Advances in technology are rapidly changing the way masses of people experience games, concerts, and other events. Take, for example, the Pixmob wristbands used at Taylor Swift’s concerts that used infrared signals to create extraordinary slithering snakes using LED tech.
Similarly, sports fans are experiencing the games they love using innovative digital technologies. With the ongoing NBA news and rumors, there is no doubt that the major sports team will recognize the value of such devices to improve their fan experience in the NBA.
NBA Sports News: The Digital Transformation
NBA is moving to the Azure cloud to improve the fan experience and provide performance analytics, using artificial intelligence tools as well.
Thanks to cloud deployment and analytics, NBA’s full court is using digital transformation to revolutionize the fan experience. NBA Executive VP and Chief Technology Officer Krishna Bhagavathula say that the advanced pace of this digital change happened due to a partnership with Hawk-Eye Innovations for cutting-edge 3D optical tracking.
Bhagavathula says that they want to create a differentiated and unique experience for basketball fans. Due to this, there is a 50% subscriber growth rate increase and also a 52% increase in viewers.
NBA has also partnered with Microsoft to leverage the Azure cloud platform. This was done because the cloud platform contained digital components that were necessary for the streaming platform. The NBA Official App has a large number of personalization options for fans. These include live game streaming and upgraded integration with social media, with standard and premium versions available for the fans.
Other Sports Updates and Tech Developments
The Azure app will offer personalized content to fans based on their preferences, including real-time highlights. Another application, known as NBA ID, is a member-only experience that offers game season giveaways and other NBA news and rumors.
Bhagavathula refers to REPS development to be specifically designed for referees to aid the evaluation, collaboration, and regular focus on the performance of athletes and their teams.
CourtOptix, another application that will analyze and track the action on the NBA
court, will pick up data from each team and distribute it to improve their game performance. The teams can use this valuable data to gain insights and other stats.
NBA is increasing its use of cameras, sensors, analytics, and artificial intelligence tools to make a tremendous impact on each team and player’s performance. Players these days don’t wear any sensors, but introducing certain electronic devices to be worn on their bodies during the game and IoT sensors will greatly improve data collection in the upcoming years.
NBA and Hawk-Eye aim to help the players and their respective teams to plan their game strategies. Unleashing such digital technologies will change the way the fans and team players are involved in basketball – a classic game that was once played using just one ball and two hoops.
Other digital technologies are being introduced in the arena, such as nonfungible tokens and touchless concession stands to revolutionize the merchandising basketball economy.
The whole concept behind these digital transformations is to engage the crowd with the game, tailoring the highlights according to their preferences. The fans will be able to identify their key players and understand their actions and tactics more clearly.
Watch this space for more news on NBA sports and updates. After all, the fan experience is getting better day by day, all made possible by a well-planned digital transformation of the game for the teams, players, and fans.
