OptaAI Studio to Provide Captivating Insights Across Sky New Zealand's Men's and Women's Rugby Broadcasts

6 March 2025 - Global sports data and AI pioneer Stats Perform today announced a new partnership to bring advanced official player stats and contextual, live AI-powered insights to viewers and sponsors of Sky New Zealand's rugby broadcasts in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Under the partnership, Sky's commentators, producers and long-term on-screen graphics provider AE Live will have access to Stats Perform's sophisticated AI-powered research and storytelling tools like Opta Live and Opta Search (part of OptaAI Studio), as well as Stats Perform's official rugby data API and feeds.

The agreement leverages Stats Perform's extensive live rugby database and its patented AI. It covers Sky's broadcasts of international rugby featuring the All Blacks and Black Ferns, plus the women's Sky Super Rugby Aupiki and men's DHL Super Rugby Pacific competitions, as well as the Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Farah Palmer Cup.

Alongside stats, Sky will benefit from detailed match reports and contextual insights for broadcast support, contextual data-infused graphics, advanced player stats and analytics such as live match momentum and predictions for kick success.

Long-time Sky graphics partner, AE Live, will bring the on-screen graphics to life to complement the action.

Gary Burchett, Head of Sport Production, Sky NZ said "We're excited for rugby fans in New Zealand to understand even more about the players and rich layers of detail within the game. We know that the more our audiences understand what they're seeing, the more they enjoy it, and the longer they watch."

"That's why our customers loved the predictions and advanced insights from Stats Perform that they saw during our coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2023. We're delighted they'll now experience this quality of analysis and storytelling across our rugby coverage, from the national teams down to the fiercely competitive regional competitions - and across our women's competitions," said Gary.

Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform said "We're delighted to have found such progressive partners in Sky and AE Live, who are determined to make rugby coverage in New Zealand as informative and entertaining as possible."

"Like us, they understand there is enormous magic in the detail of sport. Now each set-piece can have added context. Previously unnoticed milestones can be celebrated. Each try, kick, dominant tackle, line-break triggers waves of new insights in OptaAI Studio to help Sky bring NZ rugby fans even closer to the game, as well as opening up new ways for their sponsors to connect with their audience," Xeller added.

In addition to providing official data for NZR, Stats Perform are also official data providers for leagues and federations like the NRL, 6 Nations, SANZAAR, Rugby Australia, NZ Cricket and football's Premier League, A-Leagues and LaLiga. Its OptaAI Studio tools are employed in broadcasts and studio shows for multiple sports, all over the world and its Opta data and AI also power scoreboards, tickers, live scores apps as well as advanced tactical and recruitment analysis in clubs.