Whit Jackson, Vice President, VP Global M&E at Wasabi Technologies: “AI is having a massive impact on sports that cannot be overlooked”

Never mind Wimbledon or Euro 2024: the biggest sporting event of the year is hurtling towards us. As we write, the Olympics are a mere three weeks away, and to mark the occasion we’re interviewing dozens of companies involved in sports tech. Our second victim: Whit Jackson, President and VP of the global Media & Entertainment business at Wasabi Technologies.

If you’re a fan of the Boston Red Sox or Liverpool FC, you’ve almost certainly taken advantage of Wasabi’s technologies. If you watched an archive clip, gorged on real-time data or enjoyed a game’s highlights then Wasabi’s hot cloud storage – so-called because it can deliver data with such low latency – is what underpins your experience.

And we love the fact it’s solving genuine problems, such as making sense of the vast archive footage most sports teams have to hand. “Wasabi AiR’s recognition technology combs through unstructured data like video segments, images or documents to identify people, audio, emotion, logos, landmarks, objects and text with market-leading accuracy,” says Whit. And we’ll just highlight one word there that may have been easily lost: emotion. Which is what sports is all about, after all.

We also love the idea of getting rid of long queues to get into stadiums whilst keeping fans secure.

And those are just three highlights from this wide-ranging interview. To enjoy the full experience, read on.

Related reading: Let the games begin: Paris Olympics put AI to the test

Tell us Wasabi’s elevator pitch

Sports teams generate mountains of content before during and after each game that must be stored, edited and distributed to stakeholders and fans across multiple channels. As a result, they face the intense challenge of managing all this data in a way that is fast, secure and affordable.

With the power of Wasabi hot cloud storage, modern sports teams gain the freedom to store their data and use it whenever they like without being hit with unpredictable fees or vendor lock-in. Instead, they’re free to build best-of-breed workflow solutions with the industry’s fastest-growing ecosystem of independent cloud application partners. Customers all over the world, such as the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club, trust Wasabi to help them put their data to work so they can unlock their full potential.

As sports teams continue to build out their media archives, Wasabi wanted to ensure that they can best utilise the data they are storing. That is why Wasabi recently launched Wasabi AiR, a new class of intelligent media storage in the cloud that is redefining how media archives can be used. Wasabi AiR combines advanced AI and machine learning features, such as metadata auto-tagging and multilingual transcription, with Wasabi’s high-performant and predictable hot cloud storage so users can transform the way they produce manage and monetize content.

What sports does your tech apply to? And have you been surprised by its use?

Wasabi can be applied to any sport and team that has content in need of storage. Digital teams at any kind of sports organisation are often under intense pressure to quickly turn around content in real-time as a game is happening. This can include live clips from the game, but also flashbacks to past seasons or player highlight reels.

Storing this data and keeping it easily accessible is no easy task, but with Wasabi hot cloud storage editors can retrieve content from their media archive at any moment without incurring egress charges. With the added power of Wasabi AiR, editors can search and retrieve exact content moments in seconds, saving time and money while improving the viewer experience.

We have been pleasantly surprised at how useful Wasabi AiR has been for sports organisations. It can be utilised beyond just pulling content for highlights, a social media post or other kind of fan engagement. We have seen teams internally find success using it to help prove sponsorship ROI, which greatly helps them meet their business goals.

Worth a read: Wasabi partners with Retelit to provide hot cloud storage in Italy

Can you give an example of a complex problem in sports that you – or your company – have been involved in tackling with technology?

Wasabi has helped a number of sports organisations transform stagnant media archives into active archives and uncover long-forgotten great moments that can be enjoyed by fans and others. Wasabi AiR’s recognition technology combs through unstructured data like video segments, images or documents to identify people, audio, emotion, logos, landmarks, objects and text with market-leading accuracy.

Data ingested into the Wasabi Cloud is automatically tagged with advanced AI and machine-learning metadata so users can quickly search for any content in their storage and bring it to market as quickly and efficiently as possible, with relevancy. Rather than spend hours manually searching for the desired video clip or asset, creatives and editors have more time to actually be creative with content at their fingertips.

For example, if a customer of ours, like the Boston Red Sox, wants to pull a clip from their 2004 World Series win, they can simply type that in as a search term, and Wasabi AiR will pull relevant clips stored in the archive on Wasabi. What would once take a team member hours to find can be at their fingertips in seconds thanks to the power of Wasabi AiR.

What are some examples of AI being used in sports that stand out to you?

Wasabi AiR is helping revolutionise media archives for sports organisations. It’s changing the way digital teams can go about their workflows since it enables post-production editors to quickly find and assemble video for news packages, highlight reels, social media content and more in real-time. In the marketing and sponsorship space, Wasabi AiR can find logos for sponsorship attribution with ease for ROI and analysis. Finally, it can tailor content to specifically meet the requirements of geo-diverse audiences.

Beyond just the digital space, AI is having a massive impact on sports that cannot be overlooked. Coaches and players are utilising it to improve their in-game strategy and performance in ways they have never been able to before. Post-game analysis can be more in-depth than ever before and allow players to learn which parts of their game need improvement and how to achieve greater results.

Beyond just player insights, AI is giving fans real-time analytics during games. Now it is quicker and easier than ever for commentators and networks to pull past game footage and player statistics and feature them on-screen for the fans viewing at home. This creates a more engaging analysis from the commentators and a better viewing experience for the fans.

Related reading: Marilou McFarlane, CEO of Women in Sports Tech: “It’s rewarding beyond measure to see how technology has impacted the growth of women’s sports”

What do you believe is the biggest opportunity in sports tech right now?

While many are looking at how to use sports tech and AI for player insights and analytics, I think that enabling fan experiences of the future is one of the biggest opportunities in sports and is one that should not be overlooked.

Teams are constantly looking for new ways to engage with their fans and offer them the best experience while at the stadium. One of the most exciting new offerings that is becoming increasingly popular is frictionless entry, which eliminates traditional entry barriers and ensures a seamless journey from the street to the seat.

This can include advanced security screenings that don’t require metal detectors, removing the need to scan a ticket and checkout-free stores. All of these allow for a seamless experience while at a game and ensure that fans don’t miss out on any of the action due to long lines and outdated technology.

Sports leaders can also prepare for any new fan implementations by planning ahead with the power of digital twinning. This process involves creating virtual 3D models of a stadium to optimise facility operations and enhance the fan experience. Digital twinning enables the organisation to make informed decisions that improve efficiency and convenience for fans while they are on-site.

The process can also help save budget since organisations can analyse how any potential implementations might impact fan spending before making any final decisions.

When it comes to technology, what are the most common mistakes you see sports organisations make?

I sometimes see sports organisations trying to implement too many new technology activations too quickly and committing to a single monolithic solution that ultimately limits their flexibility to adapt down the road.

To avoid this, I recommend leaders really take the time to research the technology associated with their goals and build upon a solid storage foundation that supports many uses.

Also, look for vendors and partners that reduce complexity. It’s important for technology leaders to ask themselves “How much will this cost? Does it complement other offerings in my tech stack? Can this be used for multiple implementations?” Once these, and other concerns, have been addressed, leaders should take their time weighing their options and choosing components that best fit their needs. This way, any troubleshooting can be reasonably managed as you go along and not as an afterthought.

No matter the organisation, security should always be top of mind when it comes to technology. Leaders should look for solutions that offer secure services and have threat protection measures in place, such as multi-user authentication. Data protection is more important than ever, especially for sports organisations that have access to sensitive fan information. Choosing a secure platform for each part of a technology stack is critical.