I'm still soliciting reader predictions for the sports tech industry in 2025. We’re going to start the year by highlighting the answers we get. I’d love your input -- send it to me at ejoyce@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
This is our final SBJ Tech newsletter of 2024, and what an awesome year it’s been. I’m grateful to have this space every week to share unique stories with you.
I’m falling deeper in love with the holiday season thanks to our two little children. My eldest is almost 3, and he’s truly been swept up in the magic of Christmas. We went to the mall last weekend, where he saw Santa Claus in person for the first time. However, he was not interested in getting a picture with (or even getting close to) the big man. So, we told him that if he whispered what he wanted under his breath, Santa would still be able to hear it even though he’s sitting really far away.
So, he said, “I want a big monster truck” and grinned really big. He’s also whispered “monster truck” around the house since then. Guess he’s just making sure Santa knows.
Top tech stories of the year
For this newsletter, I’ve combed through our reporting from the year to highlight the stories you read most. The two biggest reader trends? The growth of immersive experiences (looking at you, Cosm and Apple) and the further-wading efforts of tech giants into sports (and at you, Alphabet and AWS) grabbed your attention. We also include a bonus read that was just plain fun.
Here are a few highlights from 2024:
Immersive experiences
- Cosm’s 2024 has been captivating. The openings of its L.A. and Dallas venues, announcements of future spaces in Atlanta and Detroit and the $250 million funding round were the mile-markers of success this calendar year.
SBJ’s Chris Smith profiled the company and its CEO, Jeb Terry, in the Sept. 9 issue of the magazine, diving into both the technology and Terry’s work to build the experience. “The first prototype I ever looked at back in 2019, that’s what caught me,” Terry said. "That feeling you get when you’re sitting in that crowd, that energy, that’s what you get. And that’s what we live for here.”
- While Apple’s vision for the Apple Vision Pro is still being determined, the headset has serious potential in pro sports. I teamed up with my colleagues Joe Lemire and Rob Schaefer for an industry-wide look at the various approaches around the device. We’ve also followed AR developer Quintar’s work with the PGA Tour for PGA Tour Vision, as SBJ’s Josh Carpenter wrote.
More enhancements from tech giants into sports
Alphabet's sports involvement has touched various sports leagues and the way their sports are presented to fans lately. A quick rundown:
AWS collaborated with the NHL to produce live coverage for a game completely from the cloud, the first broadcast of its kind, as Lemire reported. NHL EVP/Business Development and Innovation David Lehanski, who won Technology Executive of the Year at SBA: Tech in March, said that this innovation helps to create new content options for fans.
"What is clear is there's fragmentation -- there are more choices and more platforms -- and I think what most people aren't talking about enough is that there's an opportunity with that to create more experiences,” he told Lemire. “You have more places to put your content in a digital world.”
The AWS-NHL collaboration is a finalist for Tech Collaboration of the Year at next year’s SBA: Tech.
Bonus round: Fun with test runs
As a loyal reader, you know we love to demo tech. So Joe Lemire’s use of GenAI to predict the NCAA Men's Tournament bracket became a back-and-forth that you found as amusing as I did.
Staff picks for the year
I close this newsletter by highlighting some of our favorite stories of the year. I enjoyed reporting on tech that featured mission-driven origins:
- OneCourt’s laptop device to enhance the in-game experience for fans with blindness or low vision.
- Intuitive AI’s attempt to improve waste management at high-traffic spaces like sports venues with its Oscar Sort stations.
From tech reporter Rob Schaefer:
- As part of our September “Future Forward” package, Rob looked at the way immersive venues are offering distinct perspectives for live events and how that might continue in the future.
- He also profiled digital content management system Greenfly and its cofounders, Daniel Kirschner and retired MLBer Shawn Green.
From senior writer Joe Lemire:
- Joe visited the Intuit Dome to experience its Parallel Reality activation with developer Misapplied Sciences (one of this year’s 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies).
- He also dove deep into the proliferation of performance tech, which was created for elite athletes but eventually transitioned to the general consumer based off the exposure created by stars of the various leagues.
Speed reads
- In a tribute to the zaniness of college football, I chronicle the story behind the Pop-Tart Bowl’s new trophy, which includes a working toaster.
- Payment platform Ordr hired Ryan Bott as its new CEO, pulling the longtime tech executive over from the board member position he’s held with the company for more than a year.
- The NWSL partnership's with Fastbreak.ai will see the league use Fastbreak’s AI-powered scheduling platform to optimize its competition calendar, reports SBJ's Rob Schaefer.
- Google introduced Android XR to developers last week, its first operating system built for extended reality and with its Gemini AI assistant embedded, writes SBJ's Joe Lemire.
- As part of the promotion for its 2024-25 City Edition uniforms, the 76ers plan to launch an arcade-style mobile minigame called “Spectrum Sprint” on Sunday, writes Schaefer.
- Lasso Safe, makers of AI-powered software to help protect athlete wellness, partnered with Players Health to help sports organizations assess risk and better care for its members, notes Lemire.