{"id":460267,"date":"2026-02-05T14:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460267\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:56:08","slug":"a-year-of-milestones-a-future-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/460267\/","title":{"rendered":"A Year of Milestones, a Future of Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tToday\u2019s guest columnist is Steve Bornstein, president, North America, of Genius Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe NFL<\/a> has been the defining feature of my more than 40 years working in sports. From my time as CEO of ESPN to working directly at the league and now at Genius Sports, it\u2019s been an honor to work so closely on the biggest show in the industry.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd this is a year of incredible milestones in the NFL, both on and off the field. This season marked 20 years since the launch of the NFL RedZone Channel, which I view as one of the most innovative achievements in sports broadcasting. 2026 will also mark five years since Genius and the NFL signed their groundbreaking partnership.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo, as we head toward this Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl, now feels like a good time to reflect on how this partnership has evolved since 2021, the new innovations it has powered this past season, and where it is going in the years ahead. As Roger Goodell has said, \u201cwe\u2019re only as good as our partners,\u201d and Genius is in it for the long haul, working closely with the league on everything from their international expansion to alternate broadcasts and much more.<\/p>\n

\t\tSports Betting, and Way Beyond\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI first joined Genius Sports in April 2021, shortly after the company clinched an exclusive official data partnership with the NFL. From the beginning, both the NFL and Genius wanted to create a wide-ranging partnership that would help connect the league with their fans through technology.<\/p>\n

\n\tBetting was the talk of the sports industry back then, and inevitably, the first season of the NFL-Genius partnership centered on maximizing the use of the official NFL data feeds, including the play-by-play feed, NFL\u2019s proprietary Next Gen Stats, and the betting feed with the biggest sportsbooks. By 2023, this had grown and expanded with the launch of BetVision, the groundbreaking betting streaming product for in-market and national NFL games on phone and tablet that combines low-latency streams with game statistics, bet tracking and interactive features, and integrated bet slips in one platform.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen NFL RedZone was created, we believed that multiscreen experiences were here to stay, and, in the NFL, a rising tide lifts all boats. The same has been true of BetVision over the last three seasons, with the product reaching an all-time high in 2025, reaching millions of devices worldwide.<\/p>\n

\t\tCreating Immersive Fan Experiences\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the first chapter of the NFL-Genius partnership was led by sports betting, in recent seasons, this has expanded right across the fan experiences enjoyed by millions every week. The most notable example of this is the EA Sports Madden NFL Cast,\u00a0which included new innovations in the second year of the alternate live broadcast this season.<\/p>\n

\n\tNFL football on Thanksgiving has been a tradition since 1934. This season NBC and Peacock collaborated with the NFL, EA Sports and Genius Sports to distribute the 2025 EA Sports Madden NFL Cast in primetime on Peacock as the Baltimore Ravens hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. First launched in 2024, the broadcast has introduced a new viewing experience that blends live NFL game action with the look and feel of the iconic Madden video game.<\/p>\n

\n\tA new hi-sky camera behind the quarterback made the broadcast instantly immersive, recreating the Madden angle that millions of fans have come to love.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis angle finally lets fans see what quarterbacks actually see\u2014the defensive blur, the collapsing pocket, the split-second decisions they have to make with a 250-pound linebacker coming at them full steam. It\u2019s the kind of immersion that brings fans closer to the live action and helps us see elite performance not just as skill, but as instinct, calculation and courage all happening at once.<\/p>\n

\n\tOnce again, Genius Sports helped enable the execution through our GeniusIQ platform and combining the data, animations and interests of the NFL, EA SPORTS and NBC in a live environment. The result was further proof that alternate broadcasts offer a unique way for fans to experience NFL games.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat Comes Next?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe NFL is the most incredible media product in American entertainment. In the years ahead, we\u2019ll be working with them across a huge spectrum of different projects and products, ranging from their international expansion strategy to creating new data points and insights.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the most exciting opportunities ahead is the ability to connect league sponsors with fans in deeper, more immersive ways through new formats and platforms.<\/p>\n

\n\tAgain, GeniusIQ is the engine room here, as first seen when we teamed up with the Los Angeles Rams and Verizon to power sponsored, augmented highlights for fans inside SoFi Stadium, drawing fans\u2019 attention back to the action and into the brand experience. <\/p>\n

\n\tAt the start of this NFL season, Genius Sports completed the acquisition of Sports Innovation Lab, giving us rich audience data on over 200 million U.S. sports fans. This data, combined with our agency partnerships with Publicis and PMG, and GeniusIQ\u2019s ability to bring everything together live on air, unlocks powerful new inventory and engagement opportunities.<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead of being part of the background furniture during live broadcasts, we can put advertisers right at the heart of the action, helping them own key moments of the action and create meaningful connections with the most engaged audience in live entertainment.<\/p>\n

\n\tThroughout my career, I\u2019ve always believed that it\u2019s not about what you\u2019ve done in the past, but what you\u2019re going to do tomorrow\u2014and we\u2019re just scratching the surface of what the NFL and Genius will accomplish in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

\n\tPrior to joining Genius Sports, Bornstein was founder, president and CEO of NFL Network, and chairman and CEO of ESPN.
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