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Gannett Increasing Digital Sports Focus: Teams with MLB

February 27, 2012 by

Gannett is seeking to leverage the digital media explosion by translating it into solid revenue via a diversified approach that will cover everything from customized content to an enhanced position in sports.

The publisher, possibly best known for its flagship paper USA Today, said that it expects to reach between $75 million and 100 million in revenue from digital services division and that it expects to see strong revenue growth going forward, reaching an estimated $275 million to $350 million by 2015.

Company executives speaking at its annual Analyst Day have bullish vision for revenue growth and one of the components of that growth will be its sports USA Today Sports Media Group, which it will try and drive into becoming a top five sports media companies in the country with over $300 million in annual revenue by 2015.

Acquisitions and partnerships part of sports push

It has already taken a solid step in this direction with the announcement of a co-development deal with MLB Advanced Media, the interactive media and Internet branch of Major League Baseball today announced a joint venture to develop and produce new content and products for sports fans across all digital and mobile platforms.

It has already worked to enhance its digital sports position with the purchase of Fantasy Sports Ventures (FSV), an umbrella organization that features a number of on-line sports sites including HoopsHype.com, Baseball-Reference.com and TheHuddle.com and The Big Lead. The deal, which was announced, last month was for an undisclosed sum.

It gives Gannett instant relevance in the on-line advertising space, an area that it has straggled in, according to the Wall Street Journal. USA Today has been battling players such as Yahoo Sports and ESPN.com, which have significantly larger audiences.

FSV is the 5th largest online sports property with an average of 18.4 million unique visitors monthly, USA Today is ninth with 10 million unique visitors. Executives said that they will continue to look at additional acquisitions but has no plans currently for any large purchases.

Additionally it plans to do a major re-launch of its entire desktop, mobile and tablet products across the company within the next two years, starting with USA Today.

Filed Under: Baseball, ESPN, Fantasy Sports, Gannett, Major League Baseball, The Big Lead, USA Today Tagged With: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Apple pays $50 million for Chomp

February 24, 2012 by

Apple buys app search engine company
Apple has purchased Chomp, a startup that has developed technology that enables users to search the iOS App Store in unique ways including searching for features that are not listed in any other search category.

The app has a very wide range of features including checking on what apps your Facebook and Twitter friends have reviewed. It also lists a free app of the day and shows which apps are currently trending

Apple paid $50 million for the company but has given no clear direction as to what it intends to do with the technology that it has acquired. The company recently noted that it has already had 25 billion apps downloaded from the store.

Nike takes a second step with Nike +
Mike has made another move into digital sports with a pair of products, the Nike+ Basketball and the Nike+Training, both of which are shoes. The Nike+Basketball is designed to provide digital feedback about a players game including how high a player jumped, how fast they are and how hard they play. The first shows will be the Nike Hyperdunk+.

The second is the Nike+Training will be a line of shows that also feature a training program that has a series of workouts designed to improve performance. The first shows in this lineup will be the Lunar Hyper Workout+ for Women and the Lunar TR 1+ for men.

The shoes use a new sensor technology from the company called Nike+ Pressure Sensor built into each shoe. The sensor collects data and then wirelessly transmits data to their phone. Additionally Nike has started shipping its NikeFuel Band.

Microsoft files antitrust claim against Motorola with the EU
Microsoft has filed a complaint with the antitrust regulators in the European Union claiming that Motorola and Google are seeking to block sales of Microsoft products by seeking unfair terms for licensing their technology.

The complaint is very similar to the one that Apple filed last week and comes at a time when the EU has already said that it is quite willing to look at not only present but past patent licensing efforts by Motorola.

Microsoft said that Motorola is attempting to block sales of Windows PCs, our Xbox game console and other products by refusing patents. I imagine this is a good time to be a patent lawyer.

The Ryan Braun story keeps getting better
Braun, the MLB MVP winner from last season was found to have huge amounts of testosterone in his body according to two tests, and he has not disputed this. The issue was with the chain of custody and that his sample was not handled properly. Of course it also does not mean that he is guilty since he was acquitted by MLB.

The flame wars have been a lot of fun, here is one with a good deal of common sense as well- more so that the author of the piece had. And just for fun here is a second, in case you did not get enough the first time.

Apple wins on a different front
Apple’s dispute with a Chinese company over the name iPad looked to prevent the company from selling the devices in the world’s largest market but a court in Shanghai has ruled in Apple’s favor. Proview Technology had been arguing that Apple infringed on its trademark rights.

The Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court ruled against Proview saying that there was a lack of evidence that iPad sales would be a trademark violation. It said there was no law or regulation that would prohibit Apple from selling iPads and terminated the litigation of the case.

Fun with Amazon
I recently received a survey request from Amazon saying it was part of the company’s ongoing effort to provide better services and support. It was supposed to take between 10-15 minutes. Looking for any excuse not to work I decided to give it a stab.

I only managed to get to about question 6. When I said that I was unlikely to buy an e-reader in the next six months or whatever the question was exactly, it terminated the survey and said that I did not fit the customer profile they were looking for. Now that is good customer service, saving me 9-14 minutes!

Teddy bear gone bad
A truly frightening gift for a baseball fan- or any fan for that matter. But pretty funny if real.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Baseball, iPad, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Motorola, Nike, The Big Lead Tagged With: , , , ,

2012 London Olympics has Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines

February 7, 2012 by

If you are not headed to the London 2012 Olympic Games and are would like to hear directly from the athletes rather that watch hours of canned filler from the networks the International Olympic Committee is way ahead of you.

It has published a set of guidelines that it wants followed for the use of social media but the nice thing about the guidelines is that the Olympics also specifically says that it actively encourages athletes and other accredited persons to take part in using social media to post, blog and tweet their experiences.

The rules appear to make a good deal of sense and follow a few basic lines of reasoning. Show consideration to others, don’t sell what you are relaying or push other third party products (that is our job) and don’t pretend you are a reporter if you are not accredited.

An interesting rule is no using the Olympic symbol of five interlaced rings. You can use the word Olympics, that is a relief, but not when where it would be associated with third party products. You may also not use the word “Olympic” or “Olympics” it in a domain name, unless previously approved by the IOC in advance. The IOC does encourage people to link their blogs and other platforms with the Olympics Movement’s official site or to the official London Games site.

They ask that they be in first person, diary type entries and not as a journalist. They ask that there be no obscenities or vulgarities. Do not promote brands, products or services Photos and images from the residential area of the Olympic Village are allowed but you need the permission of the person or persons in the image prior to posting. Shoot, no walk of shame photos!

You can post photos but cannot commercialize or sell them. Any audio/video in an Olympic venue is prohibited from being posted. Registered media may use the social platforms for real reporting and may publish photos.

The impact of blogging, tweeters and others has been changing sports for some time, but some major sports have been very reluctant to embrace the technologies, and probably just as much the people. Professional journalists, and it seems to me particularly those in the sports field, tend to refer to bloggers in a derogatory manner.

To see how fear things have come in just a short while just look at a few years ago. In 2010 Major League Baseball prohibited the MLB.com writers from writing about anything non-baseball related and basically asked players not to tweet. I guess they did not want fans to more closely relate to the players and the people that write about them. Most major US sports prohibit tweeting for a period before and after a game, which can make sense, but some teams prohibit it a great deal longer. In college sports some teams ban it altogether.

I think this is a great move and may force broadcasters, at least in the US, to show more sports and less talking heads. I have watched less and less of the Olympics over the years because I was forced to watch hours of ‘up close and personals’ about athletes in order to get to watch an event.

Times have always been dodgy about exactly when an event will be broadcast in order to lure a viewer in. Tape delays just do not cut it when I know the results. Now a smart broadcaster can not only show an event but put the twitter feed up from the participates directly after an event.

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Baseball, Olympics, Twitter Tagged With: ,

Friday Grab Bag: Bud is Back!

January 13, 2012 by

Selig has two year extension in the works-I assume it is guaranteed

The Good people at HardballTalk, among others, are reporting that MLB Commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig will sign a two year extension to remain at the helm of the sports. The deal is expected to be announced at the owners meeting taking place in Az. this week.

It comes as no surprise that he is staying there, who wants to give up an $18.4 million annual salary. I imagine he will dedicate the next two years to keeping players salaries down. Did anyone really think that he planned to retire?

Microsoft notches another win in its patent push
Microsoft and LG Electronics have signed a broad cross patent licensing agreement that gives LG coverage for Microsoft patents for LG’s lineup of devices that run Android or Chrome operating systems.

Included will be LG’s phones, tablets as well as other current and emerging consumer electronic devices. This is the 11th company that has entered into this type of licensing agreement with Microsoft and others include Samsung, Acer and HTC.

Apple gets egg on face, store after iPhone cancellation
After an abrupt announcement that the store would not be selling Apple’s iPhone 4S on the first day of availability in Beijing, the large crowd that had formed outside one of Apple’s stores in China became unruly and started throwing eggs at the building.

According to a piece at IDG a crowd had formed prior to the store opening and when an employee announced that there would be no phones available that day and gave no reason why.

Rams sign Fisher- Dolphins feel used
The St. Louis Rams have signed Jeff Fisher as its next head coach, according to ESPN and other sources. Details have not been released but I think it will be very interesting to see what he managed to squeeze out of them.

This has apparently irritated the owner of the Miami Dolphins, the other major suitor for his services. He had seemed to vacillating between the two and it seems Miami now was just using it for leverage in St. Louis.

I guess that the team learned nothing from its pursuit of Jim Harbaugh last year. Not only did it jack up what Harbaugh earn as a 1st time NFL head coach, Miami then had to salve its current head coach’s feelings.

I cannot wait until Miami goes on a search again- I suspect they will now massively overpay one of the former head coach/announcers out there like Gruden.

3D for Apple iOS
According to Mac Daily News Apple has filed for a patent that shows it will be developing a 3D GUI for its iOS-based mobile products. Apparently this is just one of several 3D products that are/were nder development at the company Will I be able to interface with my phone like they in “Minority Report”?

Mizco delivers cross platform USB charger for phones, tablets
Mizco International has delivered a cross platform charger that it claims will handle a wide range of smartphones and tablets, something that could make traveling with multiple devices significantly easier in the future.

Called the Cross-Brand Tablet and Smartphone Charger it is from the company’s Digipower division and is designed to support USB charging for products from all of the major manufacturers.

The $29.99 charger has a featured called a SmartSwitch that can be set in one of three positions and is capable of optimally charge USB-powered tablets from major manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, HTC and BlackBerry as well as USB-powered Smartphones.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, iPhone, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, NFL, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , ,

Red Sox Tap Meru for Fenway Wi-Fi Network

December 20, 2011 by

Wireless network gear provider Meru Networks has scored a big hit in the connected-stadium race by inking a deal with the Boston Red Sox to build out a Wi-Fi network inside of historic Fenway Park.

While Meru actually worked with the BoSox to install a prototype network before last baseball season, the new deal will officially tap the upstart gear vendor as the offical supplier of a full-bore Wi-Fi network designed to address the mobile broadband needs of the 37,000-plus fans who might file in on game days.

In a designed-for-an-IT-audience press release quote, the Red Sox’s IT director waxes poetically about Meru’s capabilities:

“The sheer number of devices trying to access the network was dizzying – and that number has continued to grow,” said Steve Conley, IT Director, Boston Red Sox. “Our old network simply wasn’t capable of handling the influx of devices or meeting the demand for high-performance connectivity. Meru brought stability, reliability and simplicity to our wireless infrastructure. We can now not only tune the network for optimal performance and avoid outages, we can also scale to meet network demands and reduce management costs.”

The connected-stadium marketplace is expected to heat up in 2012, with networking giant Cisco Systems already having established a separate business unit to focus on the opportunity. Investors previously thought highly of Meru’s chances to stake a claim in the wireless-access market, as the company was able to go public last year in an IPO that netted almost $66 million. However, the company’s stock price has declined since the offering, trading now in the $3-per-share range after hitting highs in the 20s.

Filed Under: Baseball, Wi-Fi Tagged With: ,

Xfinity Develops TV Sports Remote for iPhone

December 15, 2011 by

Have you ever been channel surfing and wished that you could simplify the process and just have a set of buttons that take you to live sports or scoreboard updates? Well if you are a subscriber to Xfinity, and use Apple’s iOS mobile devices there is an application that will meet your needs.

Called the Xfinity TV Sports Remote, it is a free, downloadable app available from Apple’s iTunes store that can turn your iPhone or iPad into a remote control for your TV that enables you to just move between sporting events.

It currently is designed to work with a large number of major sports and includes NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, and NCAA men’s basketball and the company said that it is working on expanding the app to support additional broadcast sports.

It serves as a remote control and not as a technology that converts the iOS device into a viewing platform but rather makes it a focused remote control that you can program to meet your sports viewing needs.

It is easy to use but does require that you know your Comcast ID or e-mail address, which I did not initially and had to look it up which was not as easy as I would have thought. Once logged-in it checks what cable box you have, what channels you have access to and then takes you to the initial set-up page.

Enables Fans to select Favorites

This page has lists of sports events being broadcast today in your area. You need to temper your enjoyment by realizing that you may not subscribe to all of those that are displayed. It shows the channels that they will be broadcast on, and that should be the clue.

You can select a league by simply tapping on its icon and that will give you a list of games, so for the NFL it will list the Thursday, Sunday and Monday games, and then on the right had side show the channel for the ones that will be broadcast in your area. Unless the NFL uses it’s flex programming of course. In each of the leagues sections, just visiting will give you current scores for teams that are playing.

It is also very simple to add favorites although one step stumped me initially. You just click the small + by a team and it’s a favorite the first time you go to the favorites section. The second time you need to go to edit to add or subtract a team, otherwise it just tells you the status of any games your favorites are playing on that day.

The favorites section will show you the time and channel that your favorite teams are playing on the current day, if they are playing that is and if it is broadcast The only limit to favorites is the number of teams available, you can favor them all if you wanted to.

Other features include the ability to select which TV you are watching and the ability to record sports on DVRs. A caution on this feature, it will preempt any other recording setting so you might delete someone else in the houses setting to record a non sports event, hard as that might be to believe.

The program will show the sports packages available in your area but you need to directly call to sign up for one- no on-line option available.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Baseball, Comcast, iPad, iPhone, Live Sports Video Consumption, Major League Baseball, NBA, NCAA Football, NCAA Hoops, NFL, NHL, Tablets, Xfinity Tagged With: , ,
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