Sony Expands Sports Data Business With KinaTrax Acquisition

(Image credit: KinaTrax)

TOKYO and BASINGSTOKE, U.K.—Sony has acquired KinaTrax, a provider of markerless motion-capture technology for sports that collects in-game biomechanical performance data on athletes.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

KinaTrax camera systems are currently deployed in more 75 stadiums and labs across Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and NCAA member organizations, with expansion into other sports leagues.

The deal gives Sony’s sports-data business a presence in player performance metrics. KinaTrax will provide biomechanical and analytical expertise, as well as its markerless motion capture technology, to Sony’s sports-data offering.

Sony’s sports business, made up of Hawk-Eye, Beyond Sports and Pulselive, delivers ofﬁciating, broadcast and digital solutions around sports data technologies. The acquisition of KinaTrax bolsters Sony’s capability to offer sports data, such as analysis and biomechanics for coaching, scouting and athletes’ performance, the company said.

“By welcoming KinaTrax into the family, we are excited to further expand our offering, under our mission of unlocking the power and emotion of sport through data,” Rufus Hack, CEO of Hawk-Eye, Pulselive and Beyond Sports, said. “We are incredibly privileged to partner with an overwhelming majority of the top global sports leagues, and this acquisition allows us to broaden our proposition through new biomechanical insights in the critical and growing field of player performance.”

KinaTrax President Steven Cadavid said: "We’re excited to become part of Sony and its sports businesses, and to bring our know-how to complement the powerful tech Hawk-Eye, Pulselive and Beyond Sports have developed and are delivering today. The future of sports is in deeper data tracking and the creation of smarter insights through innovative technology.

“With Sony, by enhancing KinaTrax’s expertise in capturing and delivering biomechanical performance data, we aim to contribute to provide sports leagues, teams and players with the best insights to improve performance and pursue success,” he added.

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.