?? Exciting Innovations from RALLY & Our Class of 2024

The theme of the month was – RALLY.?

As a founding Platinum sponsor of the Rally Innovation Conference in Indianapolis, we had the privilege of being front and center on the convention floor, sharing the stage with our dynamic startups.

A key highlight was the opportunity to showcase the incredible innovations our startups are developing, with live demonstrations of their tech available for the global audience.

But the excitement doesn’t stop there—we’re thrilled to announce that our startups have secured 15 pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals as a direct result of participating in our customized program.

Keep reading to discover all the highlights and details.

Rallying Together in Indy

We closed out the 2024 Rally Conference with style and impact!? Our team had a fantastic time engaging in panels on innovation and sports trends, and we were thrilled to showcase all 10 of our portfolio companies on the Demo Stage. None of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our partners, moderators, panelists, and the remarkable portfolio companies that have been with us throughout the past six months.? Here's to driving more innovation together...See you next year!

Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024

This summer, Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic Games are returning to their true glory – with full stadiums for the first time since 2018 and the world’s best athletes competing in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.? From the Opening Ceremony on the Seine to Beach Volleyball at the Eiffel Tower and Equestrian at the Palace de Versailles, bringing the thrill and excitement of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 into the homes of millions was an extraordinary and proud moment for Comcast NBCUniversal – and the company couldn’t be more excited for the Paralympic Games to begin August 28.

Recent News & Stats:

• NBCUniversal’s presentation of the spectacular Paris Olympics dominates the media landscape across all platforms. From the most-watched Opening Ceremony since 2012 through the Closing Ceremony, NBCUniversal posted a Total Audience Delivery of 30.6 million viewers across the combined live Paris Prime and U.S. primetime time periods – up 82% from Tokyo.
• NBCUniversal’s streaming of the Paris Olympics – led by Peacock – surpassed all prior Olympics with 23.5 billion minutes of coverage – up 40% from all prior Summer and Winter Olympics combined.
• The Closing Ceremony on NBC and Peacock concluded NBCUniversal’s innovative presentation of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 – highlighted by 7,000 hours of coverage, 329 events in and around the City of Light (and Tahiti!), and numerous breakout stars for Team USA which won more medals (126) than any country and tied for the gold-medal lead (40).
• The NBC Broadcast Network extended its streak to 152 consecutive Summer Olympics nights as primetime’s No. 1 show.
• NBCU’s Paris Paralympic Games coverage will include the most streaming hours ever for a Paralympics with approximately 1,500 hours of live coverage across all 22 Paralympic sports set to be streamed on Peacock throughout the duration of the 12-day event.?

Partner Highlights

Revamped PGA TOUR Spot Showcases Fan-Favorite Features?

The PGA TOUR recently launched a revamped App TV spot that highlights scoring features and the ability for fans to follow their favorite players. The spot also highlights the evolution of new messaging that balances deep storytelling with fan-friendly messaging.?

Baseball Comes to Bristol Motor Speedway?

Baseball fans, mark your calendars for Aug. 2, 2025. That’s when you’ll get to see a regular-season Major League Baseball (MLB) game inside NASCAR 's iconic Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway .?The matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds will also be the first MLB game in Tennessee. The game will almost certainly vie for a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance ever at a baseball game. Previously, 115,300 fans watched an exhibition game back in 2009 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but Bristol holds a few more fans – the track can seat 150,000.?

Our Portfolio Making Waves

Fourth Class Secures 15 Business Deals

In case you missed it, earlier this week, we announced that the 10 companies in our fourth class have secured 15 pilots, partnerships, and commercial deals as a result of their participation in our program. Check out the details in our August 27th press release.?

Congratulations to the team at Zoomph for launching Broadcast. Their heat mapping and zip code features dive deeper into insights for targeted media strategies. Zoomph’s clients will now be able to find new regional hot spots, sell targeted sponsorships, and execute market-driven media strategies with these enhanced?geo capabilities.???

KYMIRA customers from across the world traveled to Paris last month, and 33 made their way home with medals representing 5 different countries, 8 different sporting types, and 17 different events! The outstanding effort shows that athletes were able to maximize their performance with the help of KYMIRA on the world’s biggest stage.?

Hot Reads: August Edition

YouTube Showcases Fan Engagement

The Premier League kicked off on Aug. 16, but only four out of 20 teams utilized YouTube for fan engagement, according to Ed Abis , CEO of Dizplai (2024 cohort). Abis highlighted that live shows are among the best-performing content on their channels. A standout example is Arsenal F.C.’s “Live from N5,” a pre-match show with a fresh, magazine-style format targeting younger viewers.

Golf's Momentum Continues

More people hit the greens this summer. According to The Perfect Putt Newsletter, rounds were up 2% in the first half of 2024, marking 46 out of 49 months of growth beyond pre-pandemic levels. The National Golf Foundation also reported a 34% surge in golf club and ball shipments from 2019 to 2021, reflecting the sport's ongoing rise.

Trends in Sports Tech News

• Kevin Durant purchased a minority stake in Paris Saint-Germain through his Boardroom Sports Holdings. Boardroom is expected to lead the charge on content strategy initiatives with PSG.? [Source: Boardroom]
• On the verge of the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys are now the first sports team worth $10 billion. [Source: The Dallas Morning News]
• The NFL Committee will hold a proposal for owners to vote on private equity’s role in team ownership. Earlier this month, the league met with PE firms including Arctos, Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, CVC, and Sixth Street. [Source: Axios]
• Tennis fans now have the opportunity to invest in their favorite athletes through Commonwealth Sports. [Source: TENNIS.com]
• Toptracer was named the official ball-tracing technology partner of TMRW Sports. [Source: Sports Video Group]
• NCAA taps a multi-year deal with Veritone to assist with media asset management. [Source: Sports Pro Media]

Photo of the Month

It took just 90 minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo to rack up one million subscribers to his newly-launched YouTube channel. That means he received YouTube’s vaunted ‘Golden Play’ plaque on the same day he went live. As of this newsletter’s publishing time, Ronaldo has hit 48 million subscribers with 21 published videos.

If you joined us at Rally or followed us on our social channels -- thank you! We cannot wait to watch this latest cohort launch into the sports tech universe and accomplish amazing things. Stay tuned as we prepare to announce our next class of amazing startups!

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