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NFL Network has Broad Digital Coverage for 2013 Draft

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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As any fan knows the 2013 NFL Draft starts on Thursday and while there has been a great deal of coverage leading up to the event, it looks like that will pale in comparison to the massive coverage the league’s network plans.

Most fans I know switch between networks on draft day, checking to see what the experts at ESPN, the NFL Network and elsewhere have to say about each choice. Yet an issue can arise since the draft starts on a Thursday night and even with a prime time start there are many that have to work or have other engagements that might make it impossible to be in front of the television. There is online coverage as well as a mobile app for these types of problems.

For the online user, be it as a second screen or a user watching at work there is the NFL.com Live Presented by Courtyard. Coverage begins at 8:00 pm ET for the online effort and will be hosted by Matt Smith and will include former NFL players LaDainian Tomlinson, Kurt Warner and Akbar Gbajabiamila, as well as former NFL general manager Charley Casserly. The online show will occasionally join with the NFL Network’s broadcast of the event.

Coverage will continue over the weekend with Friday’s starting at 6:30 pm ET for rounds 2-3 and Saturday’s coverage of rounds 4-7 will start at noon ET. Much of Saturday’s proceedings will be simulcast.

For Verizon subscribers there is the option of using NFL Mobile from Verizon that will be streaming the NFL Network’s entire 2013 draft coverage. The network has also added a live draft tracker feature and video on-demand featuring draft and team analysis. NFL Mobile, however, costs $5 a month and you must have a Verizon phone and data plan.

For users of the NFL ’13 app, a free app for both iOS and Android owners, there is now a feature called Draft Xtra that can serve as a companion or second screen to both broadcast NFL Network coverage or the coverage that is available on NFL.Com. It will include both on-demand and live video as well as a range of interactive features.

Of course there has been a great deal of coverage both online and on the broadcast arm of the NFL and that will increase as the draft nears and will include predraft predictions and post draft analysis. Look here for a complete listing.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, iOS, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NFL, NFL Draft, NFL Mobile, NFL Network, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , ,

Super Bowl Gets Wi-Fi Network, Will be Checking for Rogue Hotspots

February 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

There’s a new Wi-Fi network in the Superdome, and they will be checking you at the door to make sure you’re not screwing it up with a rogue hotspot or a camera that is broadcasting a Wi-Fi signal. Check out our post over at WiFi Journal that explains why stadium network operators are already needing to do some fine-tuning due to traffic problems.

Also read the excellent article at Ars Technica, which breaks down the new Verizon-Cisco network inside the stadium. Verizon is quietly getting more involved in stadium networks, but is not publicizing their deployments — maybe because they don’t want everyone asking for the sweetheart deals Verizon may be giving NFL stadiums? Remember, Verizon and the NFL have an agreement over mobile coming up for re-negotiation soon… maybe Verizon is trying to win favor with Rog and the boys by putting in Wi-Fi for free? Stay tuned or tell us what you hear… the Wi-Fi whisperer is listening.

Filed Under: AT&T, Cisco, NFL, NFL Mobile, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

NFL has Major Digital Push on for Super Bowl

January 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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In the past it has seemed that MLB has had a lead on the NFL when it came to using alternative delivery mechanisms such as the Internet but the NFL has a huge bradth and depth of offering leading up to this weekend’s game

You can start with two areas that the average fan s probably well acquainted- The NFL.Com and Superbowl.com web sites that will provide the expected analysis, human interest stories and more prior to and during the game. Included will be live streaming of player and coach interviews all week long in a program called NFL.com Live: Superbowl XLVII that will be available on both sites.

Two additional live streaming events will be the annual NFL Commissioner Super Bowl press conference, and probably of more interest to the average fan, the unveiling of the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class, something that is always good for some dispute among fans.

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Mobile Users have Plenty of Options
For the mobile user there is also a set of options available from NFL Digital Media if they want to stay connected leading up to the game, as well as features that will help fans that are in New Orleans for the game or just to experience the Super Bowl atmosphere. For Verizon subscribers they can also watch the game on their phone.

A user can download the Super Bowl XLVII Digital Program on both Android and iOS run devices that feature the official game program in all of its 264 page glory and features the scouting reports, player and coach features and other information that will be found in the program that is available at the game.

The NFL’12 app is also available for free download for Android and iOS devices. This free app provides all of the data and stats from the past season as well as live scores and stats from the game. A user can purchase the optional Audio Pass that will enable them to listen to the game on their mobile device.

For a guide to official Super Bowl events as well as a handy tourist guide to New Orleans night life, restaurants and other sights there is the Super Bowl XLVII Mobile Guide, presented by Verizon. It includes the ability to get push notifications for events.

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Then for the fan that needs to be in touch constantly here is the NFL Fan Pass, which launches this morning. This will provide actual access to the players enabling fans to post question and it will host a also host a Google+ Hangout on Media Day connecting fans with their favorite players and NFL reporters. It will also feature exclusive interviews and videos of not only players but also celebrities that will be attending the game.

There are a host of other features that the NFL will be delivering, from game rewind that will show following the conclusion of the game. You can follow events of twitter at @superbowl and there will also be a range of podcasts available during the week.

It really looks like the NFL is covering all of its digital bases, if I can mix metaphors, and is really reaching out to fans in a solid, proactive way so that if you miss all of the action on Sunday the blame will sit on you.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, iOS 6, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NFL, NFL Mobile, Super Bowl, Tablets, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , ,

CBS Plans Big Online Blitz for Super Bowl: Watch Online, Mobile, and oh yeah… on TV

January 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

With the Harbaugh Bowl lineup now set, NFL fans will be glad to know that CBS is planning to stream this year’s Super Bowl live online, for free, at this website, with apparently no requirement to download any software like last year’s broadcast.

The Feb. 3 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, with lots of stuff beforehand. You can also “like” the CBS Sports Facebook page, or follow CBS Sports on Twitter, just in case you’re not getting enough pre-Super Bowl info.

What we really like, though, is the simple instructions for online viewing — “Bookmark this page to access the live stream on Super Bowl Sunday,” reads the CBS page. That’s a lot easier than last year’s online broadcast by NBC, which required viewers to download the Microsoft Silverlight plugin. Not good. Let’s also hope that they will sync the broadcasts this year, unlike last year when the online show was 3 to 4 plays behind the live TV, making it useless as a “second screen” app.

According to tweets we have seen from CBS execs, as well as this press release written up by Engadget, there are apparently going to be a lot of bells and whistles available online, even perhaps a fan-selected camera view. CBS’s Jason Kint was apparently beta testing the app during Sunday’s games:

Our only quibble is that CBS Sports won’t exactly show the game live on your cell phone — to have it stream via a cell phone or pad you need to have a Verizon contract and you need to download the NFL Mobile app, which costs $5 per month. No word yet whether or not you will be able to watch via the CBS web page via a mobile phone or tablet browser, but we will discount double-check that option so stay tuned.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, NFL, NFL Mobile, Super Bowl Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Why Verizon Makes You Turn on GPS for NFL Mobile: So They Can Market the Data

October 8, 2012 by 1 Comment

In using the excellent (if sometimes buggy) NFL Mobile app this football season, I did notice one new annoying thing: The app requires you to turn on location services before it lets you watch games, a relationship I struggled to understand since there is no geographic blackout or anything else rights-related with the games that are carried by the app.

Turns out, the reason for the link is that Verizon is selling the aggregate data they get from mining their audience’s locations, a topic Verizon discusses in depth with Fierce Wireless. Though the security aspects of having my phone company aggressively marketing my location data doesn’t bother me that much (having to turn on and off the GPS is a bigger pain to me), Karl Bode over at DSL Reports smartly points out that the promises of big carriers like Verizon don’t really mean that much because the companies regularly assist the government when asked for cell phone data.

I get it that Verizon wants to monetize its services more, but worry that heavy handed continued data mining like the NFL Mobile app experience tilts too far in favor of the big paying customer (here the NFL) over the small paying customer, the average fan. Compared on a one-to-one basis, there’s no way to equate the worries of one person who doesn’t like to turn on GPS services (drains the battery!) to the needs or paying desires of a client like the NFL. But in the long run such unbalanced focus will lead to nobody using such apps if they are loaded with hoops you have to jump through simply to let Verizon earn more bucks.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, NFL, NFL Mobile, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Michael Strahan Debuts Twitter Video Project: #StraysTakes

September 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Michael Strahan is a busy guy these days — in additon to being Regis’s replacement on one of the bigger morning TV talk shows, today he debuted an interesting Twitter-based project called #StraysTakes. Produced in conjunction with Verizon Wireless and its NFLMobile app, #StraysTakes looks like it will be a series of well-produced video takes on football-related topics from a guy with serious playing credentials and a budding career as an entertaining video presence.

Today’s inaugural episode, posted above, is Strahan talking about being a fantasy football rookie — love his line about why he wasn’t into fantasy before (because he was busy playing football in reality). What is interesting to us here at MSR from a business perspective is how quickly we are seeing a combination of Twitter/YouTube projects surface where Twitter is the promotional/user finding end, and YouTube is the distribution channel. Though it might not be threatening ESPN just yet this combo has a lot of legs when it comes to allowing players, teams, brands and other independent promoters the ability to craft some compelling content, and then find viewers without having to go through any of the traditional broadcast channels.

Filed Under: NFL, NFL Mobile, Twitter, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , ,
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