The Associated Press announced today that it is using automation technology from Data Skrive and data from Sportradar to produce data-driven text previews of all Major League Soccer games.
AP provides coverage of all 408 regular-season MLS games and playoff games each season but has never before offered game previews.
The news agency began providing MLS game previews this summer and recently implemented the same technology to assist with MLS game recaps.
“With growing interest in the MLS nationwide, we’re glad we can now provide insightful previews through this collaboration with Data Skrive and Sportradar,” said Barry Bedlan, AP’s director of vertical products.
AP Sports editors worked closely with the automation team at Data Skrive to craft the preview and recap templates, using game, seasonal and historical data from Sportradar.
The automation technology enables the previews to be produced directly from data without the intervention of editors. AP reporters add details and context to the automatically generated recaps.
“We’re thrilled our platform will provide MLS fans broader coverage of their favorites teams and players,” said Brad Weitz, Data Skrive CEO. “It’s also exciting to continue expanding our relationship with the AP and a privilege to work with such an acclaimed organization.”
Data Skrive uses automation to generate previews and other content for all levels of nearly every competitive sport, ranging from Division III college lacrosse to the NFL. It generates automated previews of MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL games for AP using Sportradar data.
“With the interest in MLS continuing to grow, we see this as a tremendous opportunity to utilize our data to build even more fan engagement around the league,” said Brian Josephs, vice president of digital sport at Sportradar. “Working together with the highly-respected AP, we are confident that the MLS automated game previews will effectively reach MLS fans and provide them with the depth of information that they desire between games.”
Sportradar is AP’s primary sports data provider and holds official data partnerships with top U.S. leagues, including the NFL, the NBA and the NHL.
Data Skrive is AP’s preferred automation provider for sports and gambling content.
The AP Sports report first tapped automation technology in 2012 and now provides most of its sports agate to subscribers through automation, primarily from Sportradar.
AP also uses automation technology from Automated Insights to produce previews and recaps of most men’s college basketball games and nearly 4,500 stories covering U.S. corporate earnings each quarter.
AP continues to explore ways to use automation to expand its content offerings and enhance its news coverage.
