ESPN and TruMedia Join Forces on Football Analytics Product

 TruMedia Networks and ESPN Power NFL Analytics Product

“Crossing Pattern” to Provide NFL Teams with Robust Suite of 

NFL and NCAA Football Analytics Tools

Boston, MA, August 21, 2012 –Today, TruMedia Networks and ESPN announced the launch of an enterprise football analytics platform known as Crossing Pattern. Using the resources of both companies, this unique venture combines the strengths of TruMedia’s tier one analytics solutions and ESPN’s proprietary analytics and data. Crossing Pattern is an enterprise solution that aids football teams in personnel evaluation and game preparation. 

Crossing Pattern allows teams to break down statistics and define key trends for their own squads and for opponents. This unique platform will give teams access to the same tools ESPN’s analysts and researchers use to analyze performance on the networks, Web sites, Mobile apps and ESPN The Magazine. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the first NFL team to take advantage of these new analytics services offered by TruMedia and ESPN.

"Team, player and game analysis is critical to our daily operations," Jacksonville Jaguars Senior Vice President of Football Technology and Analytics Tony Khan said. "With this product TruMedia has set a new standard for the industry and we are excited to leverage their analytics tools for the NFL and NCAA football. It's already evident that this analytics platform will have a significant impact on our approach to analytics."

“Based on the overwhelming response to the advanced tracking data within our Total QBR presentation at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference, there’s clearly a growing demand for advanced statistics in the NFL,” said Edmundo Macedo, vice president of ESPN’s Stats & Information Group. “As teams continue to explore analytics, this initiative with TruMedia will provide them with much added value as front-office personnel and coaches can easily sort the data and video to identify hidden trends.”

“We’ve really enjoyed working with ESPN’s Stats & Information Group and this venture will allow us to further expand the collaboration between our organizations,” said TruMedia CEO Rafe Anderson. “We’ve been fortunate to experience great success licensing tools to Major League Baseball clubs and we look forward to working with the Jaguars and additional NFL teams in the near future.”

About ESPN’s Stats & Information Group

ESPN’s Stats & Information Group serves fans across every ESPN platform with the fastest, most accurate and insightful statistics, scores, news and analysis. The 240-person group, which was created in 2007 and is part of ESPN’s Content division, compiles real-time and historical scores and statistics, provides storytelling analytics and statistical analysis, drives storylines based on stats and trends into ESPN TV shows and games and onto ESPN.com, and produces the BottomLine for ESPN’s U.S. and International networks.

About TruMedia Networks

TruMedia Networks, a Boston based engineering firm, develops proprietary enterprise sports analytics solutions. TruMedia's baseball, football and soccer platforms provide professional teams as well as sports media properties with the ability to conduct granular analysis associated with integrated play-by-play video. TruMedia's open API provides its partners with maximum confidentiality and unlimited customization. From data management to video clipping to data visualization we provide the world's most successful sports media properties and teams with powerful turnkey solutions. Visit http://www.trumedianetworks.com for more information.

ESPN Profile: Edwin Encarnacion

ESPN takes a look at Encarnacion's improved power in 2012... The heat maps tell the story...

Encarnacion, an impending free agent, had been mentioned in trade rumors, but now gives the Jays a long-term solution at first base or designated hitter. 

Much like teammate Jose Bautista a couple years ago, or Andrew McCutchen this past offseason, Encarnacion changed his mechanics this offseason. Previously, his top hand came off the bat; now both hands stay on, helping his swing stay shorter. He felt his swing had become too long. 

Source: ESPN (David Schoenfield)

ESPN: Summer swoon slows down Jeter's chase of Rose

ESPN recently took a close look at Jeter's decline in June and uses TruMedia grids to represent his overall performance.

Jeter passed one significant milestone last year when he joined the 3,000-hit club at the age of 37, and the inevitable question arose of whether The Captain would ultimately end up as baseball’s Hit King, passing Pete Rose for the most hits in major league history. 

So far, so good for Jeter. With 3,181 career hits and a .313 career batting average, he already has more hits and a higher batting average than Rose did at the time of his 38th birthday. 

Source: ESPN (ESPN Stats & Information)

Changing How We View the Game: ESPN's Stats & Information Group

In a recent article Forbes provides insight related to ESPN's Stats & Information Group and how TruMedia's platforms are utilized by the organization.

One of the ways that the PA group is attempting to maximize their time building new models and minimize their time supporting requests for single point statistics is through the creation of ESPN’s TruMedia tool. The goal of TruMedia is to provide an easy-to-use web-based interface to ESPN’s existing databases.  Users utilize slider bars, radio buttons, and check boxes to generate views of data that are then easily exportable to either a CSV file or a standardized graphic that can be used within an ESPN.com article or television show.

TruMedia’s early success can be found in the number of personnel with various levels of database and data visualization experience finding uses for it just a few weeks after its launch – ESPN Deportes’ on-air commentators, ESPN the Magazine’s writers, and nearly every S&A employee. Their use has already demonstrated value via faster production of graphics, like goal views that have shown up in English-language Euro 2012 broadcasts and heat maps within the Spanish-language Deportes’ coverage of the tournament.  Use has been so widespread that the Stats & Information has already identified a number of upgrades that will be rolled out in new versions of the software in the coming months. ESPN also plans to make data available for other sports via the TruMedia application.  Overall, the TruMedia platform helps realize one of SIG’s main goals: increasing the availability of statistics as story telling aids to every corner of the ESPN organization.

Source: Forbes.com (Zach Slaton)

ESPN: Soccer Analytics Euro 2012 Preview

In case you missed it, ESPN did a great preview of the Euro's. You will notice a number of TruMedia shot charts and heat maps throughout the article.

With the world's most competitive international tournament set to begin Friday, let's take a loop around the field to look at teams to watch, players you can't miss and Soccer Power Index projections for the most likely teams to advance that you won't want to ignore.

Source: ESPN (Albert Larcada)

Note: You will need an ESPN Insider Account