In 2020, Comcast created a three-month program with Boomtown Accelerators for sports technology startups. The program’s debut class highlights potential future avenues for sports and media.
The Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator began as a program to help the U.S. better compete in the Olympics, which Comcast has investments in.
“Other countries, like Ireland, were outpacing us by tapping into sports technology to give athletes every competitive edge on their path to the podium,” Jenna Kurath, Comcast’s Head of Sportstech told FOS.
Startups receive $50,000 in funding plus around $1.7 million in Amazon web credits and other infrastructure benefits. In exchange, Comcast and Boomtown Accelerators split around 6% of each startup’s equity.
The companies can work with NASCAR, the Philadelphia Flyers (owned by Comcast subsidiary Spectacor), three Olympic teams, and Comcast’s media properties including NBC Sports, Sky Sports, and the Golf Channel.
- Eon Media, which tracks how long brand logos are visible on a broadcast, has secured pilots with the U.S. Olympic swimming, ski and snowboarding, and cycling teams.
- GlobalM uses an internet-based streaming network to produce live, broadcast-quality footage at a low cost. It has conducted pilots with NASCAR, the Golf Channel, and others.
Another standout is Sharper Sense, which secured a partnership with Cornell Tech at a valuation cap of $3 million. The wearable neck patch claims to use neurotechnology to enhance vision, hearing, and touch.
