Pro League and Stats Perform Expand Partnership
Brussels & London/Chicago, 9 September 2020 – The Belgian Pro League today announces that it has chosen Stats Perform, the SportsTech leader in data and Al technology, to be its Official Data Partner.
In a multi-year deal, the Pro League has extended its relationship with Stats Perform. Stats Perform will continue to exclusively collect and manage Stats Perform's Opta data from all Belgian matches of Jupiler Pro League and 1B Pro League. Thanks to a unique collaboration between Stats Perform, the Pro League and Eleven Sports, the new rightsholder of the Pro League competitions, the scope of the cooperation has been substantially extended, for the benefit of clubs, fans and related stakeholders. The extended deal has three core pillars: performance, broadcast & communications.
In support of all Pro League clubs, the performance part of the deal between Stats Perform and the Pro League has been expanded. Stats Perform will be the Pro League's Official Tracking and Performance Data Provider. As a new feature to the deal, the league and its clubs are provided with live player tracking data through Stats Perform's SportVU and athlete monitoring insights. This allows for the coaches and their staff to include real-time data in their decision-making during the game.
The broadcast and communications part of the deal reinforces the Pro League's commitment to ensuring that those covering the competition are provided with the best quality, most engaging live data to bring the exciting league to life, by creating unique experiences to inform and empower their audience across traditional broadcast channels, digital media and socials.
In February, the Pro League signed a 5-year contract with Eleven Sports, covering domestic and international rights to the Jupiler Pro League and 1B Pro League, bringing all matches onto one network. Stats Perform's data will be used by the broadcaster to drive creativity, ensure a deeper viewer insight into on- and off-the-ball action and to tell new and exciting stories for fans who have an appetite for greater insight into the game, through heatmaps for example.
Moreover, Stats Perform's innovative solutions will power the Pro League's and clubs' communication platforms with their data, for example, the Pro League's new website and the club's newest applications. This ensures consistency domestically and worldwide, between what fans are seeing on tv and online/digitally.
Leander Monbaliu, Belgian Pro League Chief Business Officer, commented: "We are extremely excited about the renewal of our partnership with Stats Perform. Our league aims to be one of the most innovating leagues in Europe. The agreement with Stats Perform will be a key driver for achieving this as part of our recently launched Pro League Forward project. Not only will we support our clubs in gathering the best performance data insights and communication tools, the deal will also allow for our broadcasting partner, Eleven Sports, and ourselves to develop innovative solutions based on the data of Stats Perform, bringing fans closer to football."
Alex Rice, Stats Perform Chief Rights Officer, added: "Stats Perform, through its Opta data, is excited to be furthering their relationship and partnership with the Belgian Pro League. We know that it is really important for the league and Eleven Sports to produce the best possible experience for their audience, which means reassuring their passionate fans that the data from their competitions comes from the best possible source – whether it is viewed on their own platforms or official broadcasters. Our agreement will enable us to leverage market-leading data services with best in class solutions to serve the needs of the Pro League and all market verticals."
Guillaume Collard, Managing Director Eleven Sports Belgium, said: "We have established a unique cooperation with the Pro League, which is very much focused on innovation and delivering the newest technologies to our fans. The cooperation with STATS Perform is a great example: our broadcasts are enriched with engaging data and clubs enjoy the most advanced performance technology on the market. A true win-win."