracking platform Strava has updated its API agreement, restricting user data on third-party platforms. Users can no longer publicly share metrics with connected apps, while developers are prohibited from utilizing the data for visualizations, coaching, or training AI. Strava counts 125 million users across 190 countries logging 40 million activities per week. For Strava, criticisms over privacy and experimental features like AI analysis warrant a tighter grip on the reins, shielding its wealth of data while keeping users engaged in its ecosystem.

Sportradar, a global sports data and technology company, has entered into a multiyear agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to augment the league's scouting of amateur baseball talent through its Synergy Coaching and Scouting solution. The partnership aims to transform the evaluation of player potential using Sportradar's advanced technological platform. The deal grants MLB and its 30 clubs access to an extensive range of player analysis and insights, with event coverage expanding from 3,300 to over 20,000 games (including college, international, and leading amateur leagues, including the MLB Draft League and high school events).

VANAD Group, a global family-owned enterprise with over 1,500 employees, has acquired SciSports, a market leader in sports technology, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. SciSports, headquartered in Europe with operations in North America, empowers football organizations with actionable insights to enhance performance and strategic decision-making. The company collaborates with players, clubs, and federations to support strategic decision-making and team development. SciSports will leverage VANAD Group’s financial strength and strategic guidance to enhance its technology offering, scale operations, and expand its footprint in both Europe and North America. 

Sony has won the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) media rights for the 2024-31 cycle at a base price of $US 170 million via an e-auction process. It was an increase of 70% from the previous cycle where Disney-Star had the Asia Cup rights at $US 100 million between 2016-2023. Sony was the only participant as Jio-Disney did not turn up to the e-auction.

Premier League clubs have unanimously agreed that the Premier League will establish a new in-house media operations business. Launching for the start of Season 2026/27, the Premier League will bring all international media content production and distribution in-house. For 20 years, this service has been provided in partnership with IMG, operating as Premier League Productions (PLP). The two organisations will continue to deliver the next two Premier League seasons to broadcasters.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks NBA superstar has announced the launch of Build Your Legacy (BYL) Ventures, a venture capital fund that will focus on investments in sports, entertainment and technology. Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP from Greece, is hoping to help connect entrepreneurs with investors who will be able to grow their businesses. The fund has already invested in Unrivaled, the new women's 3-on-3 basketball league.

A passionate group of entrepreneurial fans, former players, and investors have teamed up to launch Fanstake, the first open and competitive fan-driven Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) platform. Fanstake enables college sports fans to directly influence athlete recruitment and retention by pledging money toward their favorite athletes' NIL endorsement deals. Fans can stake financial support to promising recruits, transfer players, or current athletes, with funds going directly to the athlete’s endorsement deal with Fanstake if they choose the fan's school. Fanstake has raised $US 3 million in a pre-seed round led by Susa Ventures and Will Ventures,.

Ladder, the number one iOS app for strength training, announced it has raised $US 15 million in Series B funding led by Point72 Ventures and ADvantage VC. Ladder has also secured a $US 90 million growth investment from General Catalyst’s Customer Value strategy, to provide financing for customer acquisition costs. Following last year’s $US 12 million Series A raise, Ladder is on track to achieve 200% growth and reach 150,000 paid members by the end of 2024.

Michael Jordan is putting money into Courtside Ventures, a VC fund focused on sports, lifestyle and gaming. The billionaire has invested in Courtside’s current round. In June, Courtside filed its plans to raise $100 million for its fourth fund. Courtside was founded in 2016, back when sports-focused funds, particularly in early-stage investing, were rare. The group currently has three funds, more than 100 investments and $200-plus million in assets under management.