The Canadian Football League has unveiled a new stats and data collection system powered by Genius Sports.
Beginning in the 2023 preseason, CFL LiveStats will provide live play-by-play data and post-game statistics, while enabling the sharing of betting data, as well as team and player game data. The lowest latency data will be made available to authenticated CFL partners for media and broadcast purposes.
“We are excited to leverage this incredible technology to help tell the story of our remarkable league,” CFL chief operating officer David Goldstein said in a statement.
“Through Genius Sports and its state-of-the-art LiveStats tool, we are revolutionizing how fans, media and stakeholders connect with the CFL’s world-class action and athletes. Better data will lead to everything from a better viewing experience to interactive gaming, responsible sports wagering, and more, all of which will pave the way for the future of CFL fandom.”
The system models the one employed in international basketball and college sports through Genius Sports’ long-term partnerships with FIBA and the NCAA, with integration and distribution through the Match State Platform. Official data will power live betting solutions, tracking and CFL Game Zone, including the new CFL Fantasy and CFL Pick ‘Em.
The CFL will continue to roll out new features throughout the season, including historical play-by-play data and statistics for public consumption.
“Powered by LiveStats, the CFL’s new data ecosystem will provide immense value for their fans, broadcasters, sponsors and more, creating a wealth of new engagement opportunities,” Genius Sports’ executive vice president of sports and partnerships Matthew Cowling said as part of the announcement.
“We’re delighted to take our partnership with the CFL to the next level, implementing technology that is used every day in over 150 countries worldwide to capture the fastest, most accurate statistics.”
Genius Sports and the CFL struck a long-term data and technology partnership in December 2021 which gave the company a 10 percent equity stake in the league’s new commercial arm, CFL Venture. In 2022, they launched the new CFL Game Zone, attracting over 30,000 new registrations.
