The Six Nations has partnered with Amazon Web Services, a division of e-commerce company Amazon, to enhance television coverage of the rugby union championship.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Six Nations has selected AWS analytics, machine learning, and deep learning services to deliver more in-depth insight into the championship and enhance the match experience for rugby fans around the world.
As well as providing the technology behind the live broadcast of on-screen match data and statistics, AWS will also power other aspects of the Six Nations across its official website. In doing so, AWS will become the Official Technology Provider of the Six Nations.
Through the AWS partnership, Six Nations plans on bringing a number of technological firsts to the sport, including using predictive analytics for the first time.
For the 2019 championship, which commenced at the weekend, seven new kinds of statistics have been launched that are significantly more dynamic than those featured in previous broadcasts. New statistics will look at scrum analysis, play patterns, try origins, team trends, ruck analysis, tackle analysis, and field position analysis.
These new statistics will be generated by gathering live data from the game, streaming them into AWS to store and conduct analytics, and then delivering these insights back to the live broadcast.
Ben Morel, chief executive of Six Nations Rugby, said: “With AWS now powering the championship, we have the opportunity to place unparalleled innovation at the core of our rugby experience, for fans around the world. This is a major boost for our championship and a clear signal of our ambition to embrace innovation in all areas that will benefit our fans.”
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