Such stakes might mean big viewership this morning. One of those watchers and a good commenter who goes by djvanderhoeven at Forbes.com, pointed out a feature for fans that epitomizes what second screen TV and sports can do together.
IBM teamed up with the official website of Roland Garros to offer the "Slam Tracker" -- a real-time statistical analysis of every match played at the French Open this year. IBM is no newcomer to TV augmentation. Recently, they powered social media sentiment around the Oscars and, of course, they built a computer that destroyed all Jeopardy's great champions.
But starting with the Australian Open this year, IBM took a step forward in fueling second screen experiences. According to rolandgarros.com:
Leveraging the power of predictive analytics technology, IBM analysed over 39 million data points across seven years of grand slam championships to find patterns and styles for players when they win. This knowledge is applied against an opponent's patterns and style to determine the keys to the match for each player.
From a fan's perspective, Van Der Hoeven says the power of the program is context. " It gives me tons of fascinating stats, etc, updated live as the match unfolds," he writes.
There's nothing particularly sexy about the interface. And its social integration is fairly basic for the time being -- a tab takes you to Facebook and Twitter integrations. But what it has that is exciting is depth and versatility. From the predictive elements to highly customizable real-time stats, it is the kind of data that both junkies and casual viewers can enjoy.
It's not the first sports innovation of its kind for second screen viewing. ESPN and several other sites have long had real-time updates on stats for many sports. As bandwidth gets better and the data more automated, those features only get better. And TNT did some fascinating experimentation during its coverage of the NBA playoffs, with multiple screen angles of games it broadcast. As has often been the case with second screen growth, sports programming is leading the way.
But what IBM's Slam Tracker adds to the mix is high-grade analytics. Put those elements in the hands of some great producers -- who could enhance the interface by making each data point social and visualize the data in more exciting ways, for example -- and the hope of broader adoption of second screen activity grows.
