Sportradar Seeks New Opportunities with New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens
The US legal sports betting gold rush continues as have the related partnership deals. The latest such deal is one between Swiss gambling data company, Sportradar and two iconic NFL franchises, the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens.
Sportradar, self-described as “the leading global provider of sports data intelligence" appears to have moved on from the disappointment of losing its status as the exclusive NFL data provider to Genius Sports. It could have been a game changer for the company.
Sportradar has taken a slightly different path with their latest deals. Their new effort in maintaining elite-level sports betting providership aims to help individual teams, not just leagues. Innovation and adaptation have become integral characteristics to thrive in the ever-growing and ever-changing US legal sports betting space and Sportradar appears to have done just that.
Sportradar head of United States advertising Mike Smith on the new deals said, “Sportradar is thrilled to be working with the Jets and the Ravens on this strategic initiative in the ever-evolving U.S. market. Legalized sports betting presents new and unique opportunities for teams, as well as betting operators, and the Jets and Ravens are taking a step in raising the value of their brands for their respective betting sponsors."
Goal of the Deals
Sportradar, with their newest business path is collaborating with the Ravens and Jets to develop innovative marketing plans to not only engage new bettors but to also make the teams more attractive to prospective providers looking to team up with those clubs. Sportradar hopes to increase the attractiveness of those brands in order to maximize their earning potential.
Their aim is efficiency, through Sportradar’s proprietary technology for teams and “in maximizing sponsor performance and unlocking new opportunities for their partners in the rapidly growing legal sports betting category,” according to a press release.
In essence, Sportradar is hoping to assist individual teams improve the overall bettor experience and attract new clients through clever, well-crafted and informed targeted marketing campaigns. The better the experience for the bettor and the wagering provider, the more users and potential sponsorship opportunities that will come a team's way.
Nitty Gritty Of the Sportradar Plan
The Sportradar evolution will allow individual sports teams and wagering companies to create unique content and attractive data-driven ad campaigns to be used in customer acquisition and retention.
Sportradar will use what they call "ad:s", or "“full service, data-driven marketing solution, to help each team enhance and refine their sponsorship and affiliate marketing strategies for legal sports betting partners.” Technology and data will continue to drive the evolution of the gaming industry and Sportradar’s products will be a key to unlocking the industry’s overall potential.
Mike Smith said of the new direction his company has taken: "Our end-to-end platform provides each team a number of levers they can pull to ensure they’re delivering a personalized experience based on their distinct fanbases, while maximizing their marketing investment.”
Teams Seem to Be All-in on Sportradar Direction
With the exponential growth of the US legal sports betting industry has come the need for something new, something fresh to set individual teams and sports betting providers apart. The Ravens and Jets think they have found that in Sportradar.
“This innovative relationship with Sportradar will allow the New York Jets to optimize the overall performance of our legal sports betting partners, both inside and outside of our ecosystem,” said Jeff Fernandez, the team's vice president of business development and ventures. “The ability to engage, acquire, convert and retain customers in this super competitive and rapidly growing space is of the highest priority for operators. Sportradar’s proprietary technology and expertise in reaching sports bettors via predictive analytics will be extraordinarily valuable to Official LSB Sponsors of the Jets.”
Ravens Chief Sales Officer Kevin Rochlitz said: “As we continue increasing our visibility in the world of sports betting and digital gaming, the Baltimore Ravens are honored to be among the first NFL teams to partner with an industry leader in Sportradar. Through its unmatched sports data intelligence, Sportradar provides an efficient and robust outlet for our partners to better engage with and cater to fans in this rapidly evolving industry.”
Sportradar Not Going Away
Despite losing out on what could have cemented their company as the unquestioned leader in data services for the global legal sports betting industry, Sportradar was able to see the value of what they do and re-adapt for future endeavors.
Data is and will continue to be a major part of what sportsbooks hope to accomplish in the future. In-game betting is that future and is completely reliant on reliable, real-time data.
As teams and companies battle for new customers and new ways to keep their present roster of users engaged, the value of data will only increase, as will the need for companies like Sportradar in the legal sports betting space.
Sportradar is still working on a way to become a publicly traded company thanks to their deal a couple months back with SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) Horizon Acquisition Corp. II. So, those of you that expected the data provider to fade away after losing out on the exclusive NFL deals were off the mark.
Expect to hear a lot about Sportradar and their ground-breaking, proprietary technology in the future, just not in the capacity that they, or anyone else would have quite expected.
