Founded in 2013, Pixellot is a software development company focused on creating automatic video and analytics for the sports market, that is affordable and attainable.
Having partnered with several leagues, federations, and clubs from around the world – including the likes of FC Barcelona, the Major League Baseball (MLB), and most recently Football NSW (FNSW) – Pixellot strives to provide cost-effective and monetisable live coverage via an end-to-end video and analytics solution.
For coaches, Pixellot’s real-time video capture technology can be accessed seamlessly and displayed instantly, subsequently improving the depth of analysis in training, during the game, and once the match has concluded.
FNSW will take advantage of the services that Pixellot provide, such as Pixellot Air, Pixellot’s mobile live streaming solution, and Pixellot show cameras, and will be installing them at the headquarters of Valentine Sports Park to assist in their talent identification programs.
Pixellot Head of Sales Australia and New Zealand, Brian Meinrath, chatted with Soccerscene about Pixellot’s ambitions within the Asia-Pacific region, the company’s determination to help lower tier leagues and clubs to monetise their football competitions, and how the company has evolved with the impacts of COVID-19.
Would you be able to provide a brief breakdown of what Pixellot does?
Brian Meinrath: Pixellot is a technology company that specialises in broadcast and video AI. We have a number of products that range from top-end broadcast cameras all the way down to our entry-level Pixellot Air cameras. And they can be used for broadcast live-streaming or for coaching and tactical purposes. Below that we have a number of products that link into the cameras, which includes our coaching platform Vidswap and our game analysis platforms as well.
How is Pixellot applied in a live match setting?
Brian Meinrath: It really depends on the application of it first and foremost. For instance, at the recent New Zealand Football Championships, our partner in New Zealand (a company called CelloSport) used one of our cameras to provide automated (one-camera) coverage of the games themselves. Now, that’s at the lowest level but if you look at partnerships we have in Italy’s Serie A our cameras are actually used in two ways: for the broadcast they’re used as a high-vision tactical camera to follow the play; and for the coaching staff they’re capturing all of the tactical play for it to be used for live-coaching purposes which the coaches have access to in real time.
How successful has Pixellot been in advancing analytics and live streaming solutions for football clubs, associations and broadcasters across the world?
Brian Meinrath: Football is currently our number one sport, but we do work with 17 different team sports. We’re in 23,000 venues across 70 different countries, and our cameras produce 350,000 hours of live sporting footage per month. Pixellot has been around for just over a decade but as far as being into the Australian market, beyond a couple of distributors who’d come here previously, they’re now looking to the Asia-Pacific region as the next frontier.
How did Pixellot’s founders seek to differentiate themselves as a company entering the sports industry?
Brian Meinrath: Originally it was aimed at second and third tier sports and making production of streaming affordable and attainable, and giving them the opportunity to monetise the streams themselves. In an Australian context, hypothetically, it’d allow clubs to broadcast their junior levels all the way up to the senior side without needing to hire a cameraperson. So, for clubs if they start looking at the return on investment, they’re able to take advantage of broadcasting via Pixellot’s cameras as they can then add sponsorship and advertising to the broadcast themselves.
Pixellot recently introduced a live streaming component to its mobile solution product, Pixellot Air. How integral has that been to growing football around the world?
Brian Meinrath: Pixellot Air is a relatively new product for us, and obviously the live streaming is something that was only announced recently following a year’s worth of beta testing. At that level we’re talking about the very grassroots of football and clubs not only being able to record themselves but sharing streams of matches with family overseas or a family that can’t be at the game.
Obviously, COVID has changed a lot of the rules for spectator sport in many countries and the ability we had to provide a platform for people to still watch games and be engaged with them was critical during that time. That’s now extended to the influx of these products into the market here.
Pixellot recently signed a partnership with Football NSW for the next two years. How will they benefit from Pixellot’s involvement?
Brian Meinrath: From that side of things, it’s very coach-focused. The reason they wanted our cameras was to look at their high-performance programs, which includes the FNSW Institute, the girls and boys Talent Support Program (TSP), and their state teams. We support FNSW’s programs by providing our cameras and allowing them to record and analyse their games. This ultimately aids in their talent identification for their state teams which then filters up into selection for junior national team squads. Our cameras allow them to thoroughly analyse the players to determine which ones are more suited to their array of programs.
What are Pixellot’s goals and ambitions within the Australian football industry?
Brian Meinrath: I see two levels of opportunity here in Australia which are the levels below the NPL (FNSW League 1, League 2) for the men, women and youth leagues. For Pixellot, it’s about determining how we provide clubs and leagues with the ability to broadcast games at a cost-effective rate, and provide returns for sponsors because at the end of the day it’s about giving clubs a commercial reason to want to do it and to provide sponsors with an asset to be able to create clips and live streaming of the competition. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done to be able to get to that point. We have to look at the infrastructure and resources available to clubs in order for them to be able to effectively use the technology.
For me it’s quite exciting to have Pixellot here in this country and looking at it, this partnership with FNSW is a great start and we look forward to working with them in leveraging our coaching platforms to the best potential they can reach.
