STATS is the company behind SportVU, and one of the fastest growing sports analytics outfits out there. Despite knowing this, it still surprised me to see them grab Bloomberg sports, particularly since Bloomberg only created that business four years ago. I see this as a kind of acquiescence. They couldn't see themselves challenging STATS, so they may as well may a few bucks off of what they had created.<p>I think this also speaks to the network effects of entering into contracts with a large number of sports franchises. At a certain point, if a number of teams are benefiting from your analytics, everyone else is going to want them as well. When it comes to sports statistics, the last teams to adopt are often the most tradition bound and least advanced in terms of metrics. They're also the last teams who would try an up-and-comer without having had major upheaval in their ownership or front office situation. Rather, they'll run with what seems to be working elsewhere, and probably half-ass the implementation.