Tag Archives: sports

Veritone: One of the Highlights of World Cup, SVP Sean King

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Veritone, creator of aiWARE, a hyper-expansive enterprise AI platform, partnered with former pro footballer Alan Smith will use AI voice to cover the most prestigious football tournament in the world. Opta Voice by Stats Perform, powered by award-winning aiWARE™ solution Veritone Voice, brings life to the sport stats and game details to fans around the world. Alan is currently a regular co-commentator and sometime studio pundit for Sky Sports for the Premier League coverage.

Rick talks about that and more with Veritone SVP, Sean King.

“Broadcasters and sports organizations can now leverage lifelike voice options in a wide range of languages for their stats reporting, reaching new fan bases around the globe, and providing better services to those who may not speak the host language, as well as those with visual impairments.”

Now, through AI voice, passionate fans can hear real-time game updates from the announcer on their phone or computer in their local language. Veritone Voice gives commentators the ability to enhance and personalize fan engagement and even bring their unique voice and cadence in multiple languages to a number of concurrent events.

“The ability to reach audiences around the world in their local language opens up a host of new opportunities for broadcasters and provides the best possible experience for the passionate fans,” shared Sport Commentator Alan Smith. “Providing one voice creates consistency for audiences and it’s a privilege that the selected voice will be the AI version of mine.”

A recent strategic partnership combines Veritone’s synthetic voice AI technology to provide voice commentary with Stats Perform’s Opta sports data, designed to provide real-time play-by-play, pre-game, in-game and post-game updates.

“We’re thrilled to already see the impact of our recent partnership with Veritone coming to life,” said Stats Perform Chief Revenue Officer Steve Xeller. “Broadcasters and sports organizations can now leverage lifelike voice options in a wide range of languages for their stats reporting, reaching new fan bases around the globe, and providing better services to those who may not speak the host language, as well as those with visual impairments.”

“We continue to expand our offerings and capabilities in sport and to help broadcasters and other organizations scale their reach and best engage their audiences,” said Veritone President Ryan Steelberg. “We’re excited to help Alan Smith reach fans around the world with his beloved sports commentary and insights.”

Veritone also recently launched SPORTX, a new intelligent marketplace for sports federations and content producers from around the globe to license short-form sports video directly to media buyers. Sports rights holders on board with SPORTX include ATP Media, Euroleague Basketball and Extreme E, with many others in advanced discussions. In addition, SPORTX plans to host content from SNTV, the world’s biggest sports news video outlet, which will include content from this year’s tournament in Qatar, including press conferences, stadium profiles, fan zones, game reviews and profiles of all 32 teams.

Mickie James, Wresting Legend, Impact Wrestling, 10X World Champ

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Rick is joined by wresting legend, Mickie James this week.

James is one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the world and a 10-time Women’s World Champion, Mickie James has been wrestling for more than two decades, including multiple title runs in WWE and IMPACT Wrestling. She has been wrestling since 1999 and has been a multi-time winner of the Woman Wrestler of the Year award. Away from the ring, James is a renowned country music singer, perhaps best known for her hit single “Hardcore Country.” She is an inductee into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and is signed to Sony Music.

James is part of HARD TO KILL, one of IMPACT’s premier events of the year, every year – and the 2023 show is a blockbuster, on Friday, January 13. Then, on Saturday night, January 14, IMPACT Wrestling presents the Hard To Kill Fallout Show, also at Center Stage, as the company’s television trucks will capture all of the in-ring action for upcoming episodes of IMPACT’s flagship weekly TV show, #IMPACTonAXSTV (Thursday, 8 p.m. EST on AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada and Impact Insiders on YouTube.

IMPACT Wrestling presents back-to-back nights of action-packed live pro wrestling in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday, January 13-14 – both nights originating from famed Center Stage in Atlanta.

(Some sound issues on Rick’s end… sorry for that!)

SportsVisio CEO, Jason Syversen on Cutting Edge AI

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Great to talk to Jason this week. A great idea and a passion for sports has created SportsVisio. SportsVisio is a highly revolutionary Sports AI/Computer Vision startup that essentially uses cutting-edge AI tech to capture basketball stats and automatically generate highlights, simply using iPhone or Android phone cameras on tripods. All with Syverson and SportsVisio giving back!

Enjoy Jason Syverson of SportsVisio.

Syversen has grown and sold multiple multi-million dollar companies. After earning a BS in computer engineering and an MS in electrical engineering, Jason became a project manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He then went on to found, and later sell, Siege Technologies. Prior to founding SportsVisio, he was GP at 10x Ventures.

Bob Wilber, Author, ‘How Far?: A Tale of Determination, DNA, and Drama’, Drag Racing, Sports PR

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Great to catch up with Bob Wilber this week.

Wilber’s book How Far? explores the incredible friendship that blossoms between a baseball player from Southern California and a hockey player from Minnesota. How Far? is an inspiring story that isn’t just for sports fans — it’s for anyone who wants to be motivated to keep working toward their goals and overcome life’s inevitable setbacks.

Plot:

As the son of a major league baseball player and a former baseball player himself, author Bob Wilber has lived the athlete life, and in his new book, How Far?, Wilber weaves the compelling story of two disparate athletes who meet and form an unlikely bond. His creative use of first-person writing, having his fictional protagonists appear to write the book themselves in their distinct voices, immerses readers in every thought and word of the two characters.

Brooks Bennett is a gifted baseball player (and the son of artist hippies) from Southern California, and Eric Olson is an undersized hockey player from Roseau, Minnesota — where hockey is king. The two men come from vastly different worlds and couldn’t be more dissimilar. And in one spontaneous moment, their paths cross, and their lives change forever.

How Far? follows their serendipitous meeting and what happens as they each experience the emotional and physical highs and lows of their careers. Wilber takes readers on deep dives into the worlds of amateur and professional sports, down to the richest and most evocative details. On the ice, on the field, in the locker rooms and while facing life’s many personal challenges, the two characters tell the tale as it really is.

How Far? is a story that will appeal to sports fans as well as anyone who appreciates an inspiring story of personal growth and perseverance.

“When asked if it’s a sports book, my answer is, ‘It’s a life book, told through a sports lens,’” Wilber said.

Bob Wilber is no stranger to the world of sports. The son of Major League player Del Wilber, Bob Wilber grew up playing baseball. He graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism, then went on to play several seasons of minor league baseball for the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland A’s. When his playing days were over, Wilber spent time as a regional scouting supervisor for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Wilber also grew up with a passion for writing, and ended up journeying through the world of international sports marketing before he was a senior executive for three professional indoor soccer franchises. An interest in NHRA drag racing led to his 22 years as a public relations representative and team manager for professional racers. Wilber published his autobiography Bats, Balls, & Burnouts in 2017. How Far? is his first work of fiction.

A great talk with Bob, have a listen.

 

 

Jed Corenthal, CMO of Phenix talking Streaming

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Phenix is a real-time streaming tech provider who has worked with major sporting events and organizations around the world to stream their events with sub-half a second latency. Jed Corenthal elaborates on how ultra-low latency allows for exciting interactive features and personalization options like augmented reality with instant data overlays, real-time stats, and multi-angle viewing so fans can choose exactly how they want to watch the game. Additionally, with real-time streams, there are endless opportunities for micro-betting and sports betting at large with longer betting windows even on fast-paced sports.

More importantly, he discusses the state of sports streaming today and the need to implement stronger tech to avoid frustrating delays, buffering, and cutting out on streams that consumers pay too much for.

A great interview with Jed.

Nick Rolnick , World Class Performance Trainer

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Rick is joined by Nick Rolnick this week.

Rolnick (@thehpm), “The Human Performance Mechanic,” (thehpmny.com) an authority on blood flow restriction, performance enhancement specialist, and physical therapist. Nick’s sole goal is to help people get back to the activities they love as quickly as possible so they can experience the joy of pain free movement.

Rolnick is a product of Scarsdale, High School in Westchester (County) New York, He starred in baseball as captain on his college team at Franklin & Marshall. He has an M.S. in Health Promotion Management from American University, and earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University with honors, realizing his love for fitness and passion to help others. “This is so rewarding, helping others with fitness and rehab. I wouldn’t change where I’m at.”

This was a great talk with Nick.