A delegation of 13 Israeli companies traveled to New York and San Francisco last month to showcase to sports teams, media giants and investors their unique technology in the sports and advertising sectors. These included innovations such as sensors for monitoring the performance of athletes, real-time video and replay analysis capabilities in combination with video games, communication channels between fans and brands, and more. The delegation was initiated by the trade missions of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry in New York and San Francisco and the Israel Export Institute.

The delegation held business meetings with senior representatives from the leading sports leagues in the US, including the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB as well as with teams, global giants in sports media and investors specializing in sports.

Gili Ovadia, Trade Representative for the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry to the West Coast, said: “It was very exciting to have Israeli companies meet with the biggest names in the industry, including teams like the 49ers, the Raiders, the Dodgers, the Warriors, media groups, venture capital funds amongst the leaders in Silicon Valley and leading tech companies like Twitter, Sony and HTC. The hundreds of meetings scheduled in advance for the Israeli companies are the best evidence of the power of innovation of Israeli industry. It was a great success.”

Nili Shalev, Trade Representative for the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry in New York, said: “The Israeli trade missions in the US work together with the Israel Export Institute in order to gain exposure for Israeli innovation in a wide spectrum of technological sectors. Over the past few months, we have hosted dozens of Israeli companies in the US in sectors like IoT, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Cybersecurity, Homeland Security and Educational Technologies. The delegation of sports technology companies was a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase Israeli innovation and to create business opportunities in one of the hottest and most popular fields in the world.”

Li Aviram Shoshani, Manager of Digital Media at the Israel Export Institute, said: “The sports world offers a unique experience of viewing content, connectedness and participation. Sports teams and companies, amongst the world’s leading brands, are seeking to leverage and harness new platforms and technologies developed by media companies. The companies in the delegation were selected in advance by the American companies they met with. They presented not only technologies unique to the world of sports but also those enabling new connections between sports brands and their fans. This was one of a series of activities we have been conducting in cooperation with the Israeli trade missions around the world. The first such event, held in London last year, led to opportunities that are still unfolding. At the same time, we are preparing for the next such event in November, to be held in Germany and Spain.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)