Genius Sports technology and augmented solutions will enhance the 2022 NCAA Division I Women Basketball Championship ESPN telecasts using an assortment of artificial intelligence (AI) generated tracking data to enhance the augmentation of live video for the Final Four and National Championship game on Sunday, April 3 at 8 pm EST hosted at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Second Spectrum enhanced alternate viewing option allows viewers the opportunity to see the augmented games powered by data-driven visualizations and AI enrichments enabling fans an immersive experience making it closer to the live action. The Sports Techie community blog is excited to watch the #NCAAWBB tournament and #WFinalFour powered by Genius Sports Limited (“Genius Sports”) (NYSE:GENI), the official data and technology partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media. Genius Sports acquired Second Spectrum, the Official Tracking and Analytics Provider of the Premier League and Major League Soccer and the Official Optical Tracking Provider of the NBA, in May 2021, for $200 million.
Genius Sports
ESPN will also have access to Genius Sports’ unique Insight tool, generating advanced statistical insights on individual teams and players. As the Official Optical Tracking Provider of the NBA, Second Spectrum has worked closely with ESPN for the last six years, capturing rich tracking data and delivering augmentations as well as helping to power the first-of-its-kind ‘Marvel’s Arena of Heroes’ alternate broadcast on ESPN in 2021.
Genius Sports is the exclusive supplier of official NCAA data, having worked alongside the governing body since 2018 to develop NCAA LiveStats, the NCAA’s official tool for the collection, management and distribution of game statistics. Genius Sports is the Exclusive Supplier of Official NCAA Data having worked alongside the governing body since 2018 to develop NCAA LiveStats, college sports’ official tool for the collection, management and distribution of game statistics. NCAA LiveStats will be courtside at every game of the NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Championship, capturing every shot, dunk, rebound, assist and more.
Second Spectrum
Through its Second Spectrum division, Genius Sports will provide ESPN and consumers with the first live augmented video feeds for women’s basketball, delivering new levels of interactivity and insight to a rapidly growing audience.
“Expanding our relationship with Second Spectrum to support of the Women’s Tournament and their fans is another exciting first for us,” said Kevin Lopes, ESPN Vice President, Sports Business Development & Innovation. “The augmented feeds for the NCAA Women’s Final Four and National Championship game will provide fans with an exciting viewing option that leans into innovative stats and visuals.”
ESPN will be able to select from a suite of data-driven visualizations, including split-second shot probabilities and distances to 3-point special effects, captured through optical tracking technology that identifies and delivers the precise coordinates of every player and the ball, 25 times a second.
“It’s appropriate that during this Women’s History Month we make this announcement with ESPN to bring immersive, player tracking technology to ‘March Madness’ on the Women’s Basketball side. The days of women’s sports being considered second class are behind us,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “We are proud to work with ESPN, through the best-in-class work Second Spectrum does, to give the millions of fans young and old, an immersive experience for March Madness that will set a new course not just for the NCAA Championships, but for all of sport that is played by women the world over. It is a new high bar that we will push, and there is no better place to raise that bar than the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with ESPN.”
Genius Sports technology is used in over 150 countries worldwide, empowering sports to capture, manage and distribute their live data and video, driving their digital transformation and enhancing their relationships with fans. They partner with more than 400 sports organizations globally, including many of the world’s largest leagues and federations such as the NFL, EPL, FIBA, NCAA, NASCAR, AFA and PGA.
Sports Techie, I filled out my JWS Bracket Challenge x Dick’s Sporting Goods with a Grand Prize of $150K cash prize, and picked South Carolina to be crowned as champion winning over Stanford. Can’t wait to see the game augmented by the optical tracking technology and video augmentation solutions in action for the Final Four and Championship games. Good luck!
Genius Sports’ technology and augmentation solutions for Women’s Final Four and National Championship games can be experienced with Second Spectrum enhancements as an alternate viewing option in addition to ESPN’s traditional telecasts of each game.
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