Australian Ice Hockey Seeks to Realize Commercial Potential with Sportradar

The Australian Ice Hockey League has announced a new data partnership with Sportradar, a company focusing on sports data and integrity. The partnership between the data company and the league will enable Sportradar to tap into the audio-visual distribution rights for the AIHL, excluding the Australian and New Zealand regions.

Sportradar to Help AIHL Reach More Viewers and Fans

The partnership will last through 2024 with Sportradar deploying a number of solutions and automation features to capture live games data and improve the video production quality. To this end, the company is using its Connected Stadium solution that will be deployed in physical venues.

AIHL is looking to connect with global audiences and the league is collaborating with Sportradar which it sees as a stepping-stone to further success. The Connected Stadium solution will be introduced to six league venues and offer improved quality of the viewing experience. This will include some of the most prominent ones, too, such as the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Sportradar remains equally committed to ensuring that the sport remains free of fraud and manipulation through its dedicated Universal Fraud Detection System or UFDS. The UFDS has proven an important pivot in the fight against match-fixing and corruption in sports and ensuring that global betting markets are monitored in real-time and red flags expedited to the relevant authorities promptly.

With the addition of AHIL, Sportradar now has access to no fewer than 10 ice hockey leagues which will enable it to have a tighter grasp of the sector as well as produce high-value data that is fed to partners, specifically sportsbooks. Commenting on this partnership, Sportradar director of sports media & sports partnerships David Edwards said:

“The suite of technology solutions we provide is vital for the AIHL to engage a wider audience and grow the profile and participation in ice hockey, both in Australia and other key regions.”

Sportradar director of sports media & sports partnerships David Edwards

Edwards welcomed the opportunity to be teaming up with the league and called it a good opportunity for Sportradar to demonstrate its technological capabilities and support the federation on an international level.

Realizing the League’s Full Commercial Potential

This collaboration was well met by AIH chairman Peter Hartshorne who said that the league wants to reach its full commercial potential and part of that would be through securing the right partnership. Hartshorne added:

“With Sportradar’s track record with some of the world’s largest sports leagues, we are confident this partnership will yield positive results shortly.”

AIH chairman Peter Hartshorne

In April, Sportradar extended its Memorandum of Understanding with the Austrian police, agreeing to work together in tackling corruption in sports and discovering fraud. That same month, Sportradar expanded its partnership with NASCAR through the Sportradar Integrity Services.