By Paul Nicholson
June 3 – The sports data business has a new powerplaying corporate entrant in the form of world leading data and technology provider Gracenote, which has acquired Europe’s Infostrada Sports and Canada-based SportsDirect for $54 million.
The acquisitions will form a new division, Gracenote Sports, providing global coverage of sports leagues ad events. SportsDirect is a specialist in major league sports, whilst Infostrada’s strength is in European leagues as well as events like the Olympics and the World Cup.
Gracenote’s acquisition dramatically expands the opportunities for sports data. Gracenote provides data and technology powering next generation experiences for Samsung, Spotify, Apple, Google, Twitter, Roku, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, Hulu, Ford and BMW. The company marries music with TV and movie data for their distribution platforms.
Gracenote works with motor manufacturers and says there are more than 65 million cars with Gracenote technology. “Our auto customers are keen to integrate sports data into the car’s dashboard,” said a Gracenote spokesperson.
“The acquisitions make Gracenote the first global provider of music, video and sports data, and enable the company to provide one-stop data solutions for its roster of blue-chip clients in the US and around the world,” said a company statement.
“As connected devices become even more pervasive, Gracenote will be uniquely positioned to drive viewer tune-in by featuring next-generation sports data and statistics in cable and satellite program guides. Gracenote will also be able to deliver sports data as statistical overlays for live sports events on Smart TVs and handsets, and live alerts on automobile dashboards.”
As part of the SportsDirect acquisition, Gracenote has also acquired the Covers Media Group, the operator of Covers.com. Covers is an on-line odds-checking site in North America that deliver scores, odds and matchups, editorial analysis and industry news coverage.
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