Sony and NFL launch Tech Partnership

Article posted by Coliseum, August 5^th, 2024

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Sony has become an official partner of the National Football League (NFL) with the pair set to work together to improve in-game technologies and help engage the next generation of NFL fans.

Sony and the NFL will be working collaboratively with coaches, players, teams, and leadership across the organization to transform the future of football, the electronics giant said.

This includes an expansion of Sony’s sports technology through Hawk-Eye Innovations to support officiating and the development of on-field and sideline technologies including a new coach’s sideline headset that will debut in the 2025 season.

The NFL and Sony will work closely to develop this new headset supporting coach-to-coach communication on the field. These will be powered by Verizon Business’ Managed Private Wireless Solution running on Verizon’s reliable 5G network.

Sony’s Hawk-Eye tracking services will be utilized to further enhance the accuracy of game-critical items like line-to-gain measurement.

Additionally, Sony’s Beyond Sports and its expertise in real-time visualization provides an opportunity to help engage the next generation of fans.

Gary Brantley, chief information officer at the NFL said, “Building upon a long-established relationship, the NFL looks forward to embracing prominent industry leader, Sony as an official technology partner.

“Advancing technology on and off the field is a top priority for the NFL, and this partnership will fortify Sony’s role in the NFL’s ever-growing technology ecosystem, elevating various dimensions of our sport and bringing fans closer to game-day action.

“From broadening Hawk-Eye’s technology within the game to utilizing Sony’s suite of advanced imaging products, to the deployment of new coaches’ headsets in 2025, the NFL will harness Sony’s expertise to drive innovation and further solidify the league’s status as a premier sports organization.”

The new partnership is the latest example of Sony’s deep integration throughout NFL games, ranging from sideline photography to broadcast cameras and production, to technology that supports officiating, enhancements for in-stadium fan experiences and more.

Neal Manowitz, President and COO of Sony Electronics North America, said, “We are committed to creating the future of sports with technology, and constantly driving innovation to positively impact the world of athletics for players, coaches and fans alike.

“From best-in-class professional photography and the broadcast capture of the game to some of the world’s most advanced line-to-gain optical tracking, to upgraded in-stadium experiences and more, we remain focused on this commitment.

“This partnership stems from years of integration into the NFL across these many different areas, and we are excited to officially join forces and pursue our passions together with one of the largest sports organizations in the world.”

Sony’s extensive technology solutions capture some of the most memorable moments of the NFL, bringing fans the excitement and unpredictability of the game with world-class precision.

Within the game itself, Hawk-Eye’s technology has supported the NFL Officiating Department to review and make critical rulings on plays.

For the coming seasons, Hawk-Eye and NFL will collaborate in the development of a next-generation officiating technology leveraging Hawk-Eye’s state-of-art optical tracking technology to review and make critical ruling on plays, helping to achieve the highest level of integrity for the game.

Additionally, the technology and data captured by Hawk-Eye paired with player tracking data from the NFL’s Next Gen Stats powered by AWS and Sony’s Beyond Sports’ visualization technology will create new avenues for real-time content creation like ESPN, Disney and the NFL’s Emmy-award winning Toy Story Funday Football alternate game presentation during the 2023 season, which brought a younger and more global audience to the game and is the biggest live event to-date on Disney+.

Since 2020, Sony has been the exclusive imaging products and support provider for The Associated Press, a trusted global news organization and the definitive source for NFL imagery. Sony’s imaging ecosystem has been AP’s exclusive camera choice for all NFL coverage, producing many incredible images of the league’s most defining moments over the course of the last four years.

Sony cameras have also been used by NFL broadcast partners including CBS Sports, ESPN, FOX Sports, and NBC Sports for decades, including coverage of the League’s biggest games and the Super Bowl.

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