Sony is restructuring its sports business following the acquisition of virtual reality firm Beyond Sports.
Sports rights holders鈥� existing tech solutions for officiating and broadcasting are to see the Netherlands-based platform integrated into the existing Hawk-Eye and Pulselive offering.
Beyond Sports鈥� technology has been used by the likes of the NFL and NHL. Sony says it brings an additional layer of data expertise to the group, especially when it comes to human movement sciences.
Its engine supports platforms from traditional TV all the way to fully immersive mixed reality headsets, positioning itself as the gateway to live sports in the metaverse.
鈥淲e are confident that the acquisition of Beyond Sports will further strengthen our sports businesses to realise new sports entertainment bridging live and virtual worlds,鈥� said Hiroshi Kawano, executive VP of Sony Corporation.聽
鈥淏y maximising Beyond Sports’ technology and expertise, we aim to create new sports entertainment experiences that unlock the power and emotion of sports.鈥�
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Rufus Hack, CEO of Hawk-Eye & Pulselive, stated: 鈥淲e feel that marrying the unique capabilities of Beyond Sports alongside the incredible businesses of Hawk-Eye and Pulselive will truly enhance our ambition to be a strategic partner to the world鈥檚 biggest sports leagues.聽
鈥淏eyond Sports has an incredible reputation in the sports industry for delivering world class data and using that data to create new and immersive sports content experiences.聽
鈥淲e are excited to continue to build out the breadth and distinctiveness of our capabilities and feel the data tracking expertise of Hawk-Eye paired with the data visualisation expertise of Beyond Sport will be a winning combination for our clients.鈥�
Sander Schouten, Beyond Sports CEO & co-founder, added: 鈥淗awk-Eye and Pulselive offer an incredible suite of products and services to their clients globally, across different sports and end user touch points, and we’re excited to add ourselves to these conversations.聽
鈥淥ur vision at Beyond Sports has always been to challenge the status quo when it comes to sports data, data visualisation and sports content consumption, and we will keep on doing so for the benefit of everyone involved.聽
鈥淲e believe that we can accelerate that process alongside the existing businesses, to fully utilise the combined potential and cater to the needs of the new generation of sports fans.鈥�