MUMBAI: XR in Sports is about to receive a shot in the arm. Three large global players have joined hands for a strategic alliance which seeks to bridge the sports and XR industry. These are global video solutions provider Accedo, leading hardware and software enabler Qualcomm Technologies and HBS, a specialist sports broadcast organization.
The three founding members aim to bring together market-leading stakeholders, drawing on Accedo’s expertise in video user experience, distribution and monetization, Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon-powered XR technology and expertise, and HBS’ strong sports ecosystem.
The program aims to accelerate knowledge gathering, technological advancement and time-to-market for XR sports services, as well as gather and share industry knowledge.
The XR Sports Alliance aims to drive the development and deployment of XR Sports products and services by providing an end-to-end solution framework to help key stakeholders deploy state-of-the-art XR services efficiently and at scale. The framework encompasses immersive video production and distribution, system architecture definition, data and monetization frameworks, user testing and technology and business model advisory elements. Moreover, the program will be open to third parties to join, including XR OEMs, to drive the development of purpose-built XR hardware for the sports and video entertainment use case.
At its core, the program aims to connect leading companies from the sports, video, telco, infrastructure, and hardware industries to collaborate in innovation projects, collectively contribute to each other’s roadmaps, and exchange knowledge and feedback, to support and accelerate industry growth and innovation.
Accedo CEO Michael Lantz said: “We believe XR will become an important content distribution and user engagement platform and we want to connect industry stakeholders to collaborate and innovate. The Alliance network will enable industries to uncover industry demand in different geographical regions and shine light on the pipeline of upcoming XR solutions, allowing sports rights owners and holders to make data-driven decisions.”
Qualcomm, Technologies senior director product management Patrick Costello added: “We are entering a new era of spatial computing. We firmly believe that XR experiences will revolutionize how fans engage with sports and we are already seeing a rise in adoption of immersive entertainment experiences thanks to the emergence of new XR devices and increased investment by OEMs for sports content rights. The XR Sports Alliance will bring together key players in the sports entertainment value-chain, collectively fostering the ecosystem to deliver game-changing immersive sports experiences.”
HBS head of digital services Sylvain Lebreton commented: “This program aims to be a game-changer for the sports industry, helping to drive innovation. We are engaging with industry leaders across every part of the XR and sports broadcast ecosystem, which we are sure will ultimately accelerate the development and deployment of commercial XR sports services.”
