(Spokane, WA – May 21, 2021) — The Pioneer Baseball League (www.milb.com/pioneer) announced today its new partnership with PlaySight Interactive (www.playsight.com), a leading global sports video technology platform. PlaySight’s connected camera and Smart sports AI technology will be installed at ballparks across the league for this coming season, which kicks off with Opening Night this Saturday, May 22nd.
“Now anyone can tune in to catch the excitement of our “Knock-Out” rounds as they happen.”
With this investment in pro-level video technology, the Pioneer League also announced today the launch of the PBL Network, which will enable access for its teams, coaches, players and fans to professional-level live streams from every game, multi-angle video, as well as coaching and performance tools for pitching and hitting mechanics. Pioneer Baseball games will be live streamed all season long at www.pblnetwork.com.
The Pioneer League, recently in the news for the exciting rule changes it will be implementing for this season, is the first minor league to adopt PlaySight’s baseball technology platform. Among its innovative new rules, the league will be debuting a first-of-its-kind “Knock Out” round that resolves tied games with a head-to-head, “sudden death” home run duel, and it will now be able to direct fans to tune in and watch close or tied games in real-time.
“We are excited today to be adding PlaySight and its technology as a league partner and believe that our fans and communities will enjoy the enhanced access to live streams, game video and highlights,” said Henry Hunter, VP of Business Affairs for the Pioneer League. “We also look forward to welcoming new fans to the Pioneer League who may not have had access to watching our games in the past, especially with the increased attention and interest that our new rule changes are sure to generate. Now anyone can tune in to catch the excitement of our “Knock-Out” rounds as they happen.”
PlaySight’s technology has been validated throughout the sport and is used daily within MLB organizations and collegiate baseball programs, as well as at leading academies and facilities such as LakePoint Baseball, USA Baseball, Ripken Baseball and IMG Baseball. The company also recently partnered with 6-4-3 Charts to enhance its video platform with analytics and data visualization capabilities.
“The Pioneer League has proven itself to be among the most innovative and forward-thinking leagues in sports, and we look forward to enhancing the on-field product this season with our platform’s affordable and automated live streaming. Each team with PlaySight installed will now have its own live and on demand sports channel to engage with its local fans and community, as well as reach news fans interested to tune in to Pioneer League baseball this season,” said Chen M. Shachar, PlaySight CEO and Co-Founder. “A differentiator of our system is that we offer much more than just live streaming to our clients, as we have built a robust coaching and performance video platform with a full suite of tools to help pitchers, batters and coaches in-game and during video review.”
Founded in 1939, the Pioneer League will operate as an MLB partner league with eight teams in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah playing a 96-game schedule starting on May 22nd.
