Sony announces that it welcomed STATSports Group, a technology company focused on athlete monitoring solutions and performance analysis, into its sports businesses via an acquisition through a majority share.
Founded in 2008, STATSports offers solutions that empower over 800 of the world’s top sports clubs including Arsenal FC, Liverpool FC, and PSG, national football teams such as England and Portugal, New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks in international rugby, as well as the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers.
STATSports also provides a range of products to grassroots clubs and individual athletes. With its accurate and reliable active tracking technologies including wearable devices with GPS, heart rate and accelerometer sensors, STATSports’ range of solutions provides more than 70 real-time metrics processed on-board for immediate feedback.
Sony’s sports businesses leverage sports data acquired through the marker-less optical tracking technologies of Hawk-Eye Innovations and KinaTrax, both Sony group companies, to deliver trusted solutions and insights for teams, athletes, and fans. The products include trusted officiating services and new forms of entertainment content by visualization technology of Beyond Sports, also a Sony group company.
The acquisition allows Sony to add STATSports’ athlete tracking technologies and performance analysis solutions to its existing array of Sports technology solutions. This paves the way for a comprehensive optical and wearable tracking solution for teams and clubs across major sports, creating new opportunities for Sony’s sports businesses to leverage data in the performance analysis space, as well as to expand into new markets.
Rufus Hack, CEO of Hawk-Eye, Pulselive, Beyond Sports and KinaTrax states: “This acquisition is a powerful step in our journey to build the ultimate sports data and analytics engine, by integrating STATSports’ state-of-the-art wearable technology with our existing optical solutions. This opens up a path for new applications in performance analysis, as well as officiating, and fan engagement, which enables us to deliver a more complete and valuable solution to our partners and the entire sports community.”
Alan Clarke, CEO and Co-Founder of STATSports says: “This is a landmark moment for STATSports. Since 2008, our mission has been to help teams and athletes reach their full potential through performance monitoring technology. Partnering with Sony allows us to accelerate that mission by integrating our wearable technology with Sony’s world-leading solutions. Together, we can set new standards in performance analysis, athlete development, and injury prevention, while also offering audiences new ways to engage with their favourite sports teams.”
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