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ESPN and PlayStation today announced their new Player Impact Rating system for the 2019-20 college football season. The first-of-its-kind metric evaluates the impact of every player in college football relative to their position on a 0-100 scale, accounting for the skill of their teammates and opponents on every play. This process allows for players’ ratings to be updated each week.

The new metric was created as part of a multi-year agreement between ESPN and PlayStation. In addition to PlayStation being the official gaming and virtual reality sponsor of the College Football Playoff and its New Year’s Six Bowl games, the multimedia deal includes collaborative content integrations across ESPN’s programming to drive excitement throughout the regular season.

“We were able to create a brand new metric that gives our analysts and fans a unique way to look at the impact of a player through the results of the team or other players on the field at the time,” said Matt Morris, ESPN associate director, sports analytics. “The Player Impact Rating is a more in-depth, comprehensive plus/minus rating specifically for college football.”

“Developing the Player Impact Rating exclusively with PlayStation for the 19/20 College Football season, showcases how Disney works to reimagine and innovate longstanding relationships with its clients,” said Jeremiah Tachna, senior vice president, Media & Entertainment, Disney Advertising Sales. “Live sports unites and galvanizes fans, and this unique tool is sure to deepen their connection with College Football in a meaningful way.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with ESPN and bring this pioneering system to college football fans everywhere,” said Eric Lempel, SVP, Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment. “The Player Impact Rating will allow fans to learn more about their favorite college players and discover under-the-radar talent who could help their team go all the way.”

For every player, the system measures their team’s success when they are on the field versus when they are not and adjusts for the skill of their teammates and opponents on each play. The result is then translated into a 0-100 number for their position specifically to convey the effectiveness of each player relative to that position.

The Player Impact Rating will be used across ESPN’s cross-platform college football game and studio coverage this season. The metric will provide a new way to look at the game’s top players at every offensive and defensive position, break down game-changing matchups, find unsung stars making a major difference for their team and much more.

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