The focus on Artificial Intelligence is central to the new proposition and Rice believes that it will play a role in adding a new dimension to the ways that fans enjoy sport.
“Right now, if you are watching a sports event you are consuming data which tells you about what has happened and that data becomes part of the deep analysis provided post game in heat maps and other things,” he explained.
“What this doesn’t tell you is what’s going to happen next. AI can tell us that by working on the probability based on data. All these factors create a story which we want to impart back to the audience, and which can, logically, create odds.
“While we can never tell the viewer with 100-per-cent certainty that X or Y will happen, AI will enable us to give them a far richer experience. It will also provide teams and the professional sector with far greater analysis of what will most likely happen if you select particular players in a team or use a certain tactic against a specific opponent.
“The big change is that AI helps us paint a picture going forward rather than with traditional stats data, which is about the past.”
