Cutting Edge
Special feature : How Should We Expand the Field of Kando — The Current State of Sports Entertainment
Apr 8, 2024
Entertainment has entered a new phase with tech x sports.
In our pursuit of Kando, we are also working on initiatives to expand the field of Kando from physical spaces into virtual spaces.
One example is the realization of new entertainment that connects the physical and virtual worlds through sports data. To this end, three companies* play key roles in the Sony Group: Hawk-Eye Innovations (Hawk-Eye), Pulselive, and Beyond Sports.
Hawk-Eye has strengths in Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology (SMART), optical tracking technology for player, ball and object tracking, and data visualization technologies. Making use of those technologies, it offers officiating, broadcast enhancement and data platform services for more than 90 countries and regions.
Pulselive provides technology that fuels various official websites, over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and mobile apps for renowned sports teams and organizations.
Meanwhile, Beyond Sports, which became part of the Sony Group in 2022, has advanced real-time data-validation and enhancement technologies, as well as virtual recreation technologies for instant visualization of acquired sports data such as 3D animation.
Sony will continue to organically connect the diverse technologies within the Group including the technologies of these three companies and open up a new world of sports entertainment.
In addition, we are collaborating with Manchester City Football Club, English Premier League, to promote an unprecedented fan engagement service that utilizes the metaverse.
The sports entertainment area is undergoing a period of transformation. The key members of each company will talk about its current state and future.
* Hawk-Eye, Pulselive and Beyond Sports form Sony Corporation’s Sports Entertainment Business Unit, which aims to create new types of sports entertainment that bridge the real and virtual worlds. The three companies are run by a centralized executive management team, based on the four common principles; 1) Disrupt and Diversify - ensuring continuous innovation and drive into new growth areas, 2) Strategic Partner - a centralized commercial strategy that provides world class account management, 3) Sports Guarantee - technology delivered at the highest global standards and serves the needs of our clients, and 4) Employee First - engaging our employees in meaningful ways, providing opportunities for growth and developing a company culture with a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion(DE&I).
