50M+
people watched the draft over three days
1
One Talk kit solution
500+
new draftees and families
Challenge
- The draft could not be conducted in person because of COVID-19 pandemic regulations; instead, like other general managers, the Ravens GM had to coordinate with player personnel, the league commissioner and player support to submit the team’s selections through a virtual draft
- The Ravens had to coordinate over 50 draftee and family video feeds live with the commissioner’s basement office in Bronxville, NY
- The team needed to place fast, coordinated calls between teams to make trade deals in real time while on the draft clock
Solution
- Verizon provided the Ravens with six One Talk lines used as designated trade lines with other teams during the draft; this allowed a single phone number to ring across multiple devices, including desk phones, PCs, tablets and smartphones
- Verizon provided a One Talk kit—which consisted of three flat-screen TVs, three One Talk handsets, a headset, computer keyboard, wireless mouse, and state-of-the-art services—to teams and the commissioner
- Verizon also provided cellular routers used as internet backup for 23 other teams
Outcome
- The One Talk solution and other communications equipment from Verizon helped the virtual draft operate smoothly
- The first-ever virtual draft had the highest ratings ever with over 50 million people watching over a three-day period
- The Ravens were able to make key trades to secure desired players
How we built the solution