IBM and KPN Bring the Stadium Experience from the Field to the Second Screen for Football Fans

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and leading Dutch telecommunications provider KPN have developed a mobile app to engage fans in new ways. The app integrates real-time, virtual experiences on a mobile device allowing users to participate in activities such as watching a live football game from multiple angles, voting for ‘Man of the Match,’ monitoring the scores of concurrent matches, and ordering food and beverages. The app is being showcased at the Amsterdam Arena. With two million yearly visitors, it’s the largest stadium in the Netherlands and home to the renowned football club Ajax. Using the IBM MobileFirst application development portfolio, IBM and KPN collaborated to provide the Arena with sophisticated mobile solutions to enrich the in-stadium experience.

IBM and KPN created a mobile solution for streaming high quality, real-time video content and delivering on-demand services to fans’ mobile devices at events. The app’s split screens and swipe technology provide users with instant access to several simultaneous high definition video streams, and multiple vantage points of the field.  

The Amsterdam Arena app was designed and built by experts in the IBM Interactive Experience practice. Over the past decade, mobile technology has grown in functionality and popularity to become the preferred method for exchanging information, currency, goods and services. The IBM MobileFirst portfolio supports business transformation by efficiently building, deploying and managing mobile apps that combine cloud, Big Data and analytics, and social technology capabilities to run securely across multiple devices and platforms.

“Mobile and second screen technology can radically improve user experiences,” said Peter Kouwen, Communications Sector Leader, IBM Netherlands. “Working with KPN and Amsterdam Arena was an opportunity to push mobile innovation and demonstrate how to truly evolve the fan experience at live events by creating multiple touchpoints to engage and deliver interactive services.”

The Amsterdam Arena app also showcases the possibilities of LTE broadcast. LTE broadcast is a technology that enables content to be “pushed” to the user via the 4G network, making it possible to send multiple video streams simultaneously to Arena visitors. Going forward, the LTE broadcast pilot will be further explored and expanded.

“Taking advantage of the possibilities of LTE broadcast technology allow us to use live video to communicate with Amsterdam Arena visitors in multiple ways,” said Joost Steltenpool, Director Access, KPN. “Whether a user is watching a live concert or event, or examining different views from a smartphone or tablet, the experience will be like none other.”

For more information on IBM MobileFirst, visit the press kit or www.ibm.com/mobilefirst. For more information on IBM Interactive Experience, visit www.ibminteractive.com.

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