After taking on three new high-profile investors last year, Sportsradar, a sports data company with clients including some of the world’s largest bookmakers, now look set to agree a deal with the NBA worth an estimated $250 million. The arrangement is set to potentially cover the selling of official league data to betting houses, data analytics to teams, as well as the development of a streaming product. Should such a deal get the go ahead, it would make Sportsradar the official data partner for three of the four major US sports leagues, with the NHL and NFL already on board.
With sports data having become an increasingly lucrative market over recent years, online betting companies are now willing to pay significant sums for accurate and efficient data, due to the amount of in-play markets available. For example, in the NBA, someone who has placed a bet on a game involving the Cleveland Cavaliers has the option to put money on Lebron James scoring the next points. Such forms of betting ensure that customers are playing for longer periods, while more bets and more money are earned for the business.
In the U.S. sports betting is illegal in 46 states. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has recently made his views on betting clear, with the 54-year-old in favour of the legalisation and federally regulated betting on sports, with it currently being illegal in 46 states in the US.
However, NBA data is valuable outside of the US too, with the lucrative Asian market coming into play with over 300 million people participating in the sport. However, currently Sportradar are continuing to focus upon expanding its business through working alongside media and technology companies, with the likes of Facebook and Google just two of a number of high profile clients. As well as this, back in June, Sportsradar confirmed that a deal had been signed with daily fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings.
Sportradar will work alongside their partner Second Spectrum in their new contract, with the sports data company’s board members including former ESPN and NFL Network Chief Executive Officer Steve Bornstein and Golden State Warriors part owner Mark Stevens. The Warriors are now just one of more than a dozen NBA teams that use the company’s optical-tracking data and analytics.The NBA data contract had been held by Perform Group, which earlier this year announced a deal with FIBA, the governing body for international basketball, that runs through 2033.
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