Hudl has completed the acquisition of Balltime, an AI-fueled, volleyball-focused video and analytics platform, which executives from the two sides say will augment Hudl’s offerings around the sport.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Talks between the sides began in August, first as a networking connection between Hudl Market Director Tarryn Moss and Balltime CEO Dan Banon, but eventually rising to an acquisition and integration of Balltime’s tech into Hudl’s volleyball stack.
“The conversation shifted to say, ‘Hey, if we wanted to go and impact every single athlete at every level, what could we do together?’” Moss told SBJ. “That’s really what got us excited.”
Banon added that when Balltime launched in 2022, the company’s market research centered on Hudl, an early mover in the sports video and analytics space that was founded in 2006 and has since greatly expanded its performance analysis offerings.
“From day one, there was always a level of respect that we had for Hudl as first movers in the market, and also seeing Hudl as a potential partnership down the line that would enable us to go deeper into volleyball,” Banon said.
The integration of Balltime’s technology will allow Hudl to offer several new features to its users, which include 40,000 high school, club, college and national volleyball teams and more than 400,000 volleyball users from the youth to professional level.
Chief among those:
- New metrics including set and ball trajectories, height of hits, and ball speeds, which Moss said Hudl was not previously able to provide, particularly to younger age groups.
- Faster turnaround times for video analyses, from a current rate that ranges between eight and 24 hours to within one hour.
- Functionality for beach volleyball and practice sessions, other features Moss said Hudl did not previously support across the board.
From Balltime’s perspective, integrating with Hudl expands the net of players its technology can capture.
“An example is that, on the collegiate side, we currently work with roughly 200 colleges,” Banon said. “Hudl works with all 2,200 college programs in North America. Immediately, you have that direct impact. From a founder perspective, it’s incredibly cool to think about that.”
Following the acquisition, all 12 of Balltime’s full-time staff will join Hudl, Banon said. Its technology team is based in Israel, while its sales and marketing staff work remotely from the U.S.
Banon lives in London and will work out of Hudl’s office there.
