Supponor AIR® Becomes the First Software-based Virtual Advertising Solution to Receive League-wide Approval in the German Bundesliga
London, 6 April 2021 – London, United Kingdom – Supponor, the world’s leading virtual advertising technology solution provider in sports, today announced it has received the German league-wide approval to supply software-based virtual advertising, via its cutting-edge Supponor AIR® solution, from the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL).
The agreement of the DFL is necessary, as DFL’s subsidiary Sportcast oversees the contribution and global distribution of all video signals of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Due to the interface of virtual advertising with the transmission signal for the live match, Sportcast assessed Supponor AIR® in respect of image quality, reliability and technical integration and also tested in a live production environment. The league-wide approval is the culmination of successful testing over the past few months at several Bundesliga club stadiums under all conditions Having secured this milestone in sports marketing, Supponor can operate within the German Bundesliga with its game-changing virtual advertising technology, Supponor AIR®. which is ready to serve all Bundesliga clubs, flexible and light virtual advertising.
All Bundesliga clubs will now be able to easily access virtual advertising, depending on their individual decision, due to Supponor AIR®’s significantly lower deployment costs. Supponor AIR® is approved for use in any weather conditions and any kick off time, being at day or night. Supponor AIR® is natively developed to be operated remotely, as well as on site if required. It requires no specific LED boards nor integration, nor physical integration with the live broadcast production and personnel on site as virtual operations can be delivered remotely from a different location anywhere in the world regardless of the contribution and distribution format (e.g., satellite, fibre, IP) as it has the ability to be deployed at any stadium without any specific preparation.
Launched in 2021 through the integration of cutting-edge augmented reality overlays and utilising Supponor’s battle hardened broadcast integration platform., Supponor AIR® dramatically enhances the value of media and marketing rights for mass-audience sporting events for sports rights holders, their brand sponsors and broadcast partners. A fully software-based end-to-end platform, Supponor AIR® relies on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and computer vision to deploy virtual advertising on any surface, in any sport, and in any weather condition. Commercially and technically proven, Supponor AIR® provides football leagues and clubs with a flexible and powerful marketing tool to continue positioning themselves at the forefront of technical innovation, but also to enhance their commercial inventory and provide those valuable sponsors and brand partners with targeted and global reach into local markets.
“We are thrilled that Supponor AIR® has created history once again by becoming the first and so far, only software-based solution for virtual advertising to receive league-wide approval in the German Bundesliga – almost 4 years to the day since Supponor made history when its hardware-based solution became the first Virtual Advertising technology to receive a league-wide approval by the Bundesliga.
This approval by the Bundesliga is a significant milestone for us, and also underlines the progressive nature of the DFL and its focus on innovation – including with virtual advertising technologies. We look forward to continuing to work with the DFL, by leveraging AIR®’s superior cost and simplicity which will allow this leading innovation to more democratize the adoption by more clubs due to cost savings, which will support the DFL’s ongoing efforts to increase the value of its media and marketing rights, generate commercial opportunities and attract new brand partners and sponsors for all of its clubs.”
James B Gambrell, CEO, Supponor
Effective immediately, Supponor will migrate all games in Germany to the AIR® solution.
Launched in 2021 through the integration of cutting-edge augmented reality overlays and utilising Supponor’s battle hardened broadcast integration platform., Supponor AIR® dramatically enhances the value of media and marketing rights for mass-audience sporting events for sports rights holders, their brand sponsors and broadcast partners. A fully software-based end-to-end platform, Supponor AIR® relies on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and computer vision to deploy virtual advertising on any surface, in any sport, and in any weather condition. Commercially and technically proven, Supponor AIR® provides football leagues and clubs with a flexible and powerful marketing tool to continue positioning themselves at the forefront of technical innovation, but also to enhance their commercial inventory and provide those valuable sponsors and brand partners with targeted and global reach into local markets.