In a past week's insight, we explored companies within the sector that may prove influential in maintaining higher levels of audience engagement during sporting broadcasts since fan attendance at sporting events is still something that has no sign of returning soon following the COVID-19 pandemic. Not surprisingly, companies like SMT and Disney are likely front-runners in capitalizing from this niche market opportunity as they both boast extensive patent portfolios in the broadcast enhancement category. However, this does not stop other, much smaller companies from taking a swing at it too.
On July 30th, a small Chicago-based startup published its first patent application in the sector. StreamLayer was founded in 2018 by two brothers who share a passion for sports and the way viewers interact with sports. Together, they are developing technology to provide interactive overlays to sports broadcasts. While they have not yet been able to develop an extensive patent portfolio, the company has shown promise in some business facets, managing to secure $4M in early VC and angel-based funding from the Chicago-based KB Partners, a firm that has led a total of 26 early-stage sports-tech startups to acquisition as well as 2 to IPO. Securing this funding is quite an impressive feat considering the cash- (and patent-) strapped competition that already dominates the sector. However, StreamLayer seems to be differentiating themselves by primarily targeting viewers streaming the events to their mobile devices instead of their televisions, an audience base that may have been forgotten by their big-name competitors, which may play to their benefit in a world as high-paced and busy as the one we live in today.
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