'Important thing about innovation is it isn't for gimmick's sake'
Ireland and Lions rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll enjoyed a Tuesday with an enriching difference last week working at a studio in London as one of the judges in Innovate 21, BT Sport’s search for exciting new sports broadcast experiences from entrepreneurs, creatives and start-ups. He was tickled by the presentations of all four shortlisted finalists but in the end joined ex-footballer Robbie Savage in deciding that the winner should be AriSports, a digital prediction platform that is the brainchild of co-founders Rassim and Djewed Hariz.
Their innovation allows football fans to predict on-pitch events, earning points in the process and competing against friends. It even includes a fantasy trading element where fans can collect and own unique digital cards of their favourite football players. These cards can increase in value, depending on the player’s real-life performances and correct predictions from the owner of the card.
AriSports will now have the opportunity to work with BT Sport to develop its technology for future use and O’Driscoll can’t wait to see how their partnership unfolds. “There were four good finalists and all presented very well,” he enthused to RugbyPass. “But the innovation that did win, they presented phenomenally well. They did their homework on all of us, knew a lot of details about us, made it interactive with us, allowed us to get involved and it all came from a very clever background.”
Innovate 21 was the third occasion BT Sport backed a search for new viewer innovations from small businesses. Seenit, the winner of a 2016 BT competition, enabled fans to send in video reports from stadia around the UK as part of BT Sport’s Premier League Tonight show.
Meanwhile, Sceenic, the winner of a 2018 BT competition, worked with BT Sport to support last year’s launch of Watch Together service on the BT Sport App, something O’Driscoll explained he had a fun time trialling when he was hooked up over his phone last October with three Made in Chelsea influencers to watch the final of the 2019/20 Gallagher Premiership final.
Our winner is…@arisports_uk has won Innovate 21, @btsport‘s competition for exciting new broadcast experiences.
Their concept enables viewers to predict football on-pitch events, compete against friends by earning points, and collect unique digital football players cards . pic.twitter.com/aIq63DGFUR
— BT (@bt_uk) September 28, 2021
“We were watching the Premiership final between Wasps and Exeter. I’d worked earlier that day at Ireland versus Italy (in a rescheduled Six Nations fixture) and I then watched the game with JP Patterson and some others. Watch Together was a company with such clever technology and it couldn’t have been better timed with the pandemic where you were able to watch a game on your phone or your tablet with your mates, with three mates, which was brilliant.
“I did a bit of promo work with a couple of influencers from Made in Chelsea. I had never met these lads before, but they were seriously good value. If you can have the craic with guys you don’t know, you will have great fun with your mates. It’s all about how you add to that experience and actually offer something that is beneficial and worthwhile rather than just have it there for the sake of being an innovator.
“BT definitely have always been big on innovation, changing, working and moving with the times. The important thing about innovation is that it is not for gimmick’s sake, that it actually adds value to your viewing experience. We all have an appreciation now, particularly younger generations, that there is a need for multi-faceted involvement in watching live sport. It’s not just watching on TV at home or in a bar anymore. It’s multi-screen, it’s interaction with your friends, it’s being an armchair pundit. It’s all of those things that can add value.”
It was 2014 when O’Driscoll, the former Ireland and Lions skipper, retired from playing and moved into punditry with BT Sport. His interest in the latter stages of his career in new business start-ups and innovations was something that had resulted in him backing the Ultimate Rugby scores app and this curiosity hasn’t dimmed.
Ask what has lately caught the eye and there are kudos for STATSports and Kitman Labs. “STATSports are an Irish company that uses the GPS unit. What they are going to do now is bring in the viewer at home and offer you your own pack. They have had a load of the footballers invest in them and they now want to show all of the detail and data they are recording throughout the game, have people challenge them at home in trying to match what they are capable of doing, high-speed metres, distances covered and all that. To align themselves with the fan at home is a really clever next step for them.
“Then there is another Irish company run by my old Leinster team fitness coach, Steve Smith. Kitman Labs have gone over to the States and are doing brilliant stuff. They have huge integration across multi-sports and are really good on injury prevention.”
When it comes to his own preparation for rugby punditry, though, his own Ultimate Rugby app comes into its own. “It remains a massively important component in being an analyst, being able to look back on most recent games, picking up information on them and understanding the sequence of how games evolved. All that stuff is massively important,” he reckoned.
- BT has been at the heart of sports broadcasting innovation over recent years, details of which can be seen at btsport.com/innovates
'Unfortunately, he [Erasmus] maybe has changed things & not for the better. He definitely questioned the whole respect the referee conversation that we are so proud of as a rugby community.' @BrianODriscoll talks to @heagneyl ??? #Springboks #urc #lionshttps://t.co/yJ7EyaZvXj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 26, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Also, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to comments