The Fan XP Innovation Challenge, thechallenge promoted by EuroLeague Basketball in collaboration with La Salle-URL, has announced the winners of the 2020 edition. The programme asked participating start-ups to put forward innovative solutions to solve current and future challenges to improve the experience of fans. La Salle-URL supported the competition in all its phases, from conception to the choice of winners.
The ten finalist projects in the programme met in Barcelona at the beginning of the week to explain their proposal to members of the judge's panel. In total, 84 start-ups from 17 different countries presented initiatives. Of the ten finalists, edisn.ai was chosen as the winner of the Judges’ Prize and SeatServe received the award for best presentation.
Edisn.ai and SeatServe, the winning projects
The winner, edisn.ai, is an Indian company that introduced an artificial intelligence-based platform that uses recognition technology to enhance fan interaction and provide additional monetisation options for content owners. “The experience with the EuroLeague has been fantastic, we’ve been able to interact with senior executives and work with them on pilot projects”, explained Ashok Karanth, CEO of the start-up company.
SeatServe, is located in New York and allows the distribution of the various services and products to the stands and collection points, resulting in a positive impact on income and consumer satisfaction. Shay Dadush, founder of SeatSeve, congratulated the organisers: “It’s amazing to work with an organisation that tries to take innovation to new heights”.
Meetings and networking sessions
In addition to announcing the winners, the EuroLeague organised several networking sessions where the finalists joined representatives of the organisation and members of the Fan XP Innovation Challenge partners: La Salle-URL, iSportConnect and N3XT Sports. The ten finalists also took part in various sessions, hosted on the La Salle-URL Campus, where they came together to design pilot tests and coaching sessions, featuring relevant names from the world of sports, technology and investment.
The proposals put forward by the finalists explored the challenges posed by the organisers to create the best possible experience for fans, and were divided into three categories: interactivity in sports broadcasting; interaction in the stands and smart stand solutions; and, finally, interaction on digital platforms.
