By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – Hawk-eye Innovations, the ball-tracking technology system used in cricket and tennis, has been sold to Sony for an undisclosed sum reported in some quarters as around £20 million ($32 million).
Known simply as Hawk-Eye by sports fans, the system has become a staple feature in nailbiting decisions and in the year ending September 2009 made a pre-tax profit of £1.1 million ($1.7 million) on sales of £3.6 million ($5.8 million).
It is also used in snooker.
The purchase includes all intellectual property rights, Hawk-Eye’s current full time staff as well as its technology, software and engineering.
Hawk-Eye inventor Paul Hawkins said the takeover by Sony created “immense opportunities for the sports industry”.
One important knock-on effect could be Hawk-Eye’s future introduction in football.
Significantly, Sony is a key commercial partner of FIFA and football’s world governing body last weekend agreed to extend its experiments with goal-line technology.
Hawk-Eye has long been hailed as a system that could give quick and accurate calls as to whether the ball has crossed the line but so far has failed to meet FIFA’s criteria.
Although it was not one of the 10 companies involved in recent stringent testing under the auspices of a Swiss research unit, FIFA President Sepp Blatter made a point of mentioning Hawk-Eye when he announced last weekend that manufacturers would be given another year – with FIFA funding – to come up with a foolproof mechanism for goalline technology.
Naomi Climer, vice-president of Sony Europe, commented: “Hawk-Eye is recognised globally for its innovative solutions for resolving close calls in critical sporting situations, particularly in cricket and tennis where they have developed a worldwide reputation.”
“Players, officials and sports fans have all appreciated the accurate and entertaining way in which Hawk-Eye has integrated its technology into these key sports.”
“Hawk-Eye presents Sony with the opportunity to acquire a small, innovative company with unique knowledge and excellent growth and synergies potential.
“It is an ideal complementary offering to Sony Professional’s existing portfolio of solutions for stadiums, venues and broadcasters, as well as bringing in specific expertise around managed services and sports software solutions engineering.
“We see strong opportunities on the technological, business and marketing levels to further Sony’s leadership and engagement in the sports and broadcasting industry.”
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