Sportradar to Launch OTT Platform and Broadcast Live ABL Games

Sports data and technology company Sportradar announced a multi-year partnership with Baseball Australia that would see a dedicated OTT platform broadcast Australian Baseball League (ABL) games live for the first time.

First-Time Live Broadcast of ABL Games

The multi-faceted strategic partnership between Sportradar, Baseball Australia and the ABL makes the Swiss-based sports data provider the ABL’s exclusive betting data and audiovisual rights distribution partner.

Pleased to help Baseball Australia and the ABL to reach and engage with new audiences locally and around the world, Sportradar’s director of Sports Media and Partnerships for the Oceania region Dave Edwards highlighted the benefits of the partnership for the rights holders.

“By taking an intelligent, technology-driven partnership approach to content distribution, rights holders can directly control how their assets are commercialized while learning more about their fans in the process,” he stated, looking forward to providing support for Baseball Australia’s and the ABL’s growth strategies.

The new live-streaming service onDemand will make its debut with games from Round One of the ABL season on November 10. Starting as a web platform, onDemand will launch a dedicated app built by Sportradar for the start of the 2023/24 season.

Paul Gonzalez, general manager of the ABL, hailed the new partnership with Sportradar that will bring the action from the league “into the homes of sport and baseball fans across the world.”

“This is a revolutionary deal with the Australian Baseball League that will not only provide a high-quality stream but also integrity and opportunity to the league,” Gonzalez continued, proud to team with “a global brand who works with other elite sports bringing the focus back to the ABL and its athletes.”

Protecting the Integrity of Baseball

Sportradar will also serve as the ABL’s official integrity partner and will deploy its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS) to monitor betting activities across ABL games to safeguard the integrity of Baseball Australia and the league, on top of connecting the ABL’s product to its global network of sportsbook operators and media clients.

“This is a one-stop shop for the fans to consume their baseball content from Little League all the way through to the ABL and Team Australia,” said  Glenn Williams, chief executive officer of Baseball Australia, outlining the partnership with Sportradar as “a major boost for baseball in Australia.”

The ABL with its busy schedule of 160 regular season games over ten rounds and the return of the Auckland Tuatara and Geelong-Korea teams is promising baseball fans across the entire Asia region and around the world an exciting viewing experience while their teams compete for the Claxton Shield.