January 22, 2026 • 20 mins
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In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Brian Josephs, Vice President of the Americas at Sportradar, to pull back the curtain on the invisible engine powering the global sports industry. They discuss the evolution of sports data from simple box scores to real-time predictive modeling, how the NBA on Peacock is redefining the home viewing experience, and why the future of sports media lies in hyper-personalization and social gamification.
Key Takeaways
From Facts to Predictive Insights
Data has evolved beyond simply stating what happened. Sportradar now focuses on why it happened and what will happen next. By leveraging AI and computer vision, they provide real-time predictive insights, like shot probability and expected points, that turn a passive broadcast into an interactive, insight-driven experience.
- 5:17 – The transition from basic data APIs to AI-generated visualizations.
- 6:40 – How player tracking data predicts play outcomes in real time.
The Personalization of the Fan Experience
The one-to-many broadcast model is fading. Streaming allows platforms to meet fans where they are with personalized overlays, alternate commentators, and interactive features. Brian explains that this interactivity is essential for capturing the attention of a younger, unreasonable consumer who expects a video game-like experience.
- 8:15 – How the NBA on Peacock’s Performance View adds value without overwhelming the fan.
- 10:32 – Why streaming is the bridge between passive viewing and full personalization.
- 13:00 – Competing with social media and short-form content.
Social Viewing and Global Strategy
Sportradar is bringing the group chat inside the app through Virtual Stadium, a product that integrates social interaction, gamification, and betting. Looking ahead to 2026, the company is preparing for a sports equinox, the collision of the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics, using dynamic creative optimization to react to on-field action in real time.
- 14:56 – Understanding Virtual Stadium and the psychology of social betting.
- 17:09 – Global strategy for the World Cup: Deeper insights and more betting markets.
- 18:15 – How ads can react to live events as they happen on the field.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tim Rowe (00:00):
Have you ever wondered how a live broadcast calculates
the probability of a playhappening in real time?
Or a quick stat about how manycome from behind wins an
underdog has.
You might not know their name,but you are likely using their
product every single time youturn on your favorite team.
Today we are learning aboutSport Radar, a tech giant
(00:20):
operating at the intersection ofsports, betting, and media.
We'll learn about howSportRadar is working with the
NBA on Peacock to overlayreal-time predictive data to
enhance their fan experience andwhy virtual stadiums want to
keep your group chat inside theapp through social viewing and
gamification.
Finally, we'll tie it alltogether with a sneak peek at
(00:42):
the global strategy for theupcoming collision of the FIFA
World Cup and the WinterOlympics, including dynamic
advertising that reacts toon-field action.
Welcome back to this DaveStreaming Podcast.
I'm your host, Tim Rowe, andtoday I'm joined by Brian
Joseph, Vice President of theAmericas at SportRadar.
So if you want to understandthe invisible engine powering
(01:04):
your favorite fan streamingsports experiences, then this is
the conversation for you.
Let's get into it.
So, Brian, if you canfamiliarize us with sport radar,
what's the problem that yousolve and who do you solve it
(01:25):
for?
Because surely we've we'veconsumed sport radar before as
sports fans, but we might notknow who you are yet.
Help us get acquainted.
Brian Josephs (01:34):
Awesome.
Thanks, Tim.
And uh, you know, for those whoaren't familiar, Sport Radar is
the world's leading sportstechnology company, and we
operate at the intersection ofsports, betting, and media.
So to dig into that a littlebit, our our core product that
we provide across the differentclient segments that we work in
is sports data.
So the language of the fan,you've heard it described as the
(01:57):
oil of the industry and allthose types of things.
You know, that is core to whatwe do.
And then we leverage ourtechnologies across computer
vision, AI, the differentanalytical models that we have
created in-house to deliver thatdata and content across, again,
betting, media, broadcast,digital media, fantasy, and so
(02:19):
on down the line.
So, you know, you mentioned,you know, chances are you've
you've used our product, ifyou've consumed sports or
engaged with it in any way,shape, or form, uh, in all
likelihood you you certainlyhave.
Tim Rowe (02:29):
Very cool.
All right.
So give us maybe some examples.
How have we likely come intocontact with Sport Radar in the
wild?
Brian Josephs (02:37):
Yep.
So uh particularly here inNorth America, we have a
tremendous client footprint inthe broadcast space.
So if you've if you've watcheda game or watched a stream of a
broadcast, again, we're justtalking a core live game
broadcast.
Uh, we have uh a team thatworks hand in hand with our
broadcast clients to delivercompelling content that they use
(03:00):
in graphics that the on-airtalent use to really tell that
story around the game and youknow the graphics technologies
and whatnot to bring them tolife.
So if you've watched a game,chances are you've consumed our
product in some form or fashion.
Also from a sports bettingstandpoint, that's core to our
business when the companystarted 20 plus years ago.
(03:20):
If you've placed a bet orengaged with sports betting
across any of the FanDuelDraftKinks or clients of ours
that offer products here in theUS or globally, you know, that
is core to what we do, providinglive data, live odds, live
streams of sports broadcast,among many other products and
services into that segment.
So those two straight away,plus fantasy, plus your digital
(03:43):
box score experience, and and Icould go on.
But what's been interesting isyou know, our client segments
have evolved a little bit overrecent years to, you know,
things like search results andvoice assistance and so on down
the line.
So uh it's been a reallyexciting time for our business
as our client base has evolved,as technology has evolved, it's
(04:05):
been really an opportunity forus to continue to evolve the way
in which we engage our clientsin the market.
Tim Rowe (04:11):
So everything from when they flash it on screen
that the Jets are the only teamwho has an insert stat here.
Brian Josephs (04:18):
Had a had a pick an entire CD.
Tim Rowe (04:20):
Yeah, I think that that's the one that that's most
top of mind, right?
So so those are the sorts ofthings that SportRadar powers.
You also power the live boxscore and fantasy betting odds.
And so there's a lot ofdifferent ways that the data
kind of comes to life, it soundslike.
Brian Josephs (04:35):
That's exactly right.
And what's happened as youknow, sports fandom has evolved
a little bit as well, the roleof data has along with it.
So, you know, if we look at youknow sports data, it tells you
what just happened.
And you know, you mentioned youknow the storytelling and
context around the Jets.
I apologize if you're a Jetsfan.
I am friends with many of myinvoice.
(04:56):
Yeah, yeah, don't don't listen.
Um, but anyways, to tie it backto it, sports data it tells you
what happened, you know, asquickly after that does.
But where we've been able toevolve in in partnership with
our clients is to explaining whyit happened, that's that
storytelling element, and thenwhat will happen next.
(05:17):
So going from stating facts tostorytelling and insight, and
then ultimately to predictive.
And you know, that's where weuse our our data APIs, the
advanced analytics feeds wehave, AI generated
visualizations to really moveinto call this next generation
of sports product experiences.
And, you know, it's all builton data, which is again core to
(05:40):
that experience.
And then where we've investedheavily from a product
standpoint is how do we bringthat data to life to engage in
that storytelling and insight,and then that predictive uh
nature as well.
So it's been again, I've beenhere 10 years next month.
It has been quite an evolutionfrom where I look back to some
of the conversations we havewhen we were when I first
(06:01):
started here to theconversations we're having
today.
It's uh it feels like it'salmost been two or three
generations uh over the courseof of those 10 years as we look
at how our clients have evolvedand you know how we've evolved
our product offering with themto start to bring these things
to life.
Tim Rowe (06:17):
I bet some of the stuff that you're doing with, I
think the NBA on Peacock, canyou tell us about that?
There's like some pretty andwe're gonna we're gonna bring in
some video assets to the to theepisode.
So if you're listening, this isone you're gonna want to
definitely go back and find theclips of because you're doing
some pretty cool stuff with theNBA on Peacock.
(06:37):
Can you describe that?
Tell us what's going on there.
Brian Josephs (06:40):
Yes, absolutely.
So the NBA is a fantasticpartner of ours, uh, as well as
you know, MBC Sports and Peacockand the teams over there.
And uh what we've done and whatwe're working with them on now
is leveraging a model that we'vebuilt using, you know, the
player tracking data from theMBA and the official data from
the MBA, analyzing, you know,call it thousands and thousands,
(07:02):
probably even millions of datapoints to build out this model
that is effectively a predictivemodel that can show us what's
happening and what will happennext.
So we've built that into aconsumer-facing version of a
product that we call Foresightthat brings those predictive
insights, such as shotprobability, expected points, or
(07:23):
likely outcomes of a playunfolding on the screen in real
time, and have partnered withPeacock to help to bring that to
life via their performance viewfeature in their in their
Peacock app.
And this has been one of myabsolute favorite projects that
I've worked on here because itdoes leverage everything that I
was just talking about, youknow, cutting edge data, you
(07:45):
know, the AI models and cuttingedge technology on top of it,
and then delivering that to anaudience in a way that is just
really seamless and clean thatadds to the experience.
That was something that was atop priority.
We've heard feedback fromclients over the years that
their audience doesn't want tofeel like they need a PhD to
(08:06):
consume sports.
So when a lot of this new databecomes available, it's really
important to make itunderstandable, consumable.
And I think Peacock, you know,their team just did a phenomenal
job of really using the techand the model to bring that to
life.
And, you know, looking at someof the outputs, I talked about
the shot probability of scoringpercentage, you can see in real
(08:28):
time as a player is dribblingthe ball what their likelihood
of scoring from that particularspot is based on who's guarding
them, where they're guardingthem, and spacing.
You know, they also have thisreally cool feature, this player
pulse card that shows you knowsome information about the
player who has the ball, youknow, how they're shooting.
You know, there's a live shotchart in it.
(08:49):
So you can see them going fromdifferent zones on the floor to
where they might shoot betterthan others.
And uh it's a live playermovement within that while the
game's unfolding.
You know, there's three-pointball trails and markers and
things like that.
You know, some liken it to avideo game type experience,
which obviously younger fans inparticular are really accustomed
to.
But what I think, you know, ourteams, you know, Peacock and
(09:12):
Sport Radar really did aphenomenal job of is adding to
the experience without beingoverwhelming.
And, you know, we were watchingfeedback closely, both from our
client, obviously, and then youknow, fans on social media and
that type of thing.
And the feedback wasoverwhelmingly positive.
And for us, that was incrediblyexciting because fans don't
like change.
Uh they're never they'rethey're never happy.
(09:34):
They're never happy.
I shouldn't say they're we'renever happy as sports fans, but
when we were looking at you knowthat implementation, it it
really was very well received byfans and social media and
everything.
And you know, it's a start, uh,it's a very good start.
And I'm really excited to seewhat we can do to continue to
shape the NBA streamingexperience moving forward.
(09:56):
And and Peacock's just aphenomenal partner.
Tim Rowe (09:58):
And you hear so much about the experience economy for
in-person live sporting events,and this is really the NBA and
Peacock meaning the customerwhere they are at home, unlocks
obviously the second screenexperiences with sports betting
and other opportunities.
It really starts to integratethe entire ecosystem.
(10:19):
I'm curious, was it the chickenor the egg?
Which came first?
Was it the idea for creatingthis on-screen experience, or
was it, hey, we've got thisdata, let's do something with
it.
How does something like thatcome to life?
Brian Josephs (10:32):
So I think it's a it's chicken or the egg, it's
both.
Uh so the the way thateverything all at once.
We everything all at oncealways, but the way that we
consume content, period, sportsor otherwise, has really
changed.
And and that we expect thingsto be personalized to us and our
preferences, regardless, again,of what the content is.
(10:55):
We want to have a role inshaping the experience for
ourselves.
And, you know, sports is nodifferent.
It's a form of media, it's aform of content that the fans
and audience can engage with.
And what streaming has allowedis for that experience to go
from being passive to being farmore interactive and
increasingly personalized andmeasurable moving forward, which
(11:17):
is really important for ourclients.
And, you know, fansincreasingly expect information
and insights in real time, youknow, with the rollout of
betting here in the US and othermarkets globally.
That predictive content andinformation in real time can
help an audience form an opinionone way or another on a
(11:38):
particular market.
And you know, we've seen somegreat implementations of social
viewing features, for example.
But ultimately, we're in thisphase now where you know,
broadcast used to be onebroadcast produced for all.
And then, you know, RSNsallowed a home and away feed.
But now we're entering in aphase here where there are
(11:59):
different options being created.
There's a lot ofexperimentation taking place,
you know, whether it be thelanguage of the broadcast, the
commentators being used and thetalent on air, you know,
user-generated content ordifferent content experience
shaped to it.
So you'll see the performanceview, and Amazon does a lot of
their overlay alternatebroadcasts, ESPN around large
(12:20):
events, many different optionsto consume.
And all of this is just anintermediary step towards full
personalization.
So right now, you know, I give,you know, keep talking about
Peacock, I give them a ton ofcredit.
And any other of our clientsout there that are
experimenting, it's hard to dodoing something for the first
(12:41):
time, but ultimately it's atremendous learning experience.
And it's what's going to allow,you know, the B2C platforms and
our clients ultimately to bestunderstand that sports fan
moving forward and deliver thatpersonalized experience that
that everybody's looking for.
And what that'll do is that'llincrease time and attention and
(13:01):
the opportunity to monetize thattime and attention, which is
mission critical across theboard, particularly when
competition for that sameconsumer is sky high.
So, you know, how do youdeliver that, you know, those
options that feel like theyspeak to that end user so that
they you can learn more aboutthem and move towards
personalization, that's wherethis is all it's all heading.
(13:24):
And you know, the need for thatis because competition is
higher than it's ever been forattention.
So if your product isn'tengaging, doesn't allow for
interactivity, doesn't speakdirectly to that audience, you
know, a lot of times people willsay something like that and
then say targeting a youngeraudience.
I don't think it's just youngeraudiences.
I think I think I've aged outof that younger demo.
(13:47):
But if if I don't feel likeit's built for me, I'm not gonna
spend time there either.
So I think it's more just fansin general.
If you're not building andgiving them the opportunity to
engage and control, there's riskthere.
You risk losing that that fan,that audience, and you know,
competition is extremely high.
Tim Rowe (14:05):
I think that that is a an understated point that it's
not just going to be enough tohave the rights to carry the
game.
It's going to require somethingmore.
It's going to require a waythat you create personalized fan
experiences and incrementalrevenue opportunities in ways
that don't disrupt thatexperience, right?
(14:27):
It's the the unreasonableconsumer.
Once we get it once, we're notwilling to go back.
I would love for you to exactlyright, right?
Like give give me give me twodays shipping.
I'm not going back to to waitin a week.
That's crazy.
You mentioned a social viewingexperiment.
And I also want to touch onglobally because you oversee all
(14:47):
of the Americas would love totalk about what things you're
seeing globally.
But what was the the socialviewing experiment?
Can you elaborate on that?
Brian Josephs (14:56):
Yeah, the social viewing experience.
So, you know, we built aproduct called Virtual Stadium
that, you know, something thatwe we work with many of our
sports betting clients on tobring a social element into the
sports betting experience.
So it's it's basically built totarget those fans and betters
where it's not an isolatedexperience for them.
(15:18):
They like to interact withtheir friends or other fans, you
know, via chat features and theopportunity to gamify the
experience and and reallyinteract around both the sport
and then in the case of VirtualStadium, the opportunity to bet
on the sport as well.
So it's it's taking anexperience that you will have in
(15:39):
called other forums online andbringing it into the sports
experience, whether it be justpurely viewing or viewing and
betting alongside of it.
And yeah, it's something thatagain, fans and audiences are
just wired to having thatinteraction while consuming
content.
I don't know about you, butwhen my favorite NFL team is
(16:01):
playing, you know, the ChicagoBears, fair down, uh, my phone
gets very active uh withfriends, family, everyone wants
to share in that experience.
And uh, we do that a lot oftimes via a messaging
application.
But when you took a look attime and attention, how do you
bring that behavior that fansare already doing and bring it
into your experience?
(16:22):
If you have thatconsumer-facing application, no,
that's a tremendousopportunity.
And to uh again increase thattime and attention, the
stickiness of your product.
And that's why we built VirtualStadium, and that's something
that we expect to see more ofacross all consumer-facing
applications, whether it be asports betting app, uh streaming
app, a digital media app, oranything else moving forward.
Tim Rowe (16:45):
Very cool.
And globally, we've got thebiggest sporting event, two of
the biggest sporting eventsglobally happening this year.
We've got obviously the FIFAWorld Cup and we've got the
Olympics later.
What does that all mean from asport radar standpoint?
What sort of things are youguys looking forward to?
I think that I saw some newsabout the World Cup.
(17:05):
What's cooking globally thisyear for sport radar?
Brian Josephs (17:09):
Yeah, so the World Cup soccer is obviously
the most popular sport in theworld.
So anytime there's it's a WorldCup year, that gets uh the
utmost attention from a productperspective.
So what we're really laserfocused on is bringing to life a
lot of what I've been talkingabout here for the sport of
soccer.
(17:29):
So, how do we deliver deeperdata?
How do we deliver more insightto our clients so that they can
build that into theirexperience, whether they're
producing a broadcast or justhave the scores app associated
with and in a second screenexperience or in a sports
betting perspective.
So, how do we deliver betterodds, more markets, better
(17:50):
insight associated with thosemarkets?
And then from a datavisualization standpoint, uh
foresight, you know, we talkabout in the NBA context, that's
rolling out for soccer uh thisyear, and something that we're
really excited about.
Yeah, very much looking forwardto that and working with uh
some of our league partners andclients to help to bring that to
life.
So the World Cup is, and alsofrom an advertising standpoint,
(18:13):
you know, many of our clientsview large tent pull events as
goal and opportunities forcustomer acquisition.
So, how do we really lean inwith them and make sure those
campaigns are all lined up andready to go to deliver DCO
dynamic creative optimization,you know, real-time personalized
advertisements to targetedaudience based on what's
(18:33):
happening on the field?
So, you know, across content,streaming, advertising, it's
it's all hands-on-deck.
It's sport radar around theWorld Cup and not just in the
US, obviously, it's our NorthAmerica.
I should clarify, it's it'shere in North America, but
globally uh it's about as big anevent as you can come across.
And and it's an opportunity forus to level up across the board
(18:55):
from a product standpoint andand work with our clients to
bring that to life.
So World Cup's huge, and thenyeah, the Olympics, uh, February
is going to be a busy month,very, very similar from a
product perspective, you know,obviously an opportunity from a
betting standpoint, but thencustomer acquisition.
Those big events draw such atremendous amount of attention
(19:17):
over a relatively short periodof time.
So, you know, how can we helpour clients market and activate
effectively around those eventsto capture that consumer or new
customer acquisition and be ableto maintain that relationship
moving forward?
So, yeah, it's a bit of asports equinox on an annual
level to have Olympics and WorldCup in the same year, in
(19:39):
addition to everything elsethat's going on.
So uh 26 is going to be a bigone.
Tim Rowe (19:43):
I like that.
Sports equinox, you heard ithere first.
Now we're gonna see it in justa couple of months with all of
the sport radar.
Now we know what to look forwhen we see it on our TVs at
home.
Brian Josephs (19:54):
Deeper insight, data viz, new markets to bet on.
That's what you can expect thisyear.
Tim Rowe (20:00):
Awesome.
We're here for it.
Brian, thank you so much forbeing here for this.
If folks want to get in touch,where should they go?
Give them the Latin long.
What's the best way to get intouch with you?
Brian Josephs (20:10):
Get in touch with me through Kenny.
No, I'm kidding.
Hey, Kenny.
I'm not actually gonna get I'mnot actually gonna give out
contact information or whatever,but yeah, all good.
Tim Rowe (20:20):
We'll point them to the website.
We'll point them to SportRadar,and they can get in touch when
they're ready to learn more.
Brian Josephs (20:25):
Kenny Conrad comms at sportradar.com.
The man.
Thank you so much, Brian.
God, thanks, Tim.
Have you ever wondered how a live broadcast calculates
the probability of a playhappening in real time?
Or a quick stat about how manycome from behind wins an
underdog has.
You might not know their name,but you are likely using their
product every single time youturn on your favorite team.
Today we are learning aboutSport Radar, a tech giant
(00:20):
operating at the intersection ofsports, betting, and media.
We'll learn about howSportRadar is working with the
NBA on Peacock to overlayreal-time predictive data to
enhance their fan experience andwhy virtual stadiums want to
keep your group chat inside theapp through social viewing and
gamification.
Finally, we'll tie it alltogether with a sneak peek at
(00:42):
the global strategy for theupcoming collision of the FIFA
World Cup and the WinterOlympics, including dynamic
advertising that reacts toon-field action.
Welcome back to this DaveStreaming Podcast.
I'm your host, Tim Rowe, andtoday I'm joined by Brian
Joseph, Vice President of theAmericas at SportRadar.
So if you want to understandthe invisible engine powering
(01:04):
your favorite fan streamingsports experiences, then this is
the conversation for you.
Let's get into it.
So, Brian, if you canfamiliarize us with sport radar,
what's the problem that yousolve and who do you solve it
(01:25):
for?
Because surely we've we'veconsumed sport radar before as
sports fans, but we might notknow who you are yet.
Help us get acquainted.
Brian Josephs (01:34):
Awesome.
Thanks, Tim.
And uh, you know, for those whoaren't familiar, Sport Radar is
the world's leading sportstechnology company, and we
operate at the intersection ofsports, betting, and media.
So to dig into that a littlebit, our our core product that
we provide across the differentclient segments that we work in
is sports data.
So the language of the fan,you've heard it described as the
(01:57):
oil of the industry and allthose types of things.
You know, that is core to whatwe do.
And then we leverage ourtechnologies across computer
vision, AI, the differentanalytical models that we have
created in-house to deliver thatdata and content across, again,
betting, media, broadcast,digital media, fantasy, and so
(02:19):
on down the line.
So, you know, you mentioned,you know, chances are you've
you've used our product, ifyou've consumed sports or
engaged with it in any way,shape, or form, uh, in all
likelihood you you certainlyhave.
Tim Rowe (02:29):
Very cool.
All right.
So give us maybe some examples.
How have we likely come intocontact with Sport Radar in the
wild?
Brian Josephs (02:37):
Yep.
So uh particularly here inNorth America, we have a
tremendous client footprint inthe broadcast space.
So if you've if you've watcheda game or watched a stream of a
broadcast, again, we're justtalking a core live game
broadcast.
Uh, we have uh a team thatworks hand in hand with our
broadcast clients to delivercompelling content that they use
(03:00):
in graphics that the on-airtalent use to really tell that
story around the game and youknow the graphics technologies
and whatnot to bring them tolife.
So if you've watched a game,chances are you've consumed our
product in some form or fashion.
Also from a sports bettingstandpoint, that's core to our
business when the companystarted 20 plus years ago.
(03:20):
If you've placed a bet orengaged with sports betting
across any of the FanDuelDraftKinks or clients of ours
that offer products here in theUS or globally, you know, that
is core to what we do, providinglive data, live odds, live
streams of sports broadcast,among many other products and
services into that segment.
So those two straight away,plus fantasy, plus your digital
(03:43):
box score experience, and and Icould go on.
But what's been interesting isyou know, our client segments
have evolved a little bit overrecent years to, you know,
things like search results andvoice assistance and so on down
the line.
So uh it's been a reallyexciting time for our business
as our client base has evolved,as technology has evolved, it's
(04:05):
been really an opportunity forus to continue to evolve the way
in which we engage our clientsin the market.
Tim Rowe (04:11):
So everything from when they flash it on screen
that the Jets are the only teamwho has an insert stat here.
Brian Josephs (04:18):
Had a had a pick an entire CD.
Tim Rowe (04:20):
Yeah, I think that that's the one that that's most
top of mind, right?
So so those are the sorts ofthings that SportRadar powers.
You also power the live boxscore and fantasy betting odds.
And so there's a lot ofdifferent ways that the data
kind of comes to life, it soundslike.
Brian Josephs (04:35):
That's exactly right.
And what's happened as youknow, sports fandom has evolved
a little bit as well, the roleof data has along with it.
So, you know, if we look at youknow sports data, it tells you
what just happened.
And you know, you mentioned youknow the storytelling and
context around the Jets.
I apologize if you're a Jetsfan.
I am friends with many of myinvoice.
(04:56):
Yeah, yeah, don't don't listen.
Um, but anyways, to tie it backto it, sports data it tells you
what happened, you know, asquickly after that does.
But where we've been able toevolve in in partnership with
our clients is to explaining whyit happened, that's that
storytelling element, and thenwhat will happen next.
(05:17):
So going from stating facts tostorytelling and insight, and
then ultimately to predictive.
And you know, that's where weuse our our data APIs, the
advanced analytics feeds wehave, AI generated
visualizations to really moveinto call this next generation
of sports product experiences.
And, you know, it's all builton data, which is again core to
(05:40):
that experience.
And then where we've investedheavily from a product
standpoint is how do we bringthat data to life to engage in
that storytelling and insight,and then that predictive uh
nature as well.
So it's been again, I've beenhere 10 years next month.
It has been quite an evolutionfrom where I look back to some
of the conversations we havewhen we were when I first
(06:01):
started here to theconversations we're having
today.
It's uh it feels like it'salmost been two or three
generations uh over the courseof of those 10 years as we look
at how our clients have evolvedand you know how we've evolved
our product offering with themto start to bring these things
to life.
Tim Rowe (06:17):
I bet some of the stuff that you're doing with, I
think the NBA on Peacock, canyou tell us about that?
There's like some pretty andwe're gonna we're gonna bring in
some video assets to the to theepisode.
So if you're listening, this isone you're gonna want to
definitely go back and find theclips of because you're doing
some pretty cool stuff with theNBA on Peacock.
(06:37):
Can you describe that?
Tell us what's going on there.
Brian Josephs (06:40):
Yes, absolutely.
So the NBA is a fantasticpartner of ours, uh, as well as
you know, MBC Sports and Peacockand the teams over there.
And uh what we've done and whatwe're working with them on now
is leveraging a model that we'vebuilt using, you know, the
player tracking data from theMBA and the official data from
the MBA, analyzing, you know,call it thousands and thousands,
(07:02):
probably even millions of datapoints to build out this model
that is effectively a predictivemodel that can show us what's
happening and what will happennext.
So we've built that into aconsumer-facing version of a
product that we call Foresightthat brings those predictive
insights, such as shotprobability, expected points, or
(07:23):
likely outcomes of a playunfolding on the screen in real
time, and have partnered withPeacock to help to bring that to
life via their performance viewfeature in their in their
Peacock app.
And this has been one of myabsolute favorite projects that
I've worked on here because itdoes leverage everything that I
was just talking about, youknow, cutting edge data, you
(07:45):
know, the AI models and cuttingedge technology on top of it,
and then delivering that to anaudience in a way that is just
really seamless and clean thatadds to the experience.
That was something that was atop priority.
We've heard feedback fromclients over the years that
their audience doesn't want tofeel like they need a PhD to
(08:06):
consume sports.
So when a lot of this new databecomes available, it's really
important to make itunderstandable, consumable.
And I think Peacock, you know,their team just did a phenomenal
job of really using the techand the model to bring that to
life.
And, you know, looking at someof the outputs, I talked about
the shot probability of scoringpercentage, you can see in real
(08:28):
time as a player is dribblingthe ball what their likelihood
of scoring from that particularspot is based on who's guarding
them, where they're guardingthem, and spacing.
You know, they also have thisreally cool feature, this player
pulse card that shows you knowsome information about the
player who has the ball, youknow, how they're shooting.
You know, there's a live shotchart in it.
(08:49):
So you can see them going fromdifferent zones on the floor to
where they might shoot betterthan others.
And uh it's a live playermovement within that while the
game's unfolding.
You know, there's three-pointball trails and markers and
things like that.
You know, some liken it to avideo game type experience,
which obviously younger fans inparticular are really accustomed
to.
But what I think, you know, ourteams, you know, Peacock and
(09:12):
Sport Radar really did aphenomenal job of is adding to
the experience without beingoverwhelming.
And, you know, we were watchingfeedback closely, both from our
client, obviously, and then youknow, fans on social media and
that type of thing.
And the feedback wasoverwhelmingly positive.
And for us, that was incrediblyexciting because fans don't
like change.
Uh they're never they'rethey're never happy.
(09:34):
They're never happy.
I shouldn't say they're we'renever happy as sports fans, but
when we were looking at you knowthat implementation, it it
really was very well received byfans and social media and
everything.
And you know, it's a start, uh,it's a very good start.
And I'm really excited to seewhat we can do to continue to
shape the NBA streamingexperience moving forward.
(09:56):
And and Peacock's just aphenomenal partner.
Tim Rowe (09:58):
And you hear so much about the experience economy for
in-person live sporting events,and this is really the NBA and
Peacock meaning the customerwhere they are at home, unlocks
obviously the second screenexperiences with sports betting
and other opportunities.
It really starts to integratethe entire ecosystem.
(10:19):
I'm curious, was it the chickenor the egg?
Which came first?
Was it the idea for creatingthis on-screen experience, or
was it, hey, we've got thisdata, let's do something with
it.
How does something like thatcome to life?
Brian Josephs (10:32):
So I think it's a it's chicken or the egg, it's
both.
Uh so the the way thateverything all at once.
We everything all at oncealways, but the way that we
consume content, period, sportsor otherwise, has really
changed.
And and that we expect thingsto be personalized to us and our
preferences, regardless, again,of what the content is.
(10:55):
We want to have a role inshaping the experience for
ourselves.
And, you know, sports is nodifferent.
It's a form of media, it's aform of content that the fans
and audience can engage with.
And what streaming has allowedis for that experience to go
from being passive to being farmore interactive and
increasingly personalized andmeasurable moving forward, which
(11:17):
is really important for ourclients.
And, you know, fansincreasingly expect information
and insights in real time, youknow, with the rollout of
betting here in the US and othermarkets globally.
That predictive content andinformation in real time can
help an audience form an opinionone way or another on a
(11:38):
particular market.
And you know, we've seen somegreat implementations of social
viewing features, for example.
But ultimately, we're in thisphase now where you know,
broadcast used to be onebroadcast produced for all.
And then, you know, RSNsallowed a home and away feed.
But now we're entering in aphase here where there are
(11:59):
different options being created.
There's a lot ofexperimentation taking place,
you know, whether it be thelanguage of the broadcast, the
commentators being used and thetalent on air, you know,
user-generated content ordifferent content experience
shaped to it.
So you'll see the performanceview, and Amazon does a lot of
their overlay alternatebroadcasts, ESPN around large
(12:20):
events, many different optionsto consume.
And all of this is just anintermediary step towards full
personalization.
So right now, you know, I give,you know, keep talking about
Peacock, I give them a ton ofcredit.
And any other of our clientsout there that are
experimenting, it's hard to dodoing something for the first
(12:41):
time, but ultimately it's atremendous learning experience.
And it's what's going to allow,you know, the B2C platforms and
our clients ultimately to bestunderstand that sports fan
moving forward and deliver thatpersonalized experience that
that everybody's looking for.
And what that'll do is that'llincrease time and attention and
(13:01):
the opportunity to monetize thattime and attention, which is
mission critical across theboard, particularly when
competition for that sameconsumer is sky high.
So, you know, how do youdeliver that, you know, those
options that feel like theyspeak to that end user so that
they you can learn more aboutthem and move towards
personalization, that's wherethis is all it's all heading.
(13:24):
And you know, the need for thatis because competition is
higher than it's ever been forattention.
So if your product isn'tengaging, doesn't allow for
interactivity, doesn't speakdirectly to that audience, you
know, a lot of times people willsay something like that and
then say targeting a youngeraudience.
I don't think it's just youngeraudiences.
I think I think I've aged outof that younger demo.
(13:47):
But if if I don't feel likeit's built for me, I'm not gonna
spend time there either.
So I think it's more just fansin general.
If you're not building andgiving them the opportunity to
engage and control, there's riskthere.
You risk losing that that fan,that audience, and you know,
competition is extremely high.
Tim Rowe (14:05):
I think that that is a an understated point that it's
not just going to be enough tohave the rights to carry the
game.
It's going to require somethingmore.
It's going to require a waythat you create personalized fan
experiences and incrementalrevenue opportunities in ways
that don't disrupt thatexperience, right?
(14:27):
It's the the unreasonableconsumer.
Once we get it once, we're notwilling to go back.
I would love for you to exactlyright, right?
Like give give me give me twodays shipping.
I'm not going back to to waitin a week.
That's crazy.
You mentioned a social viewingexperiment.
And I also want to touch onglobally because you oversee all
(14:47):
of the Americas would love totalk about what things you're
seeing globally.
But what was the the socialviewing experiment?
Can you elaborate on that?
Brian Josephs (14:56):
Yeah, the social viewing experience.
So, you know, we built aproduct called Virtual Stadium
that, you know, something thatwe we work with many of our
sports betting clients on tobring a social element into the
sports betting experience.
So it's it's basically built totarget those fans and betters
where it's not an isolatedexperience for them.
(15:18):
They like to interact withtheir friends or other fans, you
know, via chat features and theopportunity to gamify the
experience and and reallyinteract around both the sport
and then in the case of VirtualStadium, the opportunity to bet
on the sport as well.
So it's it's taking anexperience that you will have in
(15:39):
called other forums online andbringing it into the sports
experience, whether it be justpurely viewing or viewing and
betting alongside of it.
And yeah, it's something thatagain, fans and audiences are
just wired to having thatinteraction while consuming
content.
I don't know about you, butwhen my favorite NFL team is
(16:01):
playing, you know, the ChicagoBears, fair down, uh, my phone
gets very active uh withfriends, family, everyone wants
to share in that experience.
And uh, we do that a lot oftimes via a messaging
application.
But when you took a look attime and attention, how do you
bring that behavior that fansare already doing and bring it
into your experience?
(16:22):
If you have thatconsumer-facing application, no,
that's a tremendousopportunity.
And to uh again increase thattime and attention, the
stickiness of your product.
And that's why we built VirtualStadium, and that's something
that we expect to see more ofacross all consumer-facing
applications, whether it be asports betting app, uh streaming
app, a digital media app, oranything else moving forward.
Tim Rowe (16:45):
Very cool.
And globally, we've got thebiggest sporting event, two of
the biggest sporting eventsglobally happening this year.
We've got obviously the FIFAWorld Cup and we've got the
Olympics later.
What does that all mean from asport radar standpoint?
What sort of things are youguys looking forward to?
I think that I saw some newsabout the World Cup.
(17:05):
What's cooking globally thisyear for sport radar?
Brian Josephs (17:09):
Yeah, so the World Cup soccer is obviously
the most popular sport in theworld.
So anytime there's it's a WorldCup year, that gets uh the
utmost attention from a productperspective.
So what we're really laserfocused on is bringing to life a
lot of what I've been talkingabout here for the sport of
soccer.
(17:29):
So, how do we deliver deeperdata?
How do we deliver more insightto our clients so that they can
build that into theirexperience, whether they're
producing a broadcast or justhave the scores app associated
with and in a second screenexperience or in a sports
betting perspective.
So, how do we deliver betterodds, more markets, better
(17:50):
insight associated with thosemarkets?
And then from a datavisualization standpoint, uh
foresight, you know, we talkabout in the NBA context, that's
rolling out for soccer uh thisyear, and something that we're
really excited about.
Yeah, very much looking forwardto that and working with uh
some of our league partners andclients to help to bring that to
life.
So the World Cup is, and alsofrom an advertising standpoint,
(18:13):
you know, many of our clientsview large tent pull events as
goal and opportunities forcustomer acquisition.
So, how do we really lean inwith them and make sure those
campaigns are all lined up andready to go to deliver DCO
dynamic creative optimization,you know, real-time personalized
advertisements to targetedaudience based on what's
(18:33):
happening on the field?
So, you know, across content,streaming, advertising, it's
it's all hands-on-deck.
It's sport radar around theWorld Cup and not just in the
US, obviously, it's our NorthAmerica.
I should clarify, it's it'shere in North America, but
globally uh it's about as big anevent as you can come across.
And and it's an opportunity forus to level up across the board
(18:55):
from a product standpoint andand work with our clients to
bring that to life.
So World Cup's huge, and thenyeah, the Olympics, uh, February
is going to be a busy month,very, very similar from a
product perspective, you know,obviously an opportunity from a
betting standpoint, but thencustomer acquisition.
Those big events draw such atremendous amount of attention
(19:17):
over a relatively short periodof time.
So, you know, how can we helpour clients market and activate
effectively around those eventsto capture that consumer or new
customer acquisition and be ableto maintain that relationship
moving forward?
So, yeah, it's a bit of asports equinox on an annual
level to have Olympics and WorldCup in the same year, in
(19:39):
addition to everything elsethat's going on.
So uh 26 is going to be a bigone.
Tim Rowe (19:43):
I like that.
Sports equinox, you heard ithere first.
Now we're gonna see it in justa couple of months with all of
the sport radar.
Now we know what to look forwhen we see it on our TVs at
home.
Brian Josephs (19:54):
Deeper insight, data viz, new markets to bet on.
That's what you can expect thisyear.
Tim Rowe (20:00):
Awesome.
We're here for it.
Brian, thank you so much forbeing here for this.
If folks want to get in touch,where should they go?
Give them the Latin long.
What's the best way to get intouch with you?
Brian Josephs (20:10):
Get in touch with me through Kenny.
No, I'm kidding.
Hey, Kenny.
I'm not actually gonna get I'mnot actually gonna give out
contact information or whatever,but yeah, all good.
Tim Rowe (20:20):
We'll point them to the website.
We'll point them to SportRadar,and they can get in touch when
they're ready to learn more.
Brian Josephs (20:25):
Kenny Conrad comms at sportradar.com.
The man.
Thank you so much, Brian.
God, thanks, Tim.
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