Mark Phillip has always been a fan, but when he maxed out his credit cards to bootstrap his fledgling sports viewing digital business, his zeal suddenly became more than just a game.

The Brooklyn-born, Austin-based, MIT dropout (pictured) had an idea in 2006 that there could be a market for sports fans who didn’t have the time to watch entire live games yet would gladly pay for a digital assistant that would let them know if something important was about to happen. That concept became the genesis for Are You Watching This?!, also known as RUWT?!, the company Phillip founded in 2006.

“We monitor pitch-by-pitch, shot-by-shot data to figure out when a game gets exciting,” said Phillip, founder and chief executive officer of Are You Watching This?! and mentor for Sports Tech Tokyo. “The Yankees-Red Sox games take over my entire night when they play each other. So being able to get that digital tap on the shoulder to say, ‘It’s time to tune in’ or ‘Stop raking the leaves; there’s a no-hitter through eight,’ that’s what we try to do.”

Phillip spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Sports Tech Tokyo World Demo Day last week in San Francisco. They discussed the technology behind RUWT?!’s notification model, how some sports leagues are beginning to offer more short-form content viewing options, the potential impact of legalized sports betting, and a changing landscape facing traditional networks as TV broadcast rights come up for renewal (see the full interview with transcript here).

This week, theCUBE features Mark Phillip as its Guest of the Week.

Analyzed over 250,000 games

The company has been profitable since 2013, according to Phillip, and its customers include Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Comcast, Golf Digest and Sportradar. RUWT?!’s processing engine has analyzed over 250,000 games to date based on data posted on the firm’s website.

Algorithms rate games in-process from the number of exciting things that are happening by analyzing the flow of information between sporting events and data providers, such as Sportradar, Opta and STATS. Subscribers are alerted immediately whenever there is an exciting moment about to roll across the viewing screen.

“For us, it’s about getting that real-time live data,” Phillip explained. “I can see balls and strikes on my servers faster than I can see live TV, which is a little bit mind bending at times. We are the best friend that is giving you the digital tap on the shoulder when it’s time to run to the couch.”

NBA changes model

RUWT?!’s success is part of a significant sea change within the television world. In a digital age where pre-recorded content is consumed in small bites by on-the-go Millennials, live TV is finding itself needing to adopt the same model.

In the sports TV community, there is perhaps no better example of this evolution than the National Basketball Association. Mindful of its need to cater to a younger audience, the NBA has created a package of TV viewing options that include whole seasons for one team, whole games, or games-in-progress at a sharply reduced price. This concept of offering small bits of live content or “snack passes” embodies a new approach to draw fans in.

“If you want a [game] quarter, they’ll sell it to you for $1.99. And if you want just a few minutes, they’ll sell it to you for 99 cents,” Phillip said. “They’ve done that really quietly, but I think it’s seismic. I think all leagues are going to have to follow and do this.”

There are signs that some segments of the sports world are taking Phillip’s advice. The NFL RedZone, a channel operated by the NFL Network, provides fans with the option of only watching key moments rather than an entire game. And the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has begun offering viewers a livestreaming feature called Fast Break for quick look-ins at multiple games in-progress during the weeks-long event.

Surprisingly, one league that has yet to embrace the short-form digital content model is Major League Baseball. The league offers streaming options ranging from an annual subscription for all teams to a single month signup, but there is nothing along the lines of what the NBA or NFL are providing to fans.

“There’s 2,430 games in an MLB season,” Phillip said. “Why won’t you let me buy just one game? I say that MLB leaves a million dollars on the table every time there’s a no-hit bid because there’s tons of people who have cut the cord, don’t want to run to the bar, but would happily pay 99 cents to stream the last inning of a game on their phone.”

Potential for gambling

There is another intriguing dynamic at play as digital services such as RUWT?! and others provided by the leagues themselves come into play. It is the rise of legalized sports betting in the U.S.

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for states to allow legalized sports gambling. There are currently 17 states where betting on sports is legal, and this has led Phillip and others to dream about the digital possibilities.

This could include sending a text to a user to let them know that a certain superstar was closing in on an NBA record. That user could pay a small amount to see that happen live or place a bet on the outcome and get the streaming content for free.

“When you have 10 to 20 states online as far as gambling goes, you take gambling, excitement analytics and these snack passes and mix them up in a pot, and you get this vision,” Phillip said. “Getting both sides of that equation, whether you’re a diehard or a casual fan, it’s hard to say no to both those options.”

The largest single sports league television rights deal in the world is owned by the NFL. The league collects over $54 billion from contracts it currently holds with four TV networks and DirecTV. Those contract rights will be up for renewal starting in 2021.

It is not unthinkable that, with a changing digital landscape and the rise of technology superpowers like Google LLC and Amazon.com Inc., the traditional TV networks could find themselves facing a significantly more competitive picture when major sports leagues like the NFL begin to renegotiate TV rights in the coming decade.

“Since NFL rights are coming up, I could easily imagine someone like a YouTube or Google, if they were to grab these rights, how easy it would be to go to YouTube and get a game for a few dollars,” Phillip noted. “It is a combination of digital maturing, in that we’re able to do these single track sorts of purchases, but also most people continue to cut the cord and rethink about how they spend their media dollars. It makes sense.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Sports Tech Tokyo World Demo Day:

Photo: SiliconANGLE