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Wimbledon 2014: keeping fans on the ball with new insight into every shot
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
Applicable Functions
- Sales & Marketing
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Data Science Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
The Championships, Wimbledon is the longest-established of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and arguably the most prestigious. Its organisers, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), recognise that the best way to celebrate and preserve the tournament’s rich heritage is to ensure that it continues to make history, each and every year. In 2014, The Championships took place at the same time as another of the world’s largest sporting events, the FIFA World Cup. With much of the global sports media saturated with soccer coverage, the AELTC appreciated the challenge of winning and retaining fans’ attention. Mick Desmond, Commercial Director at the AELTC, comments: “The key is to engage the fans by giving them unparalleled access to the tournament, wherever and whenever they want to experience it. We not only want to offer the best possible experience for those who are lucky enough to spend a day at Wimbledon – we want to replicate that unforgettable atmosphere for the millions who are watching on TV or following a match online.
About The Customer
The Championships, Wimbledon is the official name of the annual Grand Slam tennis tournament held in south-west London, which is known to millions of fans around the world simply as Wimbledon. Organised by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), it is one of the world’s highest-profile sporting events, and has been a cultural and sporting institution since its establishment in 1877. The tournament is known for its rich heritage and is considered the most prestigious among the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. The AELTC is committed to preserving the tournament's rich heritage by ensuring that it continues to make history every year. In 2014, the tournament coincided with the FIFA World Cup, one of the world's largest sporting events, presenting a challenge to attract and retain fans' attention amidst the global sports media's saturation with soccer coverage.
The Solution
IBM provided a solution that combined cloud, analytics, mobile and social technologies to ensure that Wimbledon's digital platforms received more visits, achieved more page views, and kept fans online for longer than ever before. The solution involved real-time analysis of each shot in every match, a world first for a major tennis tournament. This was achieved by combining data from multiple sources, including player- and ball-tracking data and the observations of a team of tennis-expert statisticians. IBM also enhanced its SlamTracker live scoring and statistics system, using eight years of historic match data and 41 million individual data-points to refine its predictions of the “keys to the match”. The solution also harnessed social media analytics to help Wimbledon’s digital team shape their coverage of the tournament, focusing on the hottest topics that are fuelling fans’ interest. The Championships’ digital platforms and the Social Command Centre (SCC) are powered by IBM cloud technologies, providing the flexibility to scale up to meet the needs of millions of users during the Wimbledon fortnight, and to scale down again until the resources are needed for the next year’s tournament.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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