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Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Olympics a Big Win for NBC

August 13, 2012 by

The Pew Research Center has done a study on the Summer Olympics in London and U.S. viewership and the numbers are truly amazing, and must make the bean counters at NBC very happy indeed since it invested $1.12 billion for the broadcast rights.

According to the report 78% of Americans were watching the game either on broadcast television, online or on social media. TV is head and shoulders above any other option as the most popular viewing medium with 73% watching the big screen.

The approval ratings are very high as well, with 76% giving the broadcasts either an excellent (29%) or good rating (47%) with 13% said it was fair and 5% said it was poor. Looks like the “vocal minority” (as NBC execs called them) criticizing the games and the broadcast schedules on Twitter didn't keep their friends from watching.

Google gets $22.5 million fine over privacy breakdown
The Federal Trade Commission has come down hard on Internet search giant Google, hitting the company with a $22.5 million fine, the largest ever from the FTC, for its manipulation of Apple’s Safari browser.

Google has developed a method for tracking people Safari users and gather data on their activities, even though the company had promised not to do anything along this line. The move violated Google’s settlement with the FTC on a different issue, it concluded.

I wonder how this will impact Google’s current testing of using information garnered from users’ gmails to help come up with search results. I know that if this becomes a mainstream feature I am off gmail.

Nokia sheds app unit- puts more eggs in Microsoft’s basket
Nokia is parting way with its QT app tools unit, agreeing to sell the unit to Digia Oyj, Bloomberg reported. Nokia purchased the tool company back in 2008 when it needed its expertise to help create apps for two operating systems that Nokia owned at that time — MeeGo and Symbian.

It has since curtailed those operating system efforts and has been focusing on delivering phones that run on Microsoft’s operating systems. With that in mind it can now leverage the ecosystem that Microsoft is growing in terms of app development without a self funded effort.

Android and iOS dominate smartphone OS
The latest report from market research firm International Data Corp. s

hows that between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating system the two own 85% of the smartphone OS market. I don’t think that this comes as much of a surprise to anyone, but it is great to see hard numbers on the issue.

Overall in the second quarter of 2012 IDC found that Android phones had 104.8 million units shipped good for a 68.1% market share while Apple’s iOS had 26 million iOS products shipped, good for a 16.9% share. Samsung appears to be the big winner, accounting for 44% of all Android phones in the second quarter of this year. BlackBerry came in third at 7.4 million units and a 4.8% market share.

Facebook settles privacy issue with FTC
The Federal Trade Commission has reached a final settlement with Facebook over what users’ personal data Facebook can expose. The company will now need an explicit ‘opt in’ from the user before it can change the types of information that it will make public. Facebook will also face an audit every other year for the next 20 years to ensure compliance.

Apple vs. Samsung Week 2
Nothing earth shattering has come out of this lingering case. It looks like an iPhone, it does not look like an iPhone. Does Samsung’s products confuse consumers or are they already confused? One interesting piece of information was the total iPhone sales in the platforms five years of existence. In the US market the company has sold 85 million iPhones, good for a hefty $50 million. It sold 34 million iPads in the US market in the last two years, good for $19 billion in revenue. It appears Apple warned Samsung in 2010 that it believed that Samsung was infringing on Apple patents and that it wanted between $30-$40 per device in licensing fees.

Smartphones pay off for Microsoft, just not how you would expect
Microsoft is still seeking to establish a major presence in the smartphone space, trailing Android, iOS and even Symbian-based devices, but if a report from Trefis is correct, it still rakes in the big dollars in the smartphone market.

The reason is patents, and some of the most successful players in the smartphone space including Samsung and HTC, pay Microsoft a bundle in royalty payments each quarter. According to a piece in Yahoo news, Microsoft made approximately $792 million in the second quarter of 2012 just from the two companies mentioned.

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Filed Under: Android, Apple, Facebook, FTC, Google, HTC, iPhone, Lawsuit, Olympics, Samsung, Tablets, Yahoo Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Early Sunday Start for PGA Championship on TNT, also Online; Players Turn to Twitter to Amuse Themselves

August 11, 2012 by

With the rain interrupting Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship things will get a much earlier start than planned Sunday, with golfers finishing up the third round starting at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time. According to the PGA’s Twitter stream, the broadcast coverage on TNT will start at 8 a.m. Eastern, and the online stream (which will follow Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh as the “featured” group) will start airing at 7:40 a.m. Just like the British Open, early weekend golf! CBS should still come on at 2 p.m. Eastern, weather permitting. Let’s see if they can finish before dark.

I have to say I’ve been impressed by the PGA’s online efforts so far. Though it still doesn’t match the Masters when it comes to online screen choices (there is only one “marquee group” on at any time, plus coverage of the par 3 holes plus the ability to see the CBS broadcast when CBS is live), I do like the timeline below the viewing screen that lets you go back to watch highlights. And I will call the Social Caddy page a success — I was getting set to rip it this morning because it looked like the PGA was keeping out any negative commenters, but by Saturday afternoon I saw more than a few tweets about how pathetically bad the shuttle system was to get fans and media in and out of Kiawah.

Apparently there is only one road out to the island, leading to all kinds of traffic jams and a cavalcade of woe-is-us tweets from the golfing media, who have to endure the horrors of hours-long shuttle rides to and from the course. While it’s doubtful that anyone feels at all sorry for golf writers it has made for some entertaining reading. And it’s cool that the PGA isn’t trying to stop or police it on the Social Caddy site. Here’s USA Today writer Steve DiMeglio with a good line:

Of course one of the funniest PGA-related Twitter exchanges was taking place between Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Jason Dufner. If you’ve been following this trio you know that they love to just play around by ripping each other… relax folks it’s all a joke. Gotta love Bubba posting what looks like an old photo of Dufner:

Nothing like a little downtime and a good Internet connection.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Golf, PGA, TNT, Turner Sports, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Spartan Races Expands- Three this Weekend!

August 10, 2012 by

After competing for the attention of fans against the Olympics for two weeks it looks as if Spartan Races is taking the upcoming weekend off prior to heading into a very busy period that will see multiple races on several of the next dates.

For competitors in the UK there will be a third event in a row (not counting the off week) as the contestants head down to Yorkshire for the continuation of a grueling set of events held in the United Kingdom. The race is slated for Sun, Aug 12 and will start at 10 am, so head on out to Ellington Banks to watch or participate.

There is a pair of events up in New England this weekend, so if you cannot head out on Saturday you still have a viable option to get your Spartan on.

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The events will be held over at the Amesbury Sports Park in New Hampshire and will start at 8 am ET.

Also as a note I see that Dial for Men is now a sponsor, at least for the New England Spartan Races. Other major names have appeared on the Spartan Race Web site in the past but I am not sure of they are just filler or if the races have signed additional sponsors. Hopefully we will see more advertisers/sponsors come on board, which in turn could help get some of the events broadcast on television.

There has been no update on winners of the last two UK events on the pages web site and I did not find any additional information at its Facebook page. If anybody can point me to a page that has current winners circle information I would appreciate it.

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Filed Under: Contests, Spartan Race Tagged With:

Watching NASCAR: The Curves at Watkins Glen Beckon

August 10, 2012 by

Watkins Glen

Last week at the Pocono Raceway’s Pennsylvania 400 was shrouded in tragedy as tragedy struck fans as a thunderstorm came through and a lighting strike caused the death of one fan and injured nine more. The storm also led to a shortened race, but of course that is of lesser importance. The storm and its aftermath has NASCAR examining its severe weather policy.

The race was won by Jeff Gordon, who crossed the finish line first for the first time this year. Is this the latest he has won a race since he joined NASCAR? I may have to look later to see. Anyway he benefited from the bad luck of others at the track.

The race was shortened to 98 laps due to the storm. But equally as important was the actions of his teammate Jimmie Johnson, who helped him in an unexpected manner by causing a pileup that included Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and several other cars. This opened the hole that enabled Gordon to grab the lead.

The win provided a big boost for Gordon’s chances to participate in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, although it is still too early to say if he will make it. The rest of the top five was filled in by Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.

This week: Fingers Lake 355 at the Glen
It is back to the road courses this week, something that probably cheers Jeff Gordon as he has been traditionally strong at this type of race and still needs help getting into the chase. Held at Watkins Glen International the 2.45 mile course features seven turns over its route.

In other news it looks like a week after gaining approval for next year’s models, one of the major car companies, Dodge, has opted out of the NASCAR season in 2013. In some ways it is not a surprise, although I feel that it is a pity, since its one customer, Penske Racing, had said it was moving to Ford next season.

All the Twitter feeds you will need.

Broadcast
12 pm ET ESPN

Sprint Cup Top 10
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2) Matt Kenseth -5
3) Greg Biffle -6
4) Jimmie Johnson -8
5) Martin Truex Jr. -50
6) Tony Stewart -53
7) Brad Keselowski -54
8 ) Denny Hamlin -61
9) Kevin Harvick -63
10) Clint Boyer -65

Nationwide

Elliot Sadler is back on top, in more ways than one. He captured the victory flag at the US Cellular 250 last week and that win pushed him back into a stronger lead points position in the Nationwide Series. He appeared to have a dominating car from the little I saw of the race and he led for 60 laps but had to regain the lead numerous times to get the win.

Over the course of the race he was strongly challenged by Justin Allgaier, who finished in second, Allgaier’s best finish of the season, and a result that helped him stay a strong contender in the Nationwide Series. The top five was filled out with Sam Hornish Jr. in 3rd followed by Michael Annett and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Zippo 200 at the Glen

This Week: Zippo 200 at the Glen
This week the Nationwide drivers will also be tackling the road course at Watkins Glen in the Zippo 200 at the Glen. When Sprint challenged the road course in Sonoma earlier in the season Nationwide went elsewhere but this time fans of the sport can go to one site to watch both races.

Broadcast
Aug 11, 2pm ET ABC

Nationwide Cup Standings
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Austin Dillon -18
3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -21
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -34
5) Justin Allgaier -78

Filed Under: ABC, Athlete to Follow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., ESPN, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart, Watkins Glen International Tagged With:

Friday Grab Bag: 30 on 30 Returns, Arena Bowl Tonight

August 10, 2012 by

Avitae Arena Bowl XXV

The Arena Football League will crown a champion this weekend when the Arizona Rattlers take on the Philadelphia Soul in New Orleans at 10:30 ET on Aug. 10 for all of the marbles.

Philadelphia reached the championship game by decisively defeating the Jacksonville Sharks 89-34 while the Rattlers reached the final round with a much closer victory over the Utah Blaze, 75-69. The Rattlers will be playing in their second consecutive championship and seventh overall, quite an accomplishment in a 25-year-old league.


What do the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NCAA have in common?
Apparently it is an extreme hatred of a new sports betting lottery game that has been long talked about in New Jersey. The bill would permit gambling on both pro and college sports, and that is something that has the said sports leagues very upset.

From a look at the discussion at ProFootballTalk it looks like New Jersey has a very tough challenge ahead of it. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, relies on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, and the window that would enable New Jersey to allow gambling has long since closed. In addition the state of Delaware has already tried this and lost.

It seems that if the bill does make it past the courts the NFL will retaliate by “punishing” New Jersey by not allowing it to host another Super Bowl. I wonder if a win would open the floodgates to other states also allowing sports betting and what the NFL will try and do about that?

Apple expected to exclude YouTube in iOS 6
Apple is expected to no longer include the popular video viewing app YouTube in the next version of its mobile operating system iOS 6 when that OS is released. The app has been a standard feature included with Apple’s products for the past five years.

Apple said that its license to include the standalone version of YouTube app in its operating system has ended. It can still be used via the Chrome browser and Google is working on a version for the App store. What will the world do without its morning fix of cute animal videos?

Will NBA backpedal on Under-23 rule for Olympics?
NBA Commissioner David Stern had advocated that future Summer Olympics only allow players that are under 23 into the competition. This move would have the affect of saving the NBA’s team owners the angst of worrying about their star players’ health prior to the start of the season.

However it appears that there is a great deal of pushback from the rest of the basketball playing world. It seems that many nations want to send their best athletes, not just the ones that are convenient for the NBA. Who would have guessed?

Anyway it now sounds as if the NBA may just leave well enough alone, at least until a new commissioner replaces Stern, who is running out his term as commissioner.

AT&T Shared data plan on the horizon
AT&T has said that it will launch its mobile share plans, which allow a user to have a data plan that can be used with multiple devices, eliminating the need for a separate plan for each device, on Aug. 23.

The plans will range in size from 1GB to 20GB each and requires at least one smartphone with a unlimited talk and text plan as part of the overall bundle. A user can have a maximum of nine devices on a single plan.

ESPN re-ups 30 for 30 for second season
ESPN’s 30 for 30 series will make a reappearance this year as the sports giant has a new slate of topics that will get a full blown film treatment. The series is scheduled to start on Oct. 2, 8 pm ET with an episode entitled “Broke” about athletes who have burned through their fortunes. The series will run through December and you can head over to ESPN to get the synopsis for the fall offerings.

Google to add voice activated services
Google is once again firing a shot across Apple’s bow as it launches a voice activated service that will run on Apple’s iPhones and so directly compete with Apple’s Siri. The company will also be pushing the app, called “voice search” on the Android platform.

The company expects to release the app for iPhones within the next few weeks and then it will release it for the Android at a later, unspecified date.

Instagram on your camera?
It makes sense on the face of it. You might have a camera that has much greater capabilities compared to the one in your smartphone. Now at least one camera manufacturer is working to deliver both Android in its cameras, but Instagram along with the operating system.

Mashable has reported that Nikon is working on just this solution in its next generation cameras and that one could be available soon. While the vast majority of apps would be relatively worthless, unless the camera is a hybrid of some sort, image apps such as Instagram should find an instant home.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Arena Football League, Basketball, ESPN, Facebook, FIBA, Google, Instagram, iOS, iPhone, Major League Baseball, Mashable, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, Nokia, ProFootballTalk, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

MSR Launches First ‘e-Report,’ an In-Depth Look at ‘The Connected Event Dilemma’

August 9, 2012 by

It’s no secret to any cell phone user that finding a good signal at a big sporting event is sometimes a challenge. But what exactly are the reasons behind why it’s hard to bring wireless access to crowded places? And what are the business opportunities for stadium and event operators, application developers and sports marketers once high-quality wireless is installed?

The answers to those questions and more can be found in The Connected Event Dilemma, the first in-depth “e-report” from Mobile Sports Report. Available as a free download thanks to a sponsorship from Wi-Fi gear vendor Xirrus Inc., our completely objective report (meaning, the sponsor did not control our research or reporting) looks at the dilemma faced by many operators of big events that draw lots of connected attendees — how do you best bring Internet access to the crowd, and what are the benefits of doing so?

In a nutshell, the report explains why traditional cellular infrastructures can’t handle the current and expected future demands of the connected fan, and why high quality Wi-Fi is needed to keep up with the rapid advancements in personal digital device technology, and fans’ desires to stay connected and to share experiences while at large public events. But there’s lots more in the 11 pages of editorial goodness, including explanations about:

– How fan behavior has recently shifted to include heavy use of wireless devices while at big events or games
– Why the current regular cellular infrastructure can’t keep up with big-event demands
– What leading teams and stadium organizations are doing to address their wireless Internet access needs, now
– How you and your organization can start crafting a plan to ensure your stadium, event or other large public space isn’t left behind

This report is designed for readers who may be part of a stadium or event ownership group, or developers, investors and entrepreneurs looking to break into the rapidly growing space of stadium- and event-focused apps. It is also a great primer for sports marketers who need to get quickly up to speed on the “connected event” trend. And the great thing is — it’s free to you for just filling out a quick contact form.

We should have a version available for Kindles fairly soon, but you can download the PDF today. Please do so and let us know what you find interesting or missing from the first of what we hope is many long-form reports.

Filed Under: About MSR, Apps, DAS, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Market Research, MSR Guides, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , ,
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