Comcast announced that it purchased the real-time sports-information service OneTwoSee, with which it was tied by a strong cooperation history.
OneTwoSee came up with a simple, yet innovative plan: applying real-time auto traffic analytics on TV news to sports. This allowed sports fans to easily check game momentum and player statistics via catchy graphics.
"Sports fans had already been conditioned to follow their favorite teams and fans, and we thought that we could consolidate that experience into an . . . interface," says Chris Reynolds, OneTwoSee co-founder.
Comcast is looking to widen its specialized content on its X1 cable box, so it courted OneTwoSee until the two firms reached an agreement. No official information permeated about the deal, but we do know that all 16 employees of OneTwoSee will join Comcast.
The OneTwoSee executives will report directly to Preston Smalley,z Comcast VP for sports and X1 apps. Smalley pointed out that by signing with OneTwoSee, Comcast benefits from the technology and from the innovative team behind it.
Another bit of information is that OneTwoSee will remain at its current location, which is across the street from the Comcast Center. Sometime in 2018, Comcast plans to finish the expansion of its office spaces, and we might see OneTwoSee changing its address then.
Comcast rarely makes corporate purchases in Philadelphia, mainly because the area lacks startups that are interesting to the media corporation. OneTwoSee, however, is an entirely different breed.
The small enterprise scored stellar success by selling sports-information services for mobile phones, print and cable TV. Looking at its list of clients we find names such as Comcast, Fox Sports, Tribune Media, AOL and even Canada's Rogers Cable.
Comcast reports that it delivers and installs 40,000 new X1 boxes a day for its clients, and additional figures show that OneTwoSee's analytics constitute a big chunk of the sports app on the X1 cable device.
While watching a game via the X1 sports app, OneTwoSee's graphics will feed you real-time information displayed on the right side of the TV. For example, it can tell where a baseball batter is most likely to hit a ball or where a pitcher is most likely to pitch to secure a strikeout.
The X1 sports app sessions spiked in 2015, seeing a whopping 45 percent increase during the last quarter of last year, according to Comcast. Through the X1 box Comcast subscribers can also enjoy videos, via the company's Watchable video service.
During its last four years, OneTwoSee reached out and covered multiple sports. It now relays graphical information on NASCAR, National Football Association, National Basketball Association, major college basketball and football conferences, as well as Major League Baseball.
But hockey and professional soccer fans have something to look forward too, as well.
OneTwoSee expects to launch for the professional soccer and National Hockey League in the following weeks. The company also prepared itself to cover this summer's Olympics in Brazil.
The competition will come to the United States via NBC, which Comcast also owns.
Jason Angelides is the other co-founder of OneTwoSee and acts as the company's Chief Operating Officer. He and Chris Reynolds started OneTwoSee on their own, but managed to convince investors to give traction to their enterprise.
OneTwoSee raised $2.5 million from Robin Hood Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania and MissionOG.
