DFL to invest in technology start-ups, beginning with Israeli analytics firm
Soccer -
11 Oct 2018
By Martin Ross
The DFL, Germany’s professional football league, plans to acquire shareholdings in various companies within the media technology sector and has begun the process by landing a 10-per-cent stake in Track160, an Israeli start-up that offers tracking system technologies.
The ‘DFL for Equity’ programme, an initiative to build up equity investments in start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, was today unveiled by the German top flight and is a reinforcement of the Bundesliga’s strategy to be involved across the whole media value chain.
Having acquired a shareholding in return for intangible assets, but not cash, the DFL is to offer Track160 access to its match database and digital archive, enabling the Tel Aviv-based company to “develop its artificial-intelligence-based analytics system faster and, with the aid of the DFL network, to grow rapidly both at home and abroad.”
On the back of setting up other subsidiaries in host broadcast arm Sportcast (in 2006), worldwide rights sales arm Bundesliga International (in 2008), digital media content company DFL Digital Sports (in 2012) and data subsidiary Sportec Solutions (in 2016), the league described the creation of DFL for Equity as the “next logical step” in the strategy of covering the entire media value chain.
Christian Seifert, the DFL’s chief executive, told Sportcal: “If 35 per cent of the whole turnover of the league comes from media rights, then you have to know how media companies are working, thinking, acting and feeling. You have to be in some part a media company if one third of the whole turnover of the league comes from the media.
“I know that other leagues are going a different way. They are outsourcing lots of things – some to Mediapro, some to IMG, some to others – but I am convinced that controlling the whole value chain gives us a better overview and access to the quality of the media product.”
He continued: “Everyone should go in their own direction but we choose this one. But saying this, running all these operations over the last few years and controlling the whole value chain, we have of course huge experience and knowhow in-house, a lot of data, footage and rights. The idea at the end is very simple: we want to use this knowledge and these assets in a more effective way and to build up a portfolio of companies where we give them access to these assets in exchange for equity stakes.
“Hopefully in the future these companies develop in a positive way and we are able to capitalise these assets and to open up a new revenue stream for the league and its clubs. Within DFL for Equity, we are looking to set up a portfolio of companies and, like any investor, we will look for an exit sooner or later.”
Seifert (pictured) also raised the possibility of teaming up with private equity funds or venture capital funds to secure a majority stake in companies within the media sector.
However, he noted: “We are not the ones who are dedicated to bring in the money. We bring in unique knowhow, assets and our network.”
The DFL chief executive quipped that, while other leagues may have 10 kick-off times in each round of matches, he would prefer to have 10 successful shareholdings.
Quizzed about the nature of companies which DFL for Equity would now target, he replied: “We see the value chain that contains data, production, content, broadcast technologies. These are all sectors that are relevant for a sports league. We will not go for equity in companies that are not close to the business of the DFL. We will only go for companies around the value chain of creating a media product.”
Track160 was launched just last year and describes itself as “a young Israeli start-up company developing a fully automatic football analytics service using cutting edge deep learning technology.”
The company was co-founded by Miky Tamir, who also co-founded Pixellot, the automated sports production company, and SterGen, the 3D technology provider.
Seifert remarked: “Track160’s system will find application in future-oriented fields such as match analytics, coaching, sports medicine, media offerings, and gaming.”
He added: “It can also be used at an amateur level which makes it very interesting for the mass market as analytics software can be used for smaller clubs and leagues that do not have so much money.”
Track160 is developing a system based on artificial intelligence and deep learning that will capture in 3D form the motions of soccer players and the trajectory of the ball. The company claims that, unlike other technologies currently in use, its system uses only the match video and does not need GPS or other wearable sensors, expensive hardware or human operators. The system tracks the ball in 3D, thus generating more accurate data, while some other systems track players instead.
Tamir remarked: “We are excited about the new opportunities our partnership with DFL will open up for us. The 'sportstech' industry is transitioning to a new era, one in which data and AI-based technologies will make fascinating new applications possible. We want to revolutionise the world of sports with disruptive new coaching, media, scouting and gaming applications.”
The Bundesliga’s technology focus was further highlighted earlier this year through an agreement with Axel Springer, the German publishing giant, to allow fans to watch clips when reading printed versions of the ‘Bild’ publications, by using an augmented reality feature.
In addition, SportsInnovation, the league’s sports technology conference, was held for the first time in May.
The DFL spends close to €60 million ($69.4 million) per year on the production of content by its various subsidiaries, including digital material for broadcasters worldwide (such as preview shows, highlights and clips), archive content for partners and digital marketing content for the Bundesliga’s various digital and social media channels.
Sportcal
The DFL, Germany’s professional football league, plans to acquire shareholdings in various companies within the media technology sector and has begun the process by landing a 10-per-cent stake in Track160, an Israeli start-up that offers tracking system technologies.
The ‘DFL for Equity’ programme, an initiative to build up equity investments in start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, was today unveiled by the German top flight and is a reinforcement of the Bundesliga’s strategy to be involved across the whole media value chain.
Having acquired a shareholding in return for intangible assets, but not cash, the DFL is to offer Track160 access to its match database and digital archive, enabling the Tel Aviv-based company to “develop its artificial-intelligence-based analytics system faster and, with the aid of the DFL network, to grow rapidly both at home and abroad.”
On the back of setting up other subsidiaries in host broadcast arm Sportcast (in 2006), worldwide rights sales arm Bundesliga International (in 2008), digital media content company DFL Digital Sports (in 2012) and data subsidiary Sportec Solutions (in 2016), the league described the creation of DFL for Equity as the “next logical step” in the strategy of covering the entire media value chain.
Christian Seifert, the DFL’s chief executive, told Sportcal: “If 35 per cent of the whole turnover of the league comes from media rights, then you have to know how media companies are working, thinking, acting and feeling. You have to be in some part a media company if one third of the whole turnover of the league comes from the media.
“I know that other leagues are going a different way. They are outsourcing lots of things – some to Mediapro, some to IMG, some to others – but I am convinced that controlling the whole value chain gives us a better overview and access to the quality of the media product.”
He continued: “Everyone should go in their own direction but we choose this one. But saying this, running all these operations over the last few years and controlling the whole value chain, we have of course huge experience and knowhow in-house, a lot of data, footage and rights. The idea at the end is very simple: we want to use this knowledge and these assets in a more effective way and to build up a portfolio of companies where we give them access to these assets in exchange for equity stakes.
“Hopefully in the future these companies develop in a positive way and we are able to capitalise these assets and to open up a new revenue stream for the league and its clubs. Within DFL for Equity, we are looking to set up a portfolio of companies and, like any investor, we will look for an exit sooner or later.”
Seifert (pictured) also raised the possibility of teaming up with private equity funds or venture capital funds to secure a majority stake in companies within the media sector.
However, he noted: “We are not the ones who are dedicated to bring in the money. We bring in unique knowhow, assets and our network.”
The DFL chief executive quipped that, while other leagues may have 10 kick-off times in each round of matches, he would prefer to have 10 successful shareholdings.
Quizzed about the nature of companies which DFL for Equity would now target, he replied: “We see the value chain that contains data, production, content, broadcast technologies. These are all sectors that are relevant for a sports league. We will not go for equity in companies that are not close to the business of the DFL. We will only go for companies around the value chain of creating a media product.”
Track160 was launched just last year and describes itself as “a young Israeli start-up company developing a fully automatic football analytics service using cutting edge deep learning technology.”
The company was co-founded by Miky Tamir, who also co-founded Pixellot, the automated sports production company, and SterGen, the 3D technology provider.
Seifert remarked: “Track160’s system will find application in future-oriented fields such as match analytics, coaching, sports medicine, media offerings, and gaming.”
He added: “It can also be used at an amateur level which makes it very interesting for the mass market as analytics software can be used for smaller clubs and leagues that do not have so much money.”
Track160 is developing a system based on artificial intelligence and deep learning that will capture in 3D form the motions of soccer players and the trajectory of the ball. The company claims that, unlike other technologies currently in use, its system uses only the match video and does not need GPS or other wearable sensors, expensive hardware or human operators. The system tracks the ball in 3D, thus generating more accurate data, while some other systems track players instead.
Tamir remarked: “We are excited about the new opportunities our partnership with DFL will open up for us. The 'sportstech' industry is transitioning to a new era, one in which data and AI-based technologies will make fascinating new applications possible. We want to revolutionise the world of sports with disruptive new coaching, media, scouting and gaming applications.”
The Bundesliga’s technology focus was further highlighted earlier this year through an agreement with Axel Springer, the German publishing giant, to allow fans to watch clips when reading printed versions of the ‘Bild’ publications, by using an augmented reality feature.
In addition, SportsInnovation, the league’s sports technology conference, was held for the first time in May.
The DFL spends close to €60 million ($69.4 million) per year on the production of content by its various subsidiaries, including digital material for broadcasters worldwide (such as preview shows, highlights and clips), archive content for partners and digital marketing content for the Bundesliga’s various digital and social media channels.
Sportcal
