By: Sarah Kichula
October 22, 2024
Photo Credit: AWS
In early September of 2024, the NFL extended its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to continue to accelerate innovation efforts in areas such as player safety, fan engagement and content production. Though the league has been partnered with AWS since 2017, there have recently been major innovative strides made in the realm of technology by leveraging the company’s generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities to boost statistical metrics, increase operational efficiencies, and drive additional value for players and fans. This partnership lends itself to several different capabilities and platforms under the AWS umbrella, including Next Gen Stats, a platform that uses real time tracking to provide analytics and insights on the field, the Digital Athlete, which informs player health and safety, and the annual NFL Big Data Bowl. Furthermore, the NFL also announced the newest strategic solution to innovation within the league, the NFL IT Innovation Hub, which is detailed in full later on in this article.
Debuting New Gen Stat: Tackle Probability
The newest innovation from the NFL and AWS partnership is a ML model that can predict the likelihood that a given defender will make a tackle. Through accessing more than two million data points from an individual player processed every 10th of a second, this tool can help quantify which defenders are the most reliable tacklers and which ball carriers are most elusive. By leveraging the partnership with AWS, this model was trained and put into production in less than six months. Next Gen Stats as a whole benefits the entire NFL ecosystem, as it is utilized by the league, broadcasters, partners, teams, coaches, scouts and players to help turn the raw tracking data into advanced statistics that help contextualize the action on the field.
The NFL IT Innovation Hub
The NFL launched their IT Innovation Hub about a month ago with the goal to seamlessly integrate technology into the game, the business operations of the league, and the fan experience. Within this hub, ideas are submitted to the program and reviewed by experts in IT, business development, digital media, data analytics, and player health and safety. Those potential projects that are in alignment with the league’s goals are then tested and developed into MVPs (Minimal Viable Products) to be presented to senior management for production approval. Through this comprehensive entrepreneurial strategy, the NFL is able to implement advanced technology while simultaneously monitoring and measuring its success to ensure it meets the league’s business needs and goals.
Recently, the hub has leveraged GenAI to experiment with personalized marketing content that can be tailored to global, diverse audiences. In alignment with the NFL’s long-term goal to increase its fan base, especially on a global level, the hub can leverage AI translation capabilities within their partnerships with AWS and Microsoft to reach fans in diverse markets. Furthermore, the hub can test customized advertisements featuring a variety of different players to test which ad performs best in each of the NFL’s target markets. As the hub is only in its infancy, there is massive potential for more extensive marketing experiments to continue this evolution of fan engagement with the NFL’s products.
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