Pixellot Partners With South Africa’s Lions Cricket Union for CricketTV

Pixellot Introduces the World’s first AI-Automated multi-angle solution for live Cricket in conjunction with the Lions Cricket Union, South Africa

Pixellot, the world’s leading provider of AI-Automated sports video and analytics solutions, is launching CricketTV – the first AI-powered, multi-camera solution to livestream cricket – in partnership with the Lions Cricket Union.

Pixellot and its African partner Interactive Television Africa (ITV) have been testing CricketTV for the past several months. The AI solution learned cricket by filming practice games as well as batting and bowling practice at the iconic Imperial Wanderers Stadium, situated in Johannesburg, South Africa.

CricketTV will enable lower league and grassroots cricket clubs to cost-effectively and reliably avail high-quality footage to fans, helping to progress the game both locally and globally.

“Cricket is a top-tier sport in South Africa, from school and club levels right through to provincial, then national level,” says Wanele Mngomezulu, head of marketing, commercial and communications, Lions Cricket. “Our partnership with Pixellot and ITV is groundbreaking for the game. It has the potential to allow us to exponentially grow and develop the game, by using the technology to engage with our coaches, scouts, fans and families – discovering the next generation of cricket superstars.”

“This advancement excites me immensely. I approved the trial process because it is groundbreaking: Innovation and breaking barriers is something that we strive towards,” says Lions Cricket CEO Jono Leaf-Wright. “We are extremely proud that we will be the first cricket union and stadium in the world to launch such a powerful solution. CricketTV will help Lions Cricket deliver matches that ordinarily would not be broadcast, which means more content and more cricket – for fans, parents, players, sponsors, selectors, and coaches. This technology will ensure that it is not just our professional cricketers that gain exposure but all teams in our pipeline system. It is a wonderful opportunity to rally behind and we look forward to seeing this AI technology for cricket come to life.”

CricketTV will enable cricket coaches to benefit from automatic analytics to enhance player coaching, talent development and scouting. Pixellot captures all of the video from the games in the cloud and makes the analytics platform easily accessible to coaches for use in training.

“We are thrilled to be collaborating on this project with the Lions Cricket Union,” says Alon Werber, CEO, Pixellot. “CricketTV will democratize the coverage of the game making previously unseen games available to fans, all via cost-effective, dependable, and high-quality broadcasting. Additionally, we will also enhance cricket by providing analytics to coaches, from even the most rural cricket grounds, which could not be accessed before.”

“Our Supersport Schools Project is an initiative under which we have livestreamed hundreds of games already thus allowing the AI solution to learn and properly track rugby, netball, and other such popular sports in South Africa,” says Shaun McCarthy, ITV. “It was logical for us to turn our attention to cricket. There is enormous potential for Pixellot’s technology to transform the game in South Africa and beyond – and we are thrilled to be working with the Lions Cricket Union to do just that.”