Alibaba Enters the Sports Marketplace
Chinese e-commerce company, Alibaba is making its presence known in the world of sports, and the fit makes sense. Jack Ma, founder, and chairman of Alibaba Group strongly believes in “health and happiness.”
Ma has decided to turn to analytics to change the way athletic events are managed. He will also use the data to optimize the fan experience. Technical knowledge combined with data analysis is essential to understanding the broader impact of technology on the sports industry.
Alibaba used marathons to test their data collection methods by gathering data on runners and viewers. They used that data to try and sell everything from running shoes to health insurance. Fans watching on the companies Youku streaming service could even send virtual tips and gifts to their favorite runners.
Alisports’ plans to use this type of data collection strategy by replicating it in everything from soccer and basketball to eSports. CEO of Alisports, Zhang Dazhong’s goal is to expand the merely 3-year old business to more than 100 million users by November of this year knowing the Chinese government estimates the Chinese sports industry could be worth $728 billion by 2025.
“We are a platform that records big data on sports,” stated Zhang Dazhong, chief executive officer of Alisports, in an interview. “Viewers watching sports on our sites now are directly connected with the e-commerce stores, something that couldn’t happen in the past.”
The company first entered the sports arena in 2017 after signing a long-term partnership with the IOC to become the official “E-Commerce Platform” and “Cloud Infrastructure and Services” partner of the Olympics.
This January, Alibaba announced its partnership with Intel with the goal of developing the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered 3D tracking technology for athletes. The plan is to combine Intel’s deep-learning algorithms with Alibaba’s cloud computing capabilities to allow for the greater tracking of athletes.
Intel wants to use a computer to generate a “3D mesh” digital model that will allow coaches the ability to obtain bio mechanical data during training and competition “without the use of special sensors or suits,” Intel said at CES (Consumer Technology Association) 2019.
“Optimised to run on Alibaba Cloud infrastructure, Intel developed a novel technology concept called 3D Athlete Tracking that uses AI to analyse video of athletes in ways that are expected to improve both the training process and has the potential to enhance the audience experience during actual competition,” stated Intel Data Center Group Executive Vice President and General Manager Navin Shenoy.
This technology will also allow broadcasters to “analyze, dissect, and re-examine highlights during instant replays.”
“It’s just getting the brand out there,” Tan said at CES this week in Las Vegas.
This past September, Alibaba partnered with the Olympic Broadcasting System with the goal to launch the OBS Cloud which will allow the digitization of the broadcasting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The overall goal of OBS Cloud is to simplify broadcasting workflow.
This along with Alibaba’s partnership with Intel will give fans a greater insight into the world’s top athletes and their performances.
“It’s creating better athletic content to tell better stories,” Tan said. “It’s for broadcasters to tell wonderful stories, but at the same time, use it for teams and federations to do more fine-tuning with the athletes.”
Alibaba has so much to offer the sporting world through the application of all their technology. And not only is this a win for the sports industry but the brand as well who is wanted to gain a broader, more worldwide audience.
“We are using the Olympics as a primary showcase of our abilities,” said Tan. “Sports brings health and happiness, so in 2017 we said ‘let’s make the health and happiness vision true.’”
According to a Research and Markets report, the video streaming software market is projected to reach $10 billion by 2023 with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of above 24%.
Technology has always been at the root of sports growth. Alibaba Cloud, the 3rd largest cloud provider behind Microsoft and AWS, is taking this concept one step further by creating a reliable technology infrastructure that will serve as the basis for the transformation of sports around the world.
While Alibaba has no immediate plans to try an introduce their products to the US Markets, the idea is being pursued…patiently.
“The U.S. is one of the biggest markets in the world when it comes to sports consumers,” said Tan. “Our first strategy is with Intel and working closely with the USOC.”
So, one step at a time.
