Dive Brief:
- GameChanger, Dick’s Sporting Goods’ youth sports app, has introduced Film Room, an AI-powered video analysis tool for youth volleyball and basketball, the company announced Tuesday. The tool is available on Android and iOS.
- The tool uses artificial intelligence to identify the most significant plays in a batch of footage. Coaches can mark, annotate and share game footage with athletes, their families and staffers for free.
- Lisa Bluder, the recently retired head coach of The University of Iowa Women's Basketball Team, and Steve Pikiell, head coach of Rutgers University Men's Basketball, will help promote the tool.
Dive Insight:
Dick’s Sporting Goods acquired GameChanger in 2016. With GameChanger, users can view livestreamed games, schedules, statistics and scores. The platform currently covers over seven million games and one million teams a year, according to the company.
The rollout of Film Room marks GameChanger’s continued AI expansion. Last year, the platform introduced AutoStream, an AI tool that allows iOS users to set up a stationary mobile device that automatically follows action on the court. Late last year, the feature made up nearly a quarter of GameChanger’s basketball livestreams.
“By using AI and computer vision to identify key moments in-game action, we're taking another big step toward our vision of automating the most time-consuming parts of the youth sports experience,” Sameer Ahuja, GameChanger president and Dick’s Sporting Goods senior vice president, said in a statement. “Film Room gives every youth basketball and volleyball coach their own personal film coordinator, a benefit typically reserved for the most high-level teams. With this feature, we're leveling the playing field and making these valuable insights gleaned from film review accessible to youth sports communities everywhere.”
As Dick’s Sporting Goods introduces more tech tools to amateur sports players, the retailer is surpassing its competition in athleticwear sales. In Q1 2024, the company’s net sales rose 6.2% year over year to $3 billion. In Q2, the company reported a 7.8% rise year over year in net sales to $3.5 billion.
