Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SDX — what it is, how it works, and how to get started.

What is Sports Data Exchange (SDX)?
Sports Data Exchange (SDX) is the first open standard for global sports data identity, mapping, and sharing. It gives every sports entity — competitions, teams, players, venues, and events — a universal, permanent ID that works across any data provider. Instead of every organization building its own fragmented ID mapping tables, SDX provides a single shared identity layer for the entire sports data ecosystem.
Who created SDX?
SDX was created together by SportsDataIO and Enetpulse — two of the world's most experienced sports data companies. SportsDataIO has 20 years building one of the most trusted sports data platforms in North America. Enetpulse has 25 years doing the same across Europe and the rest of the world. Together they launched SDX as a shared responsibility to fix a systemic problem that affects the entire industry.
What problem does SDX solve?
Every sports data provider uses different internal IDs for the same teams, players, and competitions. Without a shared standard, organizations spend months building and maintaining one-to-one ID mapping tables for every pair of providers they work with. SDX solves this by giving all providers a single universal ID layer to map to once — so any two providers that have mapped to SDX can instantly share data with each other.
What sports and entities does SDX cover?
SDX currently covers 30 sports, 1,500 leagues and competitions, 650K games, 750K players, 50K teams, and 10K venues worldwide. Universal IDs are assigned to Sports, Competitions, Events, Teams, Players, Coaches, Referees, Venues, and Media Events.
What are the three components of SDX?
SDX has three components that work together. First, SDX IDs: universal open identifiers for every core sports entity, cross-mapped to every major data provider. Second, the SDX CLI Tool: a local-first command-line tool that downloads the entity catalog, matches your existing data, and writes universal IDs directly into your own database — with no data ever leaving your environment. Third, the Marketplace: a partner mapping ecosystem where organizations publish and share encrypted mapping catalogs, either openly with the whole ecosystem or privately with trusted partners.
Is my data safe with SDX?
Yes. The SDX CLI Tool runs entirely in your own environment. Your customer data and database records never leave your infrastructure. The only outbound call is an API key sent to SDX to authenticate and download the entity catalog. Your provider API keys and internal data stay completely local.
What is the SDX Marketplace?
The SDX Marketplace is a partner catalog ecosystem where organizations publish their SDX mappings and make them available to others. You can share catalogs openly with the entire ecosystem or restrict access to trusted partners via private keys. When you consume a partner's catalog, the SDX CLI uses it as the highest-confidence resolution path, reducing the need for manual ID review. Every new partner that publishes mappings makes the ecosystem more valuable for everyone connected to it.
Who is SDX for?
SDX is for any organization that works with sports data and connects records across multiple sources. This includes sports data providers, betting and gaming companies, media and broadcast platforms, fantasy sports operators, sports analytics teams, and leagues or governing bodies managing their own data infrastructure.
How do I get started with SDX?
SDX is currently available through an early access pilot program. You can request access at sportsdataexchange.com. Once you have access, the SDX CLI Tool guides you through authenticating, downloading the entity catalog, and matching your existing data to write universal IDs directly into your database.