The National Football League (NFL) is celebrating 10 years of American football in Great Britain with an impressive spike in figures, says James Massing of the NFL UK.
Massing recently returned from a visit to Israel where the NFL is scouting the latest sports technology developments as well as commercial partners looking at sport for marketing activities.
As the only professional US sports league to operate multiple regular season games in the UK, the NFL reaches millions of British fans each week via Sky Sports and the BBC, as well as Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets.
With its emphasis on innovation, the NFL is eager to harness the leading edge technologies offered by Israel’s sports-tech sector. For example, NFL stadiums are equipped with 38 5K ultrahigh-definition cameras to capture plays from every angle and create enhanced 360-degree highlights and player perspectives.
The technology was developed by Israel’s Replay Technologies, now a division of Intel after being acquired for $175 million in 2016.
Massing was recently in Israel on a fact-finding mission into the latest developments set up by Israel’s Trade and Economic Mission and Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots.
“Israeli startups are leading the way in technology innovations in sports, particularly in video and sound,” said Massing. “Indeed, Tel Aviv and the surrounding area is starting to gain a reputation of being somewhat of a ‘Silicon Valley’ for sports technology startups.”
Yet this is no accident. It is the result of many decades of military and academic research in computer vision and image analysis which now, more than ever, lends itself to technological advancements in sport.
Among the companies Massing looked at were PlaySight (pitch monitoring systems) Pixelott (automated sports filming and production), Konnecto (brand interaction), Idomoo (brand empowerment), Screenz (audience engagement) and InSoundz (live event broadcasting).
Regarding any potential deals, Massing said: “There are some talks but nothing I can confirm at this stage.”
Although the NFL does have a strong following in Israel, Massing feels it is highly unlikely that a professional game will take place there in the near future. However, initiatives will continue such as ‘NFL Films Presents: Touchdown in Israel’ which documented the journey of 18 Hall of Famers on a spiritual journey to the region last summer alongside Robert Kraft.
A member of Northwood United Synagogue, Massing described his visit to Israel as “a success”. He has returned to London to focus on expanding the NFL’s impressive UK presence. “Over the past few months, a record one million fans have experienced our brand live via two games at Wembley Stadium and two games at Twickenham Stadium, and a one-of-a-kind NFL takeover of Regent Street.”
