Standing at the intersect
MEDIA AND BETTING BUSINESSES IN THE US FEED EACH OTHER SPORTRADAR CONTINUES TO EXPLORE the intersection
between media and betting in the US market, said Arne Rees, who explained why the foresight it had about the knowledge exchange between both sides of the business means the two now 'feed each other' to build engaged audiences
T
he new regional CEO for North America also discussed how the rollout of 5G will influence business in the US, where Sportradar expects both mobile and in-play betting to grow +700% over the next 10 years. SBC: Sportradar has consistently been at the forefront of technology. Which technology trends will have the greatest impact on Sportradar’s US business in the near future? AR: As the leading global multivertical data and technology company in sports, Sportradar consistently redefines what’s possible for our customers. Whether it is the speed at which we distribute live odds to betting operators or the speed we deliver compelling insights to media companies, it is critical that we do so precisely and accurately, and in the moments that matter most. If our data is even a nano-second late, our customers risk losing
ONCE SPORTS BETTING BEGAN TO OPEN IN THE US, WE WERE ALREADY WELL-PREPARED TO MAXIMISE THIS OPPORTUNITY ON BOTH SIDES OF OUR BUSINESS
10 SBC LEADERS • FEBRUARY 2021
significant amounts of money and/ or valued consumers who may decide to go elsewhere for the real-time information they desire. We deploy machine-learning and artificial intelligence to ensure that we can keep up with the speed that our customers require and the speed that the modern-day consumer demands. Over time, these technologies have enabled us to deliver on our ambitious vision to our customers. Moving forward, the rollout of 5G, on top of
what we are doing with machinelearning and artificial intelligence, is going to play a significant role for Sportradar’s US business, as we push the limits even further on the real-time sports experience. This applies both on the betting and media sides, as well as instadium and remotely. We are aiming towards a future where our media and betting customers have the data and information they need to keep their audiences fully engaged for longer than ever before. SBC: The media and betting industries have been coming closer together since PASPA fell in May 2018. How has Sportradar adapted its US business to account for this and what can we expect moving forward? AR: Sports entertainment and betting/ gaming are Sportradar’s two main product focuses, and we have created impressive products in each of these areas recently, including our real-time data intelligence product Insights, our in-play player markets for US sports, and our virtual baseball in-play game alongside MLB. Once sports betting began to open in the US market, we were already well-prepared to maximise this opportunity on both sides of our business because we understood that in order to succeed in this market moving forward, media companies would need to consider how they weave betting into their content and betting companies would need to consider their wider consumer-facing media brands. Both sides feed each other and are effective for engaging audiences, so we are fully prepared to help both media and betting businesses as
