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Ballmer’s energy, enthusiasm will push fan-viewing technology for Clippers, NBA

October 6, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer (L) talks with John Ourand at the Sports Media & Technology conference. Credit all photos: Paul Kapustka, MSR (click on any photo for a larger image)

As a longtime tech reporter it was a bit of a flashback to see former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer holding center stage at a conference, even if this one was centered around sports and not anything to do with PCs or Windows.

There was no dancing through the spotlights, but even in a sit-down setting you couldn’t hide Ballmer’s enthusiasm for technology, now focused on improving the fan experience for watching NBA basketball games, specifically those involving the Los Angeles Clippers, the team Ballmer now owns.

“I am excited for the future of technology and how it could make it REALLY more fun to watch sports,” Baller said to interviewer John Ourand, a writer with Sports Business Journal, the hosts of the 2016 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference held at the Manhattan Beach Marriott. If you’ve ever heard Ballmer speak live you know the voice pitch that escalated on that “REALLY” part, a volume increase guaranteed to ensure you’re paying attention.

Now one of the most visible NBA owner-fans, Ballmer told event attendees Wednesday how his team’s new rights deal with Fox’s regional sports network would help the Clippers experiment with more innovative viewing options, including over-the-top streaming game broadcasts.

Watching the game through a player’s view

But put aside for a moment the concerns about old-school broadcast rights — according to Ballmer what he really wanted out of the most-recent deal was breathing room to try new things, like having game views with statistics and other information overlaid or available in pop-out windows; or different camera views, including a VR-like view of the game from a player’s eyes.

Screenshot of fan-info TV ‘overlays’ that might enhance NBA broadcasts.

“We needed a relationship that would allow us to innovate,” said Ballmer of the recent media deal, one where he dismissed the final dollar figure [worth $50 million to $55 millon per season] as “money is just an arm-wrestle.” Instead of crowing about getting piles of dough for TV rights, Ballmer was clearly more excited about ideas like being able to have player fantasy stats super-imposed over that player’s jersey while live action went on, among other plans.

“I want to watch a game as [Clippers point guard] Chris Paul, to see what he sees,” Ballmer said. “That would be a cool view of a game.”

Meet the new boss, different than the old boss

While such ideas are not completely new — others in and around sports have been thinking up such ideas and even trying them out — what’s different with the Clippers and the NBA is Ballmer’s energy, and the ability to not have to care about making money right away given his uber-billionaire wealth. I never worked for Microsoft or Ballmer but from the outside looking in it was pretty easy to see that Ballmer has never been a sit-around-and-wait kind of guy. When talking about the excitement of working with innovative sports-tech firms like Second Spectrum and NeuLion on his player’s-eye cam idea, Ballmer didn’t hesitate to put a timeline on the project.

“I’m going to be highly, highly, HIGHLY disappointed” if the Chris-Paul view isn’t available in 3-4 years, Ballmer said, laughing that it’s always best to put public pressure on engineers to get them to deliver more quickly. And while he’s frustrated by the delays caused by long-term rights deals, the opportunity to rework the Clippers’ local rights gave him a door to push open. And like always, Ballmer didn’t come in quietly.

“I didn’t want to wait to get started,” Ballmer said. “I’ve got a passion for the technology and we were at the end of the contract so… BOOM! Let’s go ahead and move forward.”

Ballmer also talked about the idea of building a new Clippers arena somewhere down the road, and about using technology to let fans at games have a better experience, like being able to upgrade your seat during the event. Dreaming about a new venue specifically built for basketball, Ballmer thought out loud about the benefits of having fans closer to the action, with an increased list of tech-aided amenities.

“The technology of arena design is advancing, too,” Ballmer said, pointing to such new structures as Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. “You have to figure out how to serve the modern fan.” Will Ballmer in charge, it’s a safe bet that Clippers fans may be among the first to be so served.

Filed Under: Basketball, Fantasy Sports, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBA Tagged With: Chris Paul, Fox Sports, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Clippers, Mobile Sports Report, NBA, Paul Kapustka, Staples Center, Steve Ballmer, Virtual Reality

Fan-facing Wi-Fi on hold as Coliseum gets ready for Rams’ return to Los Angeles

July 20, 2016 by Paul Kapustka

DAS antennas visible on the LA Coliseum’s facade

Normally when a new professional sports franchise comes to town or opens a new venue, preparations move into overdrive pretty quickly — especially for infrastructure like luxury suites, Wi-Fi and DAS.

But this is the Los Angeles Rams, and nothing about the team’s trajectory is normal, including the technology. So after making good on a longstanding threat to move the team from St. Louis, owner Stan Kroenke in January broke ground on a new, $2.6 billion “NFL Disneyland” venue in the LA suburb of Inglewood. It’s expected to be ready in time for the 2019 season. So for right now, the returning Rams will play at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

While it has an established and robust DAS system, the Coliseum has no dedicated, fan-facing Wi-Fi network, just as the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis didn’t. But it’s LA, baby. Kanye. Jack. Celebrity sightings means more bandwidth is needed, not less. But the first appearance of Wi-Fi at the venerable Coliseum won’t be for fans, but for operations.

Relying on DAS for fan wireless

Editor’s note: This profile is from our most recent STADIUM TECH REPORT, the Q2 issue which contains a feature story on Wi-Fi analytics, and a sneak peek of the Minnesota Vikings’ new US Bank Stadium. DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY today!

Artist rendering of the proposed new LA football stadium

So when the Rams play their first pre-season game at the Coliseum in August against the Dallas Cowboys, fans will have to rely on the DAS network for connectivity. AT&T, Verizon Wireless and more recently T-Mobile, are the DAS carriers; Sprint trucks in a COW for USC games.

The Rams will bring in their own Wi-Fi for communications to and from the sidelines, along with their Microsoft Surface tablets, according to Derek Thatcher, IT manager at the Coliseum and an employee of USC, which oversees and administers the venue for Los Angeles County. There will also be private Wi-Fi in the locker rooms and the officiating rooms. Thatcher’s working closely with the Rams and the NFL, including one of the NFL’s frequency coordinators, to ensure everybody has the bandwidth they need.

Separate from the Rams and the NFL, USC is undertaking a major renovation of the Coliseum, home to the university’s storied football team. The $270 million project cost will be funded entirely by USC Athletics from capital gifts, sponsorship revenue, non-USC athletic events at the Coliseum, and donor naming opportunities. “The project will not require any student fees or general university, local, state or federal funds,” the university said on ColiseumRenovation.com.

In addition to significant expansion of luxury suites and press box facilities (which houses most the IT and networking gear for the Coliseum), USC will also be adding public Wi-Fi and is talking with different vendors about their requirements.

DAS antennas inside the concourse

It is worth noting that Aruba Networks provides wireless networking for most of the adjacent USC campus (more than 5,000 APs), including the Galen Center and USC’s healthcare facilities. Thatcher emphasized the bidding was open to all vendors.

Waiting for the new stadium to be built

The Coliseum’s current capacity is 93,600 and the NFL will use 80,000 seats; post-renovation, capacity will be 77,500, due to replacement of all seats and addition of handrails to the aisles. That’s good news for Wi-Fi engineers, since the Coliseum’s bowl design has no overhangs to speak of; DAS antennas are mounted to poles that ring the stadium, and also above the bowl’s entry and exit tunnels. “Underseat AP design is expensive… we could end up with underseat and handrail,” Thatcher told Mobile Sports Report. “We’re looking at all possible solutions.”

The renovation is scheduled to begin right after USC’s 2017 football season ends and is expected to be done in time for the 2019 opener. The university said it will plan the construction schedule so that 2018 season can still be played at the Coliseum.

The other wild card in the Coliseum’s future is the Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The city has already done the honors before (1932, 1984) and the Coliseum served as the Olympic Stadium both times; a third time hosting would be unprecedented. But because of LA’s experience, coupled with plenty of already-built sporting venues to handle a plethora of events and requirements, it was natural for the US Olympic Committee to turn to LA once Boston bailed.

The city’s bid includes $300 million for additional renovations to the Coliseum.

Rome, Paris and Budapest are also competing to host the games. The winner will be announced by the International Olympic Committee in September 2017.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, NFL, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles Rams, Mobile Sports Report, NCAA, Stadium Wi-Fi, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi

Stadium Tech Report: Network finishes season strong at Niners’ Levi’s Stadium

January 12, 2015 by Paul Kapustka

Arriving at Levi’s Stadium for last 2014 season game

While the football season didn’t turn out like 49ers fans wanted, the wireless network at the team’s new Levi’s Stadium closed out the year with strong performances to complete a largely glitch-free stretch of events at what is one of the world’s most technologically advanced stadiums.

With more than 2 Terabytes of data used by fans at each of the last two home games for the San Francisco 49ers, the Wi-Fi and DAS networks at Levi’s Stadium closed out a season of superb connectivity that eventually allowed the team to not just offer in-seat food and beverage delivery, but also ordering and delivery of merchandise like hats and T-shirts, an option that was available for the Dec. 20 game against the San Diego Chargers and the Dec. 28 closer vs. the Arizona Cardinals.

According to the Levi’s Stadium network crew, the Wi-Fi network carried 2.34 TB of data for the Chargers game and another 2.11 TB for the Cardinals game, with 20,096 fans using the network on Dec. 20 and 20,164 on Wi-Fi on Dec. 28. Peak concurrent user numbers were 13,700 for the Chargers game, and 14,400 for the season closer.

All season long, our speed tests in various parts of the stadium showed strong signals for both the Wi-Fi as well as the distrbuted antenna system (DAS) enhanced cellular network. At the final game it was no different; we found Wi-Fi download speeds of 16 Mbps on the rooftop deck, 25 Mbps in a suite and a scorching 39 Mbps in the Levi’s 501 Club seats (no doubt in part because there was a Wi-Fi antenna under the seat next to us).

Both Verizon and AT&T 4G LTE services also worked well, consistently scoring download speeds in the 4-6 Mbps range in most places and much higher in others. In short, we didn’t find any flaws in the network coverage in five games of walking all around the stadium, testing everywhere we went.

CalTrain to VTA a smooth ride

Caltrain crown en route to Arizona game

At the final game, Mobile Sports Report (me) tested out the full public-transit method of getting to the game, starting from San Mateo on CalTrain at 10:51 a.m. The parking lot at the station was almost completely empty, and free since it was Sunday; it’s possible that crowds were lighter since the Niners had been eliminated from postseason play, but nevertheless the ride to Mountain View went without hitch, a good sign for next year when many fans in town for Super Bowl 50 will no doubt be using CalTrain to get from San Francisco to Levi’s.

At the Mountain View CalTrain/VTA station operations were at their best I’ve seen, with more neon-vested VTA helpers offering clear instructions on why you might want to take an express bus instead of the light rail. Insider tip: If the express bus is available, take it, because in our testing it arrived at Levi’s in about half the time as the train trip (~20 minutes as opposed to almost 40 minutes for the light rail option).

Express bus option at Mountain View

The only thing that still remains to be ironed out is the fare confusion in switching from CalTrain to VTA, which are two different operators. On CalTrain there was advertising for a $6 “combo ticket” that would let you ride VTA and could be purchased at the same time you bought your CalTrain pass. But an online single-day ticket purchased via the VTA app was only $4.50, so it’s not clear why you would buy the CalTrain pass. Especially for the Super Bowl, it’d help fans if there was one price and one place to buy a single “Get to Levi’s” public-transit ticket.

Food order arrives as promised

Another thing I tried at the season closer was the in-seat food ordering feature on the Levi’s Stadium app. Sitting in the Levi’s Club section seats on the third level, I consulted the app to order a cold beer and a warm pretzel, which the app said could be delivered in 10 minutes.

Food runner bringing me my cold beer and warm pretzel

After entering credit-card information into the app and hitting the order button the app updated itself with timely notices about the order being prepared, and that it was on its way. I found that information to be very assuring, a sign that things were indeed happening; there was even a big number associated with my order that appeared, apparently to make it easier for the food runner to confirm the order.

The order arrived exactly in 10 minutes’ time, as predicted by the app — it also arrived in a lot of extra packaging, a separate plastic bag for the steel bottle of beer and a paper sack holding a cellophane wrapper-encircled pretzel. Since there is no way to add a gratuity in the app, I gave the runner a cash tip, which seemed appropriate even though there is a $5 charge added to the order cost for the delivery service. I have to admit it felt a little weird to have someone bring me my food and drink but in the time it took to order and deliver I sat in my seat and watched the Niners’ game-winning TD drive so it’s clearly a fan-friendly option.

Video replays work well, for small amount of viewers

Another part of the Levi’s Stadium technology that was at peak performance by year’s end was the app’s instant replay feature. Though it started slowly and had some hiccups early on, by the final game instant replays were appearing in the app even before the next play had concluded (see our feature on how the VenueNext team gets the replays to the app so quickly).

While it’s an impressive addition to the in-game experience, the replays are a feature that only a small amount of fans are watching. According to the team network stats there were only 1,253 unique users watching replays on Dec. 20, and 1,019 during the Dec. 28 game. Total replays viewed for the Chargers game were 6,285, while 4.310 replays were watched during the season closer.

Why aren’t the replays catching on? Our main guess is that the Levi’s Stadium big screens are so clear and so quick to show replays (they also show live action as it’s happening), fans don’t find it necessary to use their phones to watch replays. It’s also possible that many fans in the stadium who are using the network aren’t using the Levi’s Stadium app. Indeed, according to the team network stats, the team app hasn’t yet cracked the top-four apps being used at any of the games this season; for the Dec. 20 game the top apps being used on the network were Amazon cloud drive, Facebook, Google APIs (probably Gmail) and Apple; for Dec. 28 the list was Amazon, Google, Facebook, then Apple.

We’ll try to get some season-long stats to share for both the network and the app features, but our quick conclusion after five live-game visits to Levi’s Stadium this year is that the wireless network and the app both pretty much lived up to their pre-season billing and hype, delivering a wireless game-day experience that is the standard other large public facilities will be measured against, going forward. More photos from our last visit below.

The Microsoft Surface/sideline Wi-Fi unit

close-up of cable connection

Niners’ Flickr promotion on scoreboard — very popular

Sideline Surface tablets for Niners players and coaches

Colin Kaepernick exchanges his radio helmet for his flat-brimmed hat after throwing a TD pass

View from the Levi’s skydeck out over Santa Clara

If you throw a rooftop party, the cheerleaders might visit

View from the Levi’s 501 Club section seats

Wi-Fin antenna right under the seat next to me (probably why my speedtest was 40+ Mbps)

In-stadium signing help to get fans to light rail

End of game view from skydeck

A final toast to the season at the BNY Club

VTA train line. Only took 15 minutes from here to get on bus.

Caltrain platform at Mountain View. Extra trains helped make ride home easy

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, DAS, Microsoft, NFL, Surface, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi Tagged With: 4G LTE, AT&T, CalTrain, DAS, Instant Replay, Levi's Stadium, Mobile Sports Report, NFL. Microsoft Surface, Paul Kapustka, San Francisco 49ers, stadium apps, Stadium Wi-Fi, Super Bowl 50, VenueNext, Verizon Wireless, VTA

Wi-Fi Whispers: Standing fans and marching band interference; NFL sideline Wi-Fi fixed?

September 30, 2014 by Paul Kapustka

Baylor students standing at football game. Photo credit: Rod Aydelotte, WacoTrib.com

Welcome back to another posting of Wi-Fi Whispers, our once-active “notes” column that I think makes sense to start back up again. What I like most about this feature is that it gives me a chance to comment and “move the ball forward” on other stadium Wi-Fi (and DAS) stories I’ve seen out there, or to correct/comment/criticize as needs be.

STAND UP FOR WI-FI: First up is a story about the Wi-Fi network at Baylor University’s new McLane Stadium, and how it ran into some unexpected interference — namely, the fact that a lot of Baylor students like to stay standing during the game, something that messed with the initial access point and antenna deployment.

According to a story by Regina Dennis at WacoTrib.com, Baylor will be tweaking the Wi-Fi antennas to compensate for the standing fans, which is apparently a Baylor tradition (and something we’ve seen at other schools). One of the more interesting quirks of Wi-Fi reception is the fact that water is a big blocker of signals in the unlicensed bands used by Wi-Fi; and since human bodies are mostly water, a standing fan could become a sort of Wi-Fi shield. Here’s a quote from the story that tells more:

“There’s really no issue with the design, it works absolutely perfect — as long as people are either sitting in their seats or standing on the ground,” said Pattie Orr, Baylor’s vice president of information technology. “It doesn’t ruin the reception, but it makes the angles of the antenna not the best option.”

The story also notes that the Wi-Fi signals were degraded in the area where the Baylor band sits, in part because of the large instruments used. Extreme Networks, supplier of the Wi-Fi gear in McLane Stadium, will help Baylor fine-tune the system, according to the story. And we are sure we’ll hear some interesting stories about “tuba interference” at next year’s SEAT conference.

SIDELINE WI-FI IS FINE, SAYS NFL: While it’s a little tough getting tech information out of the NFL these days due to the public-relations siege the league is facing, we did get a source to comment on background about an article saying that the league’s sideline Wi-Fi isn’t working well. The article is basically a late follow-up to an issue that “surfaced” early in the season, when New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick complained that the new system of Microsoft Surface tablets and league-provided Wi-Fi wasn’t up to snuff.

The follow-on article at TechTarget’s SearchNetworking site says in its headline that “NFL’s Cisco-based stadium Wi-Fi frustrates tablet-toting coaches,” but it only has one coach, Belichick, complaining, and it doesn’t have any new reactions or information other than the original Boston Globe story. What it does have is confirmation that Cisco equipment is used in the sideline Wi-Fi deployment, then several reactions from industry analysts — none of whom have any actual information about the system or any actual, proven or reported failures.

While it’s possible that there have been more glitches, our question is, why write an article about it if you can’t find more than the single episode, from someone you haven’t really talked to in order to find out what really happened? Our league source, who would only comment on background, said there were issues with network interference during the preseason, but that now the systems are working in all stadiums. Of course, if any coaching staff types beg to differ you can always let us know here at MSR, but our guess is that if the systems were failing you’d hear complaints since NFL head coaches aren’t the silent type.

Why can’t the sideline networks just tap into the stadium Wi-Fi, especially in places where the new networks are powerful? According to Dan Williams, the vice president of technology for the San Francisco 49ers, the sideline networks need to be separate for security and objectivity reasons — meaning, so you can’t accuse the home team of screwing up the network to gain advantage. As soon as we can, we’ll get a more thorough report together on the deployments, which we think are pretty interesting — and probably a lot better than running photos down a wire from the press box, like they used to in the old days.

LEVI’S STADIUM ANNOUNCES JMA AS DAS GEAR SUPPLIER: You may have read our feature about Levi’s Stadium DAS deployer DAS Group Professionals, but for a little deeper inside-baseball dive there is a press release from the Niners today announcing that JMA Wireless is one of the gear suppliers behind the DGP DAS. JMA, also known inside the industry for the Teko Telecom products it uses, is behind other stadium DAS deployments, including at the Anaheim Angels’ ballpark.

Filed Under: Cisco, NCAA Football, NFL, Wi-Fi Tagged With: Baylor University, Extreme Networks, marching band, McLane Stadium, Microsoft Surface, Mobile Sports Report, NFL, Paul Kapustka, sideline Wi-Fi, Stadium Wi-Fi, Waco

Stadium Tech Report: MLB stadium technology reports — AL West

August 11, 2014 by Paul Kapustka

Editor’s note: The following team-by-team capsule reports of MLB stadium technology deployments are an excerpt from our most recent Stadium Tech Report for Q2 2014, which focuses on Major League Baseball. To get all the capsules in one place as well as our featured reports, interviews and analysis, download your free copy of the full report today.

AL WEST

REPORTING BY CHRIS GALLO

Houston Astros
Minute Maid Park
Seating Capacity: 40,963
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: Yes

One of the first professional organizations to charge for Wi-Fi, the Houston Astros allowed four hours of service for $3.95 in years past. Those days are long gone, and now the refugees from the NL deliver free AT&T Wi-Fi throughout Minute Maid Park. Like other parks around the league, the Astros are also testing the iBeacon technology in the park this year.

Seattle Mariners
Safeco Field
Seating Capacity: 47,476
Wi-Fi: No
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: Yes

Owned by Nintendo of America and the home of Microsoft, it’s baffling the Seattle Mariners do not yet offer free Wi-Fi at Safeco Field. The ballpark has experienced several upgrades over the past year including a new wine bar on the main concourse and baseball’s biggest video board, yet no public Wi-Fi.

However, Safeco Field is participating with MLB and has iBeacons installed. Fans can receive text updates when new seats are available and upgrade tickets with the MLB At the Ballpark app.

Oakland A’s
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Seating Capacity: 35,067
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: Yes

After reaching the playoffs in 2012, it became obvious the Oakland Athletics needed a stronger Internet connection to support four times the amount of media members covering the team. A year later, Comcast delivered free Wi-Fi to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

One of the oldest stadiums and lowest salary totals in all of baseball does not mean the gameday experience is antiquated. With iBeacons installed throughout the Coliseum, A’s fans can upgrade seats with one tap of their fingers by using the MLB At the Ballpark app.

Texas Rangers
Global Life Park in Arlington
Seating Capacity: 48,114
Wi-Fi: No
DAS: No
Beaconing: Yes

The Texas Rangers are one of 20 teams experimenting with iBeacons in Global Life Park in Arlington. Unfortunately, other than beaconing-specific apps, connectivity will likely still be difficult without free Wi-Fi or DAS in the stadium. What comes first – free Wi-Fi in the ballpark or a Yu Darvish no-hitter? (editor’s note: Bet on Darvish!)

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Seating Capacity: 45,050
Wi-Fi: Yes
DAS:Yes
Beaconing: No

Angel Stadium received free public Wi-Fi just in time for the start of the 2014 season. Courtesy of integrator firm 5Bars Inside, fans of the Angels are promised to experience faster load times and easier communication through their devices. No iBeacons yet, but the Angels expect to continue to improve the network in the coming years.

To get all the capsules in one place as well as our featured reports, interviews and analysis, download your free copy of the full report today.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Baseball, DAS, Los ANgeles Angeles of Anaheim, Major League Baseball, Wi-Fi Tagged With: AL West, Houston Astros, interviews and analysis, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, MLB, Mobile Sports Report, Oakland A's, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Paul Kapustka, Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners, Stadium Wi-Fi, Texas Rangers

Friday Grab Bag: Where is the MLS TV deal?

March 21, 2014 by Paul Kapustka

For those of you who managed to miss it the Major League Soccer season started recently and its broadcast contract, which many had expected to be finalized sometime last winter, is still unfinished business.

Awful Announcing does a good job pointing out the issues, which have to do with how each side perceives itself. An interesting note showing the increasing popularity of the sport is that the average MLS attendance is greater than the NBA or NHL’s.

Android flaws could make upgrades a danger
System updates are a fact of life for most mobile phone users and a recent report from researchers at the System Security Lab at Indiana University and Microsoft have found a vulnerability that could enable hackers to take over Android systems.

It is not a real threat as they did a proof of concept test only but the threat would be in the form of an app that waits for a system update and then takes gains access for privileges that it had not had previously. Interestingly it only works if you have a fairly old version of Android running.

FIFA Exec paid millions for votes
If you ever wondered how sun-baked Qatar managed to win approval to host the World Cup during its summer this story might help explain it: FIFA executive Jack Warner appears to have made millions off of the deal.

According to a piece in the Telegraph a Quatari company paid Warner millions after the country won the vote. The Big Lead has a list of his apparent transgressions over the past few years that shows a long history of shady dealings.

NBA pondering new TV deal
MLS is not the only sport that is taking its time in finalizing its next broadcast deal as the NBA is also taking a leisurely approach on its current round of negotiations. However the NBA is in a much stronger position.

According to the Sports Business Daily there are a number of interesting options being considered at this time including adding an additional broadcasting partner, bringing its digital rights in-house and moving NBA on TNT off of Thursday night. It looks like big changes are in the works.

Drones can read Wi-Fi messages?
A report in the International Business Times is saying that you should turn off your smartphone’s Wi-Fi because drones that are flying overhead can monitor the conversation, using a pretty simple trick that I think many of us would fall for.

A drone overhead could present itself as a free Wi-Fi network, something that phones are constantly looking for. Then if a user connects it can intercept traffic. Boy would they be bored with reading my stuff.

Love baseball and need a date? MLB has you covered!
Major League Baseball has joined forces with online dating site Match.com to create club-focused singles pages, because apparently there was a need for this. I am not kidding it seems that some rabid fans, say Yankee fans, whose first question is to ask “Who hates the Red Sox?” [editor’s note: insert joke for “getting to first base” here.]

It will be interesting to see how this works; maybe MLB could do the same for the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, or even a dating site set up for stats nerds, which is almost the same as the D&D group.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Awful Announcing, Baseball, ESPN, FIFA, Fox Sports, Major League Baseball, MLS, NBA, NBA Game Time, NHL, Smartphone, Soccer, Sports Business Daily, The Big Lead, TNT Tagged With: Android, ESPN, FIFA, Fox Sports, MLB, NBA, Soccer, TNT