The value of big data was demonstrated for a worldwide audience during the recent U.S. Open competition at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. Tennis fans enjoyed unparalleled degrees of information regarding the matches played, the weather conditions and the players who participated in the U.S. Open thanks in large part to big data implementations that collated and analyzed available information to create comprehensive data streams for mobile users and fans watching at home.

The Two-Screen Experience

Most U.S. and European viewers have already had some experience with the two-screen interactive strategy; many television programs offer simultaneous social media interactions or added information that can enhance the programming and create additional buzz in the entertainment field. During the 2013 U.S. Open, that two-screen experience was made even more useful and insightful by the addition of big data input that provided a wide range of information at the touch of a fingertip or the click of a computer mouse. This added data allowed fans to enjoy the game with greater insight into the challenges of each match, the abilities and weaknesses of the players competing and the overall course of play throughout the tournament.

A Triumph for Big Data

The power of big data predictive analytics was displayed to considerable effect in the Keys to the Match online programming provided by the U.S. Open tech team. By compiling more than 41 million separate points of data comprising eight full years of tournament play, the U.S. Open was able to provide fans with three critical keys to victory for each of the players in each of their matches. This tour-de-force technical performance allowed fans to identify the most important factors that influenced the outcome of each match more effectively, adding to their enjoyment of the entire U.S. Open tournament. Big data analytics made these predictions possible and provided an enhanced experience for viewers around the world.

Big Data Gets Results

The success of this big data project is undisputed. The U.S. Open organization experienced the highest amount of traffic to its website ever, with nearly 54 million visits. The site also recorded 419 million page views and boosted the number of mobile users by 64 percent over 2012. There were an estimated 41.7 million views from tablet computing devices, which constitutes an increase of 54 percent over the 2012 U.S. Open tournament event. These figures represent an exceptional achievement both by the U.S. Open technical team and the big data specialists who performed the analytics necessary to make these major gains possible.

Creating a Global Conversation

Tennis fans from around the world communicated and expressed their opinions through the U.S. Open Social Wall. This Twitter-powered communications tool allowed social media users from different cultures and different parts of the world to interact with others and build connections in conjunction with the tournament. Big data analytics were also in play in this venue, allowing U.S. Open officials to determine the shifting popularity of various competitors and the number of tweets being composed before, during and after each match. This information could be put to use on the fly to provide added coverage and data points for the most popular matches and to cater specifically to the ongoing needs of fans in the U.S. and in locations around the world.

Big data analytics consulting firms can provide similar results in a wide range of industries and entertainment venues. By extracting relevant data points and compiling them into cohesive reports and information resources, these firms can produce exceptional insights into the needs of consumers, the ongoing operational goals of the company and the right moves in the competitive marketplace. Enlisting the help and expertise of data analytics consulting firms can provide actionable business intelligence in a usable form, allowing companies to achieve a greater degree of success in their chosen fields.

About Author

Jim McCann is the Information Insights Practice Lead for Paragon Solutions. Paragon Solutions is an advisory consulting and systems integration firm specializing in various industries. For more information on Paragon’s business intelligence systems and solutions, contact marketing@consultparagon.com.