SportsTech Monthly Roundup 15: Applications Open, Founder Stories & The Olympics

Applications for 2022 are open and we’re looking for the next batch of the best, brightest, and most innovative startups in sports technology.  If you know of a startup founder who is ready to connect with amazing partners like Sky Sports, GOLF, NASCAR, NBC Sports, Comcast Spectacor, USA Cycling, USA Swimming, and US Ski & Snowboard, tell them to apply now. Deadline is July 15th.

Learn From the Best: Founder Stories

As we sift through the newest batch of incoming applications, we’re excited to share the success of the startups that just completed our accelerator program. Following Demo Day, teams signed 16 partnerships and pilots and are making an immediate impact in the world of sports right now.

One example is nVenue, who is deploying predictive analytics to show outcomes in sports. A few weeks after finishing the accelerator, nVenue’s CEO Kelly Pracht published a story about how they helped use those very analytics to predict and break down one MLB player’s first career grand slam.

Kelly joins Emma Gaona, Executive Manager of The Sonar Company to share some of the stories about how founders can build on connections from our accelerator to help build the future of sports tech. Of the alums who signed pilots and partnerships, they were helped by having immediate access to experts from NBC Sports, NASCAR, Sky Sports, GOLF, Comcast Spectacor, USA Cycling, and USA Swimming.

Hearing success stories from our alums is an important step in deciding if our program is right for you. Learn how Comcast SportsTech helped change the trajectory of their company and launched them into the sports tech universe in ways they never thought possible.

📺 Watch Now 

Moderator: Jenna Kurath, VP Startup Partner Dev/Head of SportsTech, Comcast

Speakers: Kelly Pracht, Co-Founder/CEO, nVenue and Emma Gaona, Executive Manager, The Sonar Company

And now, the news. Here are a few of the stories shaping the sports tech space that we’re reading this month.

All Eyes on the Olympics

We’re keeping our eyes on the Tokyo Olympics where the more than 300 medal events will help advance the narrative of how sports tech is making strides for athletes, fans, and even broadcasters. Years of behind-the-scenes development will take center stage and be discussed for weeks as the athletes and coaches hope to see podium finishes and national success.

Here are just a few stories we’ve been tracking that are directly impacting our partners and startups leading up to the Tokyo Olympics:

• 🏊 In swimming, every second counts. The next frontier of helping swimmers increase speed can be found in the molecular level of the fabrics that make up suits.
• 🏟 With foreign fans not allowed to view the Tokyo games in person, media are moving beyond traditional broadcasts in favor of increasing hours across new and emerging channels. Fans can experience over 5,500 hours of streaming content from Tokyo on VR devices.
• 📱For the Tokyo Games, NBC will partner with Twitch to produce and broadcast their own channel of programming that will be uniquely curated to the Twitch community including studio shows with highlights, athlete conversations and interviews, and interactive games.
• This year, the Tokyo Olympics are introducing skateboarding as a sport and NBC landed the perfect host to complement the coverage for the debut: Tony Hawk.
• 🎙 NBCUniversal is partnering with NBCLX, their local news network that aims to attract a younger demographic in an effort to draw attention to the stories of athletes we may not know about. They’ll be launching a podcast called My New Favorite Olympian.

Be sure to follow all our exciting accelerator program updates and sports tech stories on our website and blog, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.