In an increasingly fragmented sports streaming environment, audience capture and engagement is an ever-present challenge for broadcasters and rights holders. There is no clearer demonstration of this than the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The jewel in this year’s sporting crown, the tournament is the largest in the competition’s history, with more teams and games than ever before expected to drive record revenues of $8.9 billion.
With the world’s eyes on Mexico, Canada and the USA this summer, sports analytics company Are You Watching This (RUWT) has developed an algorithm designed to enable media organisations to maximise the value from their content, aiming to reshape discovery across the global live sports landscape and defining the future of predictive engagement tools in live sports broadcasting.
From its base in Austin, Texas, the company monitors and analyses real-time feeds of sports data to identify the most exciting games as they unfold. Using its patented Excitement Analytics technology, RUWT tracks and predicts live sports events, allowing users to direct audiences to high-value content.
Operating a model not unlike those behind financial market trackers, RUWT’s rating engine processes data and IDs from major sports, TV and gambling data providers including Champion, Gracenote, Rovi Sports, Sportradar and STATS. The company continuously monitors traditional broadcast and streaming schedules to determine which games can be watched, where and when. Incorporating multiple internal and external signals alongside historical data, the engine learns from experience – the more games it rates, the better it gets at rating games, says the company.
The system generates Automated Headlines, with real-time highlights available before, during and after the game to capture the story as it happens.
As sports organisations such as FIFA and the NFL continue to expand globally, with more and more games being played, fans are having to prioritise what to watch. Are You Watching This founder, MIT computer science major and lifelong New York Yankees fan Mark Phillip, tells TVBEurope “[with leagues and rights holders] increasingly placing marquee fixtures behind paid streaming platforms, fans are being forced to make tougher decisions around which games are actually worth watching — and paying for.”
Described as ‘The Netflix algorithm for sports’, RUWT’s Excitement Analytics technology enables enhanced hands-off curation and discovery capabilities and is helping to power fan engagement for FOX Sports and others. The company provides a “return on emotion,” says Philip, enabling rights holders, broadcasters and content providers to expand their reach, unlock new monetisation opportunities and enhance the global audience experience.
