NFL to Stream Super Bowl Again, This Time with CBS: Playoffs Also on Mobile Via Verizon

Good news for football fans — the Super Bowl will be available online again this year, courtesy of the NFL and the good folks at CBS. It’s the second year in a row the “big game” will be streamed online for free; fans will be able to watch online at either CBSSports.com or the NFL.com sites.

Last year, NBC’s online streaming of the Super Bowl attracted 2.1 million viewers, according to the league. NBC, which did a great job making the Olympics available online this summer, will also stream its broadcasts of the Wildcard Saturday NFL playoff games as well as the Pro Bowl, something I am amazed still happens. (I mean — why not just stream video of the players vacationing in Hawaii instead?)

Verizon, through its exclusive (for now) deal to show live NFL action on mobile devices, will show playoff games live as well, though you need a Verizon phone, a big data plan, and have to pay $5 per month for access to live action via Verizon’s NFLMobile app. If you’re stuck roaming around while the games are going on and have a Verizon phone anyway, it’s worth the small charge.

All in all, more mobile access to content is good — I wonder how many fans will be watching the game online while they’re at the game live? Good thing the Superdome has a good network.

Small Business Disconnects with Mobile Workforce

We’re a migrant workforce, or mobile if you prefer. Regardless of semantics, people are more comfortable than ever taking their to-do list and hitting the road. Armed with smartphones and tablets, iPads and phablets, employees and executives alike are taking meetings, joining calls and doing work wherever they can take refuge — at a coffee or sports bar, a restaurant or retail store.

That’s why its so shocking to me, as a card-carrying member of the mobile workforce, to find so many SMBs that don’t have a Wi-Fi network to offer its customers access to the Internet. Are these operators trying to save a few bucks on the cost of setting up a “guest network?” Is it possibly the threat of intrusion – so a security issue? Or are these business professionals unaware of how many people in their establishment are disappointed (or not going to their businesses) because they don’t offer Wi-Fi?

My guess is that most of the companies today not offering Wi-Fi are just clueless, regardless of why. Any small business that is trying to recruit retail customers and wants new customers in their store and is not offering Wi-Fi to its customers for free is losing customers.

Before you throw the proverbial red flag for further review on this bold recommendation, let me add that yes, security is an issue. There are, of course, ways to set up the right kind of Wi-Fi network and have a simple means for providing ‘guests’ access without letting them be part of the official business network. For anyone who has basic networking skills the setup (and the cost) are pretty minimal. So that objection is overruled, and you lose one timeout.

Network professionals, mobile workers unite — and tell your SMB friends to set up a secure Wi-Fi guest network with good equipment — so that you can work where you want to and when you want to, while honoring the entities that allow you to do so with your attention — and your business.

The No Connection Section — Stadiums Without Networks Are Whiffing on Revenues

Editor’s note: Please join me in welcoming special projects editor Keith Newman to the pages of MSR. Keith has been a long time supporter of MSR and is now adding his voice to our blog.

When I come to the game and my phone doesn’t connect, I am more confused than the Oakland Raiders’ offense. Don’t stadium managers, sports team executives and concessions marketers realize we are here watching the game and our wallet and smartphones are with us the whole time? Don’t they also realize that their job is to make sure they optimize the combined viewing experience while maximizing our spending activity?

So why does it continue to be so hard to text friends, tweet an update from our game to our followers, find out who else is at the game, call up other scores (or God forbid a video highlight from another game going on)? Some stadiums like AT&T Park get it, but they are in the minority. They do so at their own revenue peril.

With almost every new smartphone or tablet sold, another Wi-Fi connection comes into the marketplace. We understand that so many phones in a compact space like a stadium can overload the cellular network. So Wi-Fi is needed to answer the call. And while some stadiums are getting ahead of the curve, others, like Candlestick Park, remain Wi-Fi dark. It’s still unusual to find a good signal at a stadium. And because of that, there are dollars in my wallet that the stadium owner and operator will never see.

So, has the time has come for fans to cry out? To demonstrate? No. But sports fans may go on strike when it comes to attending games live. The sports fan is OK with staying home and watching the game in HD with awesome replay, store/forward, and Sling/TIVO ability. The weight is on the shoulders of these other bodies who are losing money, fans and potentially an increasing amount of revenue by not taking advantage of the enormous opportunities to improve the experience and increase revenue. It’s game time. How’s your network?

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