Israel-based WSC Sports, a provider of artificial intelligence-supported sports video highlights, has made its first move into the South American market by agreeing a deal with Liga Nacional de Basquete, operating body of the top division of Brazilian club basketball.
Using the WSC Sports platform, Novo Basquete Brasil video content will be created in real time, allowing swift transfer onto the league’s social media channels.
WSC’s tech allows the LNB to post the best moments and highlights from NBB games on its official YouTube channel, minutes after the match has finished. The Liga said videos of more than 10 minutes in duration have been particularly popular since the start of the 2019 season.
The LNB has also been able to post more video via social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. These channels are regularly filled with content such as specific player moves, team comparisons and recaps of the final minutes of games.
The WSC deal comes after the NBB last month furthered its reputation for innovation in the domestic media market by agreeing a rights deal with social video platform Twitch. The deal grants Twitch rights to stream 10 NBB matches during the current 2019 season.
Guilherme Buso, communication director at NBB, said: “The partnership with WSC Sports comes at a crucial and strategic moment while we celebrate the first season with 100 per cent of the games broadcasted.
“The platform also allows us to increase the capacity to produce video content on our own digital media, in addition to giving us the possibility to distribute the best moments of NBB Caixa to teams, athletes and media partners. Now we have all possible bids from the championship captured and this can be shared with fans at different times.”
In August, WSC Sports raised $23m (€20.8m) in Series C funding, the latest marker in the company’s continued growth. WSC’s client portfolio also includes the likes of the NBA, WarnerMedia, golf’s PGA Tour, the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), National Collegiate Athletic Association, and World Surf League.
WSC Sports has also worked with the Bundesliga and J.League to package highlight clips for social media and localise content for specific audiences.