Indian Tech Companies Revamping International Sports Viewing and Fan Engagement

The Indian tech sector had a breakout year in 2021 as it reached USD 227 billion in revenue at a 15.5 per cent growth. The combination of Xaas and platforms has been key to this growth that have pushed for tech adoption – even as the covid pandemic raged on. But did you know that Indian tech companies are also becoming the go-to partners for the sports federations and organisations worldwide?

Tech companies from India have long been major solution providers for businesses globally. But lately, their solutions are increasingly becoming popular in the arena of international sports, which are driving new-age sports viewing and fan engagement.

According to the Sports Global Market Report 2022, the worldwide sports industry was worth USD 354.96 billion in 2021. But the number is expected to touch USD 501.43 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.3 per cent, as the world opens up post pandemic. The continued growth of the industry is also pushing for innovation in technology to deliver sweeter viewing experiences and better fan engagement. And breaking the mould in this space are Indian tech giants like Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies.

These companies have truly delivered quality experiences for crowds in the stands for years now through their solutions that have leveraged the power of AI, Big Data, and AR/VR. But names of these tech companies are only now coming to the fore as true pioneers in the sports tech segment. In fact, their contribution to tech-enabled sports viewing and fan engagement has been so prodigious that their services are availed by multi-million-dollar sporting events year after year now.

Reimagining Tennis

In tennis, line umpires have always played a huge role in deciding games and sets of legendary matches. Their decisions, faulty or accurate, have made champions. But with the introduction of hawk-eye technology (predicts the trajectory of the tennis ball to rule it ‘out’ or ‘in’), the errors made during the important points have somewhat reduced. Infosys has gone one step further and used the hawk-eye data to animate each shot in near real-time and empower fans to analyse the game from any vantage point in the stadium during the 2021 Australian Open (AO). The company has also delivered 3D court views and data that simulate the experience of playing at the AO – letting fans be a part of the glory. More recently, the Bengaluru-headquartered company became the preferred technology partner of the French Open, extending its multi-year partnership at Roland-Garros.

This year, Infosys is delivering a range of 3D, AR, VR, and AI-powered experiences at the red court grand slam, where fans will be treated to a new 3D immersive exhibition showcasing the evolution of rackets over the tournament’s history. Also, ‘Infosys Stats Flash’ will track records broken and performance across the tournament with real-time data overlaid on live match footage, while the ‘Infosys Match Center’ will feature a new interactive visualisation, called Patterns of Play, which delivers in-depth views of player tendencies and winning tactics. Together, these capabilities enable a new, data-driven broadcast experience. Just by pointing the camera of their phone or tablet device at any flat surface, fans will be able to see an augmented reality court with an interactive representation of the shots, statistics, positioning and ball trajectories for every point won. Fans will also have the opportunity to play tennis virtually on the beloved Philippe-Chatrier court and engage with other fans in the metaverse through Social VR.

A Platform for Chess

After launching a chess league last year, Tech Mahindra has been engaged to be the digital partner for the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad, which will be held in Chennai from 28th July to 9th August, with the Government of Tamil Nadu as host and principal sponsor this year.

Tech Mahindra will provide digital technology solutions such as Fan Nxt.Now to redefine the experience for fans across the globe. This technology from the company will drive hyper-personalized data-driven fan experiences by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR), and other cutting-edge technologies to bring fans closer to the game and action real-time.

“It is a great moment for Indian chess to stage a historic Olympiad with a great team and I am looking forward to working with FIDE, AICF, and their digital partner - Tech Mahindra. Their expertise in leveraging technology to give the chess fans a unique experience will be the big highlight of the Olympiad,” said Viswanathan Anand, five-time world chess champion and Indian chess legend.

Uptick to Continue

As the sports industry grows – augmented by the new-age technologies, tech is bound to become an integral part of sports viewing and fan engagement. While the Indian tech companies have a good head start in this space, it would be interesting to see how the international tech community makes inroads into sports tech.