BT searches for ‘innovative sports media ideas’

BT is appealing to entrepreneurs and start-ups in a bid to find new ideas that will help BT Sport “continue to be at the heart of digital innovation”.

BT Infinity Lab has launched a competition with a view to working with startups on ideas and original technology to improve the TV viewing experience for the public.

The competition winner will get support from the BT Sport and BT Innovation teams to test their  technology or service, and will also receive six months membership at TechHub with access to its workspace and events.

Entries are encouraged to focus on “disrupting traditional broadcast approaches” – for instance by capturing the in-venue experience, encouraging interaction between sports fans, using new technologies like VR, using data, or by making live sports more accessible for impaired viewers.

This is the second time BT Sport has run the BT Infinity Lab competition and previous winners, London-based Seenit, are now a key part of BT Sport’s Premier League Tonight round-up show – which has a particular focus on fan engagement.

“BT Sport has been at the forefront of bringing fans some of the most exciting innovations in broadcasting and digital media,” said BT Sport presenter and judge Craig Doyle. “Our Premier League coverage has been boosted by last year’s winner and I look forward to seeing how the rest of our sports coverage might benefit from this year’s Infinity Lab Competition winner.”