A little less than a month has passed since the German top-level professional ice hockey league DEL started the first season using Wisehockey’s fully automated real-time sports analytics league-wide. Teams and fans have welcomed the new technology with open arms: smart puck data is regularly featured on their websites and social media, and game statistics are shown on jumbotron screens during breaks.
The Wisehockey analytics platform has gained a great deal of attention in the media. We picked a few pieces where the smart puck has been featured.
Storytelling with new graphics and video
“When used correctly, the data can make the world’s fastest and, to the untrained eye, often confusing team sport more understandable and tangible for spectators in the arena and on the screens“, explained an article of Die Welt, covering the Wisehockey platform in DEL.
Frankfurter Löwen’s Head of Marketing Andreas Stracke shed light on what purposes the team has found for smart puck data. “The videos and graphics generated by Wisehockey can also be prepared for press and social media fields, which enables intensive ‘storytelling’. This also creates further marketing opportunities. We incorporate this variety of information into our further development of the classic media sector, but also into marketing.“
Read the full article in German.
No need for on-site personnel
Wisehockey was also the topic of an article on the German NHL website. The Wisehockey platform was depicted in the following way: “A chip is inserted into every game puck for the new season. The players also wear one in their gear. This simplifies, clarifies and visualizes the tracking that would otherwise be carried out using cameras.“
“What is unique about this technology is that there is no need for anyone on-site to operate the technology or manually transfer data. Everything runs fully automatically and in real time, because it only takes 200 milliseconds to collect statistics,” said Miska Kuusisto, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Wisehockey.
Read the full article in German.
A massive amount of data
Bilt explained how the new technology transforms arenas: “Therefore, all DEL halls were equipped with data receivers. From now on it will be recorded in real time: Who skates how fast? Who controls the puck on the stick for how long? Who passes or shoots, how hard and how far? How far apart are teammates and opponents? How long does a puck contest take to complete? — Behind all the technology is the Finnish company Wisehockey, a sports analysis platform that has been using the system in the domestic league for a long time.“
Read the full article in German.
