Inside Story

The English Premier League and Microsoft have announced a five-year partnership where the cloud giant will infuse its artificial intelligence Copilot into the league’s digital platforms to provide quick facts and statistics about matches. According to a statement issued by Microsoft, the deal will “leverage Microsoft’s cloud and AI technologies to usher in a new era of intelligent and intuitive fan experiences.”

This new tool is available to fans on the official Premier League mobile app and web platforms, which have been “modernized to deliver rich, new experiences for fans using Azure OpenAI Service.” Using Microsoft Azure AI Foundry Services, including Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models, the Companion tool accesses information from a treasure trove of new and archival content, including 30 seasons of stats, 300,000 articles and 9,000 videos, unlocking a whole new world of immersive content for fans about the clubs, matches and players that matter to them most.

As Reuters reports, AI has strongly resonated with sports leagues and sports entertainment companies as they look to streamline the vast troves of data to attract larger audiences and drive engagement. Spain’s LaLiga soccer league, which features clubs such as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, also uses AI in match analysis and media production while clubs roll out AI-driven experiences to engage more fans.

The Premier League, England’s top soccer league, is also migrating its core digital infrastructure to Microsoft Azure to allow for easier AI integration and create a unified platform for the league. “Our role is to create value for our clubs by engaging with as many fans as we can and bringing them into the Premier League ecosystem,” says Will Brass, chief commercial officer for the Premier League.  “Ultimately, a big part of that is making sure our channels are best equipped to engage with those fans  and, more importantly, deliver to fans what they want.”

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