Dive Brief:
- Baseball fans will get a behind-the-scenes look at the replay review process as part of a partnership between the MLB and Zoom, the companies announced Thursday.
- When a replay review happens, fans wait as the decision is communicated from the Replay Operations Center in New York to the most senior member of the local umpire crew via audio only the crew can hear. Starting on opening day, March 30, fans will listen and watch through Zoom Contact Center as a replay review decision is made, according to a Zoom blog post.
- Fans watching a game on the MLB Network or Apple TV+ will see and hear expert rules analysts discussing calls with the broadcast team in real time. The partnership expands transparency into the decision-making process, though replay reviews are solely the decision of the replay official at MLB headquarters in New York.
Dive Insight:
Zoom is aiming to connect its platform to physical locations and experiences, from movie theaters to cars and now baseball games.
Through the partnership, Zoom became the official unified communications platform of the MLB, as well as a presenting partner for MLB replay review.
“In the 2022 MLB season, there were more than 1,400 replay reviews,” the MLB said in the announcement. “Historically, the league’s replay review was reliant on disparate technology and audio-only communication with umpires on the field, resulting in fans being disconnected from the decision-making process.”
For tech leaders, focusing on the end-user experience is critical. Nearly 4 in 5 CIOs say they’ll increase spending on customer experience in 2023, according to a Logicalis survey of 1,000 technology leaders.
In a push to make its products stickier, Zoom has launched a number of partnerships and product updates, though it has struggled to hold onto the gains of its pandemic-era growth spurt.
The company announced in November it partnered with Tesla and AMC to bring meetings into movie theaters and vehicles.
Zoom has increased its focus on AI, with plans to expand upon existing AI-driven capabilities on its platform, joining another big trend playing out in the software market.
The company launched a smart recording tool capable of summarizing, extracting key information and segmenting the recording into sections for easier navigation, according to a Zoom announcement on Feb. 24.
Last month, Zoom cut 15% of its workforce, laying off 1,300 workers, citing a tighter economic environment. Zoom’s workforce reduction was part of a wave of layoffs across technology vendors.
