High school sports media company PlayOn! Sports has fortified its bench, acquiring a leading statistics tracking and gamecast firm.
PlayOn! on Valentine’s Day closed a deal for Columbus,Ohio-based Digital Scout, which will enhance its live and on-demand video offerings. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Digital Scout content is expected to be fully integrated across PlayOn!’s suite of products by the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.
Developed over 17 years ago as a coaching tool, Digital Scout now partners with more than 11,000 high schools that use at least one of their scoring applications. Stat tracking apps are currently available for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, hockey and track.
During the 2013-2014 school year, PlayOn! will deliver live video broadcasts of more than 40,000 high school sporting events to fans across a wide variety of distribution platforms through NFHS Network, a joint venture between the NFHS, its member state associations and PlayOn!. Digital Scout’s play-by-play gamecasts and full box scores will be integrated into these live broadcasts, providing fans with the ability to watch the action while simultaneously tracking live in-game statistics. In addition, the detailed play-by-play statistics will allow fans to search on-demand videos for specific plays, players, or highlights.
Moreover, Digital Scout will also bring tens of thousands of additional events to the NFHS Network where live video is not available. These live gamecasts will allow fans to follow live statistics and score updates for their favorite schools, teams, and sports.
“Digital Scout offers PlayOn! the opportunity to create a more comprehensive and robust viewer experience for fans of high school sports,” said David Rudolph, CEO of PlayOn! Sports. “By the start of the next school year, Digital Scout will significantly expand the number of live events on the NFHS Network, and the integration of live video with live statistics will create an unmatched consumer experience.”
