You are here: Home / Archives for 2011

Archives for 2011

Pad Sales Look to Bloom in the Future, Thanks to Sports

April 13, 2011 by

So you are debating purchasing a pad, but are concerned with getting burned if it turns out to be a fad. In the past tablets have had a less than stellar history, with a number of major flops after the prerequisite hype predicted them as the wave of the future. So will this time be any different?

The availability of mobile sports, of course, may tip the balance toward the the tablet this time around. Watching a sporting event on a smartphone is nice but it leaves something to be desired — image size for instance. A growing number of sports outlets including Major League Baseball and ESPN offer live content that is optimized for a pad.

This is not just the past revisited in the pad or tablet space. In the past there was little in the way of operating systems optimized for the form factor, so software developers saw no reason to write for the various platforms. And the chips just did not have the power needed to provide the level of processing capabilities needed to drive acceptable video or animation. This is no longer true and you can thank the previous generations of smartphones for paving the way.

Apple’s iPad will be the leader of the pack in the near term

Market research firm Gartner http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1626414 has some pretty bold predictions about this field including that Apple’s iPad will dominate until at least 2015, holding off a strong push by Android developers. This is the reverse of its prediction in the smartphone field where the research company says that Android-based smartphones will dominate by the end of this year.

Overall numbers are expected to grow from approximately 69.8 million units sold worldwide this year to 250 million by 2015. Apple’s share of that is expected to be strong, but decline every year, dropping from an estimated 63.5% market share this year to 47.1% in 2015 while Android will grow from 24.4% now to 38.6% in 2015. The overall richness of the ecosystem such as a host of developers and on the Android side a number of different hardware developers will be major contributors to this growth.

If you are a fan of other operating systems such as Blackberry’s QNX, you are pretty much out of luck in the near term as it will be wallowing in the single digit market share space, along with Hewlett-Packard’s WebOS, which it gained in the Palm acquisition or the open source Linux offering MeeGo. What the smaller market means is less developer interest, so probably fewer new apps or services tailored for those types of pads.

With the growth of these platforms expect more tie-ins with both live TV broadcasts and customized information for pad users as sports franchises, leagues and broadcasters seek to exploit this emerging space.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, iPad, Tablets, Top News Tagged With: , , , ,

Mobile Sports Viewers Skyrocket During NCAA Men’s Hoops

April 10, 2011 by

Mobile sports viewers were almost as big a story as the University of Connecticut Huskies during the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, as March Madness on Demand (MMOD) experienced a 17 percent increase in online video consumption and a 63 percent increase in total viewership.

MMOD is the broadband and mobile device portal for the basketball tournament.

The MMOD numbers are the latest example of mobile sports programming as a boom industry. MMOD allows for direct marketing opportunities as well as brand evangelism opportunities on social networks. If Turner Sports and CBS Sports are to succeed in a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal with the NCAA to broadcast the men’s collegiate basketball tournament, MMOD and mobile sports viewership must produce new revenue streams to the broadcasters. This was the first year of the 14-year Turner/CBS deal.

Television ratings for the tourney also increased from the year previous, which experts said was further indication that hockey-stick growth trends in mobile sports viewing might continue without threatening the television market. 

“Live streams of sporting events online could actually be complementary to, and not cannibalistic of TV viewership,” wrote GigaOM‘s Ryan Lawler.

Akamai Technologies confirmed traffic for MMOD. Its global network was used to deliver live and on-demand to viewers. Akami, a Cambridge, Mass.-based cloud-computing company, said there were 1.9 million daily unique visitors and 680,000 daily visitors to mobile applications during the basketball tournament.

Viewers also raved about the user experience. Forbes.com columnist Michael Humphrey said Turner, CBS and the NCAA “put on a clinic on how to create the next major revenue stream” with crystal-clear pictures, outstanding interactive applications and advertisements that related directly to viewers using mobile devices. Humphrey challenged the National Football League to be aggressive in developing better sports viewing opportunities for fans with mobile devices.  

Filed Under: NCAA Hoops Tagged With: ,

ESPN Releases ‘WatchESPN’ App

April 10, 2011 by

The walls are coming down fast for mobile sports viewers.

On April 7, ESPN released an application called “WatchESPN” that makes its possible for iPad, iPhone and iTouch viewers to access commercial free broadcasts of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com.

Initially, the application allows Time Warner Cable Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Bright House Networks subscribers who authenticate themselves to receive ESPN’s programming anywhere they go with their mobile devices, but ESPN executives indicated that release of the application is part of a broader overall strategy. The application is available for free through the Apple’s App Store.

“This is where the market is heading,” Sean Bratches, ESPN’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said in a Wall Street Journal report. “This is re-energizing the company in terms of things we can do by exploiting technology to serve sports fans.”

ESPN’s move comes just days after Time Warner Cable Television and Cablevision Systems Corp. released iPad applications that made sports programming available to its subscribers. Those applications allow viewing within range of Wi-Fi hookups. The new ESPN application pushes well beyond that model by allowing viewers to see ESPN anywhere, so long as consumers can prove through authentication that they already pay for ESPN in the home.

ESPN’s new application also demonstrates how Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs is wielding considerable corporate clout to make sports programming a driver of mobile device sales. ESPN is a part of Walt Disney Co., and cable companies get their rights to ESPN programming through deals with Disney.

By agreeing to allow their subscribers to access ESPN anywhere once they have authenticated themselves, cable operators are helping to drive sales of mobile devices, potentially at the expense of their core television distribution business (a risk that’s offset by the potential rewards mobile device direct marketing). Jobs is Disney’s largest shareholder and member of its board of directors.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN

Apple Customers Get Best View of Masters Golf Online

April 7, 2011 by

If you are a golf fan with an iPhone or iPad, you already have a two-shot lead even before this year’s Masters Tournament kicks off on April 7. That’s because the tourney is tilted in favor of Apple devices for non-TV viewing, especially for iPad owners who will have access to a wide array of features including nine live channels via a $1.99 app, as well as “the only digital live simulcast” of CBS’s weekend coverage.

While Android device owners won’t completely miss the cut, the free official Masters Android app for non-Apple devices will only provide live scoring and radio coverage, with video available only as highlights. (A version downloaded Wednesday night to a Samsung Epic 4G from Sprint also seemed to have issues with it not being able to increase text size.)

Golf fans with iPhones, however, will have access to five live video channels on their free app, an edge that could allow iPhone users to multitask (say, at your kid’s soccer game) on Sunday and not miss any live coverage of a potentially exciting finish.

Though many fans will no doubt be glued to the TV set (since the Masters has only a couple commercials each hour it remains one of the most pure sport-watching experiences) there will likely be many more viewers watching via their PCs, thanks to the beefed-up feature set found at the Masters.com site. One of the first big events to truly embrace the Internet, the Masters in 2011 will add the following online features, according to the tournament press release:

· Eight live video channels, all available in HD-quality

· DVR functionality that allows users to rewind to key moments during live action

· Exclusive live scoring with integrated leader board highlights

· The Internet’s only live, 3D video stream for users with 3D-capable computers

If you are watching via the iPad, you probably want to make sure you are doing so via a Wi-Fi connection, since extended video viewing via a 3G link could potentially burn through your monthly data download limit. But we are guessing there will be many golfing fans with both TVs and tablets ablaze during the tournament, as the multi-screen experience allows for Masters saturation far away from the hallowed fairways of Augusta.

Filed Under: Android, Golf, iPad, iPhone, The Masters, Top News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

MLB’s ‘At Bat 11’ Provides Baseball for the Mobile Fan

April 5, 2011 by

(By Gregger)

Just in time for baseball’s Opening Day, Major League Baseball has released an updated version of its At Bat 11 app which is available at its MLB.Com site. The program will come in several versions, each tailored to different platforms and offering similar, but not entirely the same features. Platforms supported include Apple’s iPads, the iPod touch and iPhone, as well as Blackberry and Android devices.

The $14.95 app is not a gaming program but is designed to bring a wide range of facets from current games and the season to fans who need to access the games using a their mobile devices. For all platforms it allows favorite team designation, the selection of in-progress game video highlights and the option of home or away broadcast teams.

A free trial period for live streaming of all out of market games via MLB.TV is available, sponsored by Volvo, for the opening month of the season but only for users of Apple devices running its iOS. You can watch streaming video of out of area games on Android devices running at least OS version 2.2 (with Flash support and at least an ARMv7 processor) but you do not get the free one-month trial.

It should be noted that if you are planning to subscribe to MLB.TV, it is for out of area games only and you should check to ensure that you are out of area, because some teams claim an interesting cross-segment of the country as their own, and in some cases more than one team claims an area so you might not be able to see the games that you wish. For instance one segment of Nevada is claimed by Arizona, San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland.

The level of sophistication on what is supported varies by device with Apple coming out on top and the Blackberry coming in last. For Blackberry users running at least OS 5.0 the app offers condensed games, notifications on game time starts and news features on all teams.

For the Android platform a minimum of OS version 2.1 is required and its additional features include a widget for an in-progress scoreboard, a pitch by pitch tracker, a customized home screen, expanded highlights and a video library archive that is searchable by player, team or keyword and the ability to access MLB.TV.

The iPhone and iPod touch are much the same as the Android platform but also include live look-ins at key plays for any game in progress, in area or out, and the ability to watch any archived game from 2011 on demand. The iPad also has an enhanced Gameday feature.

While baseball’s first attempts to control online media were a bit halting such as its consolidation of all teams web sites under a uniform banner in a dull and sometimes confusing site, it seems that it really now understands that fans are seeking multiple options to follow their teams and it has made a great effort to support them with its At Bat 11 and other programs.

Filed Under: Baseball, iPad, Top News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cable Giants Push In-Home Streaming

April 3, 2011 by

On consecutive days, two major cable companies stepped up efforts to retain sports viewing customers who may be otherwise tempted to skip out on cable in favor of wireless data packages.

On April 1, Time Warner Cable Television added ESPN and Golf Channel to its iPad television streaming application, while dropping Viacom, Discovery and Fox channels from the mix. Meanwhile, coinciding with a big weekend in sports programming, Cablevision Systems Corp. launched its own iPad television streaming application.

The iPad application is strategic effort by the cable company to reach all viewing screens in a customer’s home, and is expected to emerge as a major test case for the distribution of sports programming to all customer devices in the home.  

Fox, Discovery and Viacom have balked at television streaming applications on the grounds they violate existing programming agreements. For example, Time Warner does not pay a second fee to content providers for the right to deliver programming to customers via the iPad application.  

Time Warner does not see television streaming as double dipping.

On the often hilarious and irreverent Time Warner Cable corporate blog, Time Warner director of digital communications Jeff Simmermon ridiculed content providers who are unwilling to allow television streaming via Wi-Fi. They are programmers kicking against “currents of change with feeble karate,” he said.

Sports programming figures at the center of the streaming television controversy. In fact, customer comments on the Time Warner blog are overwhelmingly centered on sports programming with people lobbying for channels that will give them access to their favorite sports and teams on mobile devices.

One day after the Time Warner’s programming change, Cablevision Systems Corp. launched its iPad television streaming application. Called iO TV, Cablevision’s entry offers 280 live channels, as well as video on demand. Launch of the Cablevision application coincided with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four Championship series of three games, and the opening weekend of Major League Baseball.

In a press release, Cablevision said, “this app provides another screen for you to use in your home and allows you to move around your home while watching all of your favorite shows.”

Filed Under: Cablevision, iPad, Time Warner Cable Television, Wi-Fi Video Streaming
« Previous Page
Next Page »