Brentford FC has announced a partnership with Genius Sports to enhance fan experience via data driven highlights.
Brentford has become the first club in the Premier League to implement Genius Sports’ data-driven highlights for its fans in its Gtech Community Stadium and across social media, an experience that will run till the end of the 2023/24 season.
Supporters attending this weekend’s fixture against Sheffield United will be able to see several types of augmented highlights including shot speeds, shot trails, player names and pitch maps.
Steve Watts, Marketing Services Director at Brentford FC, commented: “Everything we do at Brentford is through a fan-first perspective. Whilst we rate highly for matchday experience, we are always looking at ways we can improve and add something a little different when attending a game at the Gtech.”
As the official tracking data and analytics partner to the Premier League, Genius Sports’ Dragon technology captures 10,000 surface mesh data points per player, over 200 times per second for every Brentford game.
The software applies computer vision to combine tracking data with broadcast video in real-time, providing fans with information for every highlight.
In addition, Gtech, the club’s stadium naming rights partner, will power the highlights to be shared on social media. Brentford will embed Gtech’s logo in the clips, allowing Gtech to leverage a completely new ad inventory with placements in prime viewing position above the goals.
For example, by understanding what is happening in the game, Dragon will automatically detect shots and display the Gtech logo above the goal at that time, providing crucial brand visibility when audiences are paying most attention.
Genius Sports agreed a deal with Premier League Productions (PLP) last October, which enabled PLP broadcasts to feature a live Premier League Data Zone viewing mode for live broadcasts.
Watts added: “As a club that owes much to a data-driven approach, we wanted to meet the appetite for fans who are also extremely interested in this aspect of the game. We think the additional analysis will be enjoyed by the majority of fans whether attending in person or post-match on socials.”
