NBA to take stake in Michael Jordan-backed sports data firm Sportradar

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past an NBA logo at an NBA exhibition in Beijing, China October 8, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The National Basketball Association (NBA) will take a stake in Sportradar Group AG in exchange for exclusive rights to NBA data, the sports betting data company said on Wednesday.

Sportradar’s shares rose as much as 13.3% to $24.54 in early trading, on course for their best session since the Switzerland-based company went public in September.

Michael Jordan-backed Sportradar provides software, data and content through subscription and revenue share arrangements to betting operators, sports leagues and media firms. Its customers include DraftKings, Twitter and ESPN.

The partnership with NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA G League begins with the 2023-24 NBA season, making Sportradar the exclusive provider of NBA data globally, including distribution rights for player tracking data.

So far this year, Sportradar has signed data rights deals with Union of European Football Associations, International Cricket Council and the National Hockey League.

Sportradar also reported a third-quarter revenue of 136.8 million euros ($154.65 million) on Wednesday, above analysts’ average estimate of 133.5 million euros, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.