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AT&T takes on Verizon on Washington Capitals’ home ice

October 19, 2011 by

In a sign of the times, AT&T announced Wednesday significant improvements to mobile broadband coverage at Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center. The announcement underscores the growing importance of providing superior connectivity around sports facilities.

AT&T will likely use added capacity as a way to convince Washington Capitals, Washington Mystic and currently-locked-out Washington Wizards fans to keep using AT&T services to get a 360-view of the live sports experience, or defect to AT&T if their current mobile carrier is substandard.

That AT&T has brought its in-stadium network improvement push to the Verizon-branded Verizon Center with better connectivity is a cagey move by AT&T.

Rob Forsyth, greater Washington/Baltimore area vice president and general manager for AT&T, said:

We’re committed to our investment in the local wireless network, and providing enhanced wireless coverage at major sports and entertainment venues is just one way.

There are interesting wrinkles to the AT&T upgrade. The owner of Verizon Center is Ted Leonsis, who was an pioneer in creating digital content during the early days of AOL.  Now owner of the Washington Capitals, Leonsis is also one the most wired sports executives in America. Whether AT&T will seek to buy favor with Leonsis as the sports viewing experience shifts toward social media and watching broadcasts on smartphones and iPads remains to be seen, but giving NHL fans really good digital throughput when they go to watch their 4-1-0 Capitals can’t hurt.

How Sports Fans May Benefit

If Verizon chooses to reciprocate, fans in Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Chattanooga, Tenn. and San Francisco are most likely to benefit. In all of those markets, AT&T owns sole naming rights to stadiums, including the home of the San Francisco Giants and the San Antonio Spurs. Though AT&T probably doesn’t need Verizon to help out inside the Giants’ ballpark, Verizon does have its new speedy 4G LTE service active in San Francisco, while AT&T’s LTE service is not yet there.

Verizon has sole naming rights at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato, Minn. and the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Sprint owns sole naming rights only at Sprint Center in Kansas City, which currently does not house a major professional sports team.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, NHL, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sling Media provides enhanced remote viewing for fans

October 19, 2011 by

Sling Media delivers SlingPlayer for Tablets
Paying a bundle to get a sports bundle on your home entertainment unit and not willing to double dip to get it on a mobile device as well? Then maybe Sling Media may have the solution for you in its SlingPlayer platform.

SlingMedia has taken the next step in delivering streaming media to mobile users with the latest release of its $29.99 SlingPlayer platform. The SlingPlayer for tablets is designed to support tablets that run the Android operating system 3.0 or later and enable a user to basically watch home TV while on the go and is an enhancement on its previous offering for Android-based phones.

This is great news for sports fans that are seeking a method to gain access to the packages that they may already be paying for at home while on the road, and is a major step up for Sling Media’s offerings in this space.

There is more to the deal than simply paying $29.99 for the app and suddenly getting all of your home sports and other programming on your Android-based tablet. You must first pony up for a Slingbox device, which start at $180 and go up from there.

The program gives users control as if they were at home, with features that include being able to set a DVR at home, channel surf and browse content while still watching TV anywhere a user has an Internet connection.

The existing SlingPlayer application for Android Phones will continue to work on tablets in “Compatibility Mode” on tablets at no extra charge but it provides video at a much lower resolution than the tablet specific platform.

There is also available a SlingPlayer Mobile offering for Apple’s iPhone and iPads that also provide remote control over home TV and DVR and is available for $29.99

Filed Under: Android, Apps, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Sling Media, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Coyotes Howl for Mobile Playbook, Hope it Bolsters NHL Playoff Chances

October 18, 2011 by

Whether your favorite professional sports team is ready to provide the best 360-degree sports viewing experience may depend on how tech savvy they are in house, and the Phoenix Coyotes appear ready to take a leadership role in that department. Often an NHL also-ran,  the Coyotes already have on their team Paul Bissonnette, who scores few goals but is the NHL standard-bearer for Tweets @BizNasty2point0.

Now, the NHL franchise is preparing to distribute playbooks, scouting content and other confidential team information to Android smartphones and iPads.

The Coyotes have signed a deal with Malvern, Penn.-based Modevity, which is best known for its work in the banking and life sciences industry, to distribute sensitive content to team members and management. The data will be encrypted to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.  And while it may seem unusual for a professional sports team to be using the same platform used to distribute financial data to investment bankers and genome information to medical researchers, team officials are optimistic.

“Modevity, LLC has created an innovative product we will implement to improve both our on-ice and off-ice performance,” said Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney.

Modevity’s technology could play a big part in the 2011-2012 NHL season, as the Coyotes’ have playoff hopes.  The team is 2-1-1, good for third place in the NHL Western Conference Pacific Division. The Coyotes will distribute its information as a Software as a Service (SaaS), minimizing the internal resources and capital expenditures the team would need to securely distribute confidential information if it were doing it alone.

Modevity may not be done in the sports world. National Football League teams are reportedly using Modevity technology, although those deals have not yet been announced, and the names of the teams could not be confirmed.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Nielsen Says Men Multitasking with Smartphones, Tablets In Record Numbers to Check Sports

October 18, 2011 by

While most experts point to immersive television as the future of the sports viewing, consumers are edging toward the experience slowly. Right now, consumers are mostly multitasking on smartphones and tablets when they sit in front of the television, according to  a recent report from The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen found that 40 percent of tablet and smartphone owners in the United States watch television and use smartphones or tablet devices at the same time on a daily basis.

Checking sports scores ranked higher than checking television listings, couponing or looking up product information with 30 percent of all respondents, 44 percent of males and 17 percent of females saying that’s what they did with their smart phones and tablets when watching television.

Email was the top activity that people engaged in with 60 percent of respondents saying that’s what they did when they used their smartphones or tablets in front of the television.

Sports programmers take note, ZDNet says

According to a ZDNet report, the Nielsen data has a good takeaway for television programmers. ZDNet said the Nielsen data indicates that smartphones and tablets are not much of a threat to television, but it would be a good idea for programmers to continue to experiment with ways to reach the smartphone and tablet audiences, and use the medium to their advantage.

Consumer predicts cable company trouble

A comment by Tmc8tmc on The Nielsen Company’s website predicted a seismic shift:

You’ll find more consumers actually watching tv on the devices themselves through streaming (wifi, not the price gouged so-called unlimited data plans). Cable companies are in trouble.. Their business model will erode starting in 2012 to serious subscription loss by 2015.

Account for mobile, marketing services company says

One spin on the Nielsen data came from integrated content marketing services company Brafton, Inc., which said marketers of all kinds need to pay attention to tablets and smartphones replacing laptops as a primary computing device. It said location-based marketing, which falls squarely in the sweet spot of sports social media, will rise as people rely more heavily on smartphones and tablets for access to the digital domain.

Here is what  Brafton, Inc. said:

The survey results demonstrate that web marketers must ensure their plans account for the growing use of mobile devices. Search marketing campaigns typically include aggressive keyword strategies, and are also tailored to the search algorithms. However, mobile operating systems come with specialized search applications that field searches differently, factoring location into results. SEO strategies must adjust, especially in consumer-facing businesses, to include geographical elements that may drive mobile search traffic

For marketers, keyword strategies must adjust to tailor to on-the-go consumers. While the desktop PC is still the primary access point for the Internet, Brafton reported last month that experts expect this to change by 2015, when the mobile web is primed to reign supreme.

More Nielsen numbers

eReader owners were far less prone to double teaming data and entertainment than smartphone and tablet owners. Just 14 percent reported using their eReader while watching television.

Few consumers are totally abstinent from multitasking. Only 12 percent of tablet owners and 13 percent of smartphone owners say they have never used those devices while watching TV.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: iPad, iPhone, Nielsen Ratings, Sports Social Media Data Tagged With: , , ,

yap.tv to bring immersive television experience to USA Network

October 17, 2011 by

In a deal that could bump up the social media for US Open Tennis and WWE Raw, start-up yap.tv will deliver a branded social TV guide application for NBCUniversal’s USA Network.  

Initially, the deal will focus on such USA Network television shows as “Burn Notice,” “White Collar,” “Suits” and other original programming, but US Open Tennis and WWE Raw are among USA Network’s sports offerings, and could be part of the mix.

yap.tv will deliver to USA Network a branded app for Apple iOS devices that allows people with iPhones, iTouch devices or iPads to interact with a visual TV guide, including seamless integration with Twitter and Facebook. The application could create for USA Network a significant captured audience, who would create buzz for programming and enhance audience, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.  The deal follows a report by Nielsen that confirmed a 10 percent lift in social media activity lead to an increase in ratings of roughly 1 percent increase.

By landing USA Network, yap.tv establishes itself as a major player in the market for social TV guide apps for mobile devices. The deal with USA is one of the first times a major television network has tapped an independent company to develop a custom-branded social media application, as most networks prefer to rely on in-house development — a tactic that usually leads to less-than-leading-edge functionality. 

Social media television guides hold huge potential for sports marketers. Simply, if a user base considers any one application the go-to resource for the viewing experience, it unlocks the potential for advertisers and sponsors to present that captured audience with advertising and direct marketing tailored to their current activities and location.

yap.TV is less than two years old, has venture capital backing from Javelin Venture Partners and Bloomberg Capital, and is advised by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.  It competes with such companies as AdaptiveBlue, Inc., which developed GetGlue.

Filed Under: iPad, iPhone, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , , , ,

Monday’s Tech Tidbits: Apple iPhone Edition

October 17, 2011 by

Samsung and Apple still claiming patent violations
Samsung has quickly struck at Apple’s new iPhone 4S, a product that sold 4 million units since last Friday, by asking for an embargo in Australia and Japan on the product, claiming patent violations. Apple and Samsung are both claiming that the other is violating its patents.

Apple to unlock iPhone?
In other iPhone news the report is that Apple will be offering an unlocked version of the phone in the next few weeks. The good news is you can add SIM cards in countries to avoid the ridiculous roaming charges, the bad news is that it will be expensive, and only GSM compatible.

Google kills unpopular products
Google continues to clean house-product wise. The company plans to focus on its successes such as Android and Google +. The latest two to be cut are the lamentable Google Buzz, its poorly thought out social networking program and Jaiku.

Google seeks to defrag Android development
Look for Google and Samsung to deliver Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) this week, after delaying its debut due to the passing of Steve Jobs. ICS is an effort to unify the Android ecosystem after it has been under increasing criticism for increased fragmentation and slow updates. Be interesting to see how well it works.

Samsung will also expand its Smartphone lineup
Following the ICS news Samsung also has a new Android-based smartphone that it plans to drop onto the market this week as well. The company is maintaining a very hard driving stance in the market both in regards to new products and aggressively taking on Apple.

Is the market waiting for a Microsoft OS for tablets?
That is what the Boston Consulting Group is claiming in a recent report. A survey found that a majority of consumers would prefer Microsoft’s Windows over Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. Really?

Android app downloads to be tops by Summer
Xyologic, a startup that tracks and indexes the App Store claims that the monthly Apple iOS app downloads will be surpassed by the monthly Android app downloads by June 2012. Aren’t there already more Android-based devices out there?

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Boston Consulting Group, Google, iPhone, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,
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