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Super Bowl Gets Wi-Fi Network, Will be Checking for Rogue Hotspots

February 1, 2013 by

There’s a new Wi-Fi network in the Superdome, and they will be checking you at the door to make sure you’re not screwing it up with a rogue hotspot or a camera that is broadcasting a Wi-Fi signal.

You can read an excellent article at Ars Technica, which breaks down the new Verizon-Cisco network inside the stadium. Verizon is quietly getting more involved in stadium networks, but is not publicizing their deployments — maybe because they don’t want everyone asking for the sweetheart deals Verizon may be giving NFL stadiums? Remember, Verizon and the NFL have an agreement over mobile coming up for re-negotiation soon… maybe Verizon is trying to win favor with Rog and the boys by putting in Wi-Fi for free? Stay tuned or tell us what you hear… the Wi-Fi whisperer is listening.

Filed Under: AT&T, Cisco, NFL, NFL Mobile, Super Bowl, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Antlers Optional

January 31, 2013 by

Screen shot of PGA's new Shot Tracker group close-up. Credit: PGA Tour

Screen shot of PGA’s new Shot Tracker group close-up. Credit: PGA Tour

Since we’re a bit late getting this week’s golf-watching post done, we can heartily recommend the Tour’s newly jazzed up Shot Tracker feature for following tournaments when there’s no live TV — we are mesmerized by Phil Mickelson’s opening 29 in Phoenix, and the Shot Tracker group watch gives you a really cool view of how the shots are played, graphically, on each hole. The screen shot to the left here doesn’t really do it justice, so go to the page and check it out yourself. The groups page is mesmerizing, with shots updating in real time. Wonder if this could ever have live video… how wild would that be?

In the meantime… make sure you stock up on your deer antler extract because it’s going to be a long weekend of golf, which you will probably be watching as much as possible to get away from more Super Bowl preview material. Phil is clearly off to a hot start, who will join him? Not Vijay, who withdrew due to “back problems.” Sure.

WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Jan. 31 — Golf Channel, 4 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 1 — Golf Channel, 4 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 2 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 3 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 3 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

NOTE: Golf Channel will also show live coverage of the last three holes during NBC weekend broadcasts from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, so that you don’t miss any of the 16th hole celebrations and antics.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel coverage via PGATour.com and GolfChannel.com; Saturday and Sunday, NBC coverage via the PGA page. Right now only Comcast cable subscribers can watch live online video on weekdays.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday-Friday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The Waste Management Phoenix Open Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
C’mon, all you want to know about is the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. Party on!

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Kyle Stanley.

Filed Under: Comcast, Golf, Golf Channel, NBC Sports, PGA, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

PGA: On-Course Tweeting OK, Play-by-Play Tweets are Not

January 29, 2013 by

After last week’s Twitter brouhaha caused a lot of folks — including us — to call out the PGA Tour for its apparent heavyhanded threats, Tour officials have reached out to media to better explain its policy, which can be pretty much summed up as: No play-by-play real-time tweeting.

PGA Tour vice president Ty Votaw, who called us here at MSR headquarters Tuesday morning, said the policy isn’t new, even though I could swear I saw a bunch of unpenalized play-by-play tweeters during last year’s tournaments. What Votaw stressed throughout our short conversation was that the Tour loves having media tweet about tournaments — just as long as they don’t veer into real-time, shot-by-shot coverage.

“It’s OK to say ‘Tiger just made birdie’ or have some other description of what’s going on,” said Votaw. “We want people to tweet from tournaments. But you can’t go shot by shot and duplicate what’s on the scorecard. That’s compromising our broadcast partners and our own [PGA] digital platforms.”

Though the message sent by the Tour to prolific on-course tweeters like reporter Stephanie Wei seemed heavyhanded, Votaw said the prime target of the policy is to eliminate situations where media outlets may have people following the Tour’s own digital information streams, like its excellent Shot Link technology and Shot Tracker feature, and then siphoning that information into a Twitter stream or some other commercial digital output.

“Some outlets have interns in an office following ShotLink and tweeting from that source,” claimed Votaw, though he didn’t name any specific outlets doing such things. For the on-course reporters, the rules seem to be a bit hazy and subject to Tour judgement; Votaw, for example, said it’s OK to tweet something about a single player on every hole, but “if it’s more than one or two a hole, you’re pushing the edge.”

One thing we also saw a lot of last year (and enjoyed) was seeing Twitter-linked Instagram or other social-media photos taken by people we regard as “writers” who were using their cell phones to snap quick shots (usually scenic views from particular holes). According to Votaw, those picture-tweeters are also potentially in violation of their media credential agreement, unless they are registered as on-course photographers. Our guess on this matter is that it’s probably another judgement call, because like with the Twitter ban, it’s a complete guess as to how the PGA is going to actually monitor what reporters do online.

Votaw also said that the Tour has its own Twitter streams, and that Shot Link is available online, but the Tour doesn’t focus on one player with its official Tweets and when Tiger is winning (or even when he’s just in a tournament) there is a large segment of the population of golf fans who want only Tiger information, as much as they can get. The Tour is not going to satisfy that desire, but smart Tweeters like Wei and others can easily fill the void. There are also cases like last weekend’s two-course setup, where the Shot Link technology isn’t in place — so why not let the private tweeters fill the info gaps? Who loses?

The bottom (140-character) line on all this? The Tour is certainly in bounds with a policy that prevents people from using the Tour’s own data to construct commerical outlets. Everyone gets that. What still isn’t clear is what the Tour considers “play by play” since sometimes there is more than one or two things going on per hole (imagine, for instance, the Twitter stream of anyone covering something like Jean Van de Velde’s meltdown at the British Open in 1999, had Twitter been around then). I think the tour needs to lighten up and keep its policy in place but don’t enforce it unless those egregious situations Votaw described occur. Smacking down reporters who spend their time on the course providing fans with more details? What they are doing is only good for the sport, and if anything it will increase, not decrease, the viewership for the important paid-for video and other sponsored outlets.

Filed Under: Golf, PGA, Tiger Woods, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bogey Play: PGA Threatens to Ban Reporters Who Tweet Results

January 24, 2013 by

Apparently, the PGA Tour is still struggling to figure out this whole digital-media thing. According to golf reporters at the tour’s Farmers Insurance Open Thursday, the PGA sent an email threatening to pull credentials from reporters who were sending live result Tweets from the course.

Stephanie Wei, a freelance golf writer who does work for Sports Illustrated Golf+ (and is likely to have an expanded role in the golf media world after some promising video-reporting segments over the past year), shared the PGA’s warning email on her golf blog. Wei, one of the more prolific tweeters in the golf media who regularly follow the tour, did a bunch of shot-by-shot tweets while following Tiger Woods’ round Thursday at Torrey Pines.

In the days of yore, the Tour’s inclination to “prohibit the use of real-time, play-by-play transmission in digital outlets” might have been understandable. But as the Tour itself promotes on-course fan phone use and social media interaction, where does it draw the line between reporters and fans? Will the Tour hunt down and expel fans who are tweeting results they see happening in front of their eyes?

At last year’s U.S. Open, as well as other Tour stops, the supposed rule cited by the Tour was violated by numerous media, with many even posting pictures via Twitter as they followed golfers around the course. As an avid golf fan who can’t always be in front of a TV, the multiple tweets were a great way to stay in touch, and added flavor as a “second screen” option while watching live coverage on TV. If anything the Tour should be trying to get more people to tweet, not less.

Why the Tour is choosing now to enforce its Twitter ban is a mystery, especially when you consider how, on other fronts, the Tour is opening up and expanding its digital media presence, including having more live video available online.

Is the Tour really worried about tweeting reporters stealing fans’ eyeballs from its licensed (and expensive to rights-purchasers) content? Instead of banning it (and potentially pissing off fans who like following different Twitter streams for the commentary and take from the individuals they follow) why doesn’t the Tour do the simple and powerful thing of simply retweeting the reporters’ efforts, thereby increasing the Tour’s reach and publicity — for free? Aren’t you more likely to go turn on the TV if you see some tweets telling you that Tiger or Phil or Rory is on a hot streak?

To me, the Tour’s new enforcement of its no-tweet policy seems like a millionaire griping about losing a quarter in the parking meter. And we know how well those arguments go over, don’t we? Here’s our no-charge advice, PGA: Let the tweets run free.

Filed Under: Golf, PGA, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Phil’s Tax Advice, the Farmers Insurance Open and More Golf Online… if you have Comcast

January 24, 2013 by

Too bad Phil Mickelson’s such a nice guy — nobody can really stay mad at him for long, even if he makes Latrell Sprewell-type remarks about the money woes of a millionaire. Maybe you heard about Phil’s kinda tax-rant from this past weekend? Wednesday the guy everyone loves to love in golf rebounded with a press conference where he blamed himself for saying dumb things, tossed in a few jokes and everything was OK. But we know the golf media — just watch the next time Phil wins, there will be a lame lead about “his tax burden increasing.” You read it here first.

What else did you read here first about golf? How about our worldwide scoop from last summer, about how the PGA Tour was going to simulcast all its live TV coverage online this season? Well that story comes true this week with the official kickoff of expanded live online coverage of pro golf’s top tour… that is, if you are a Comcast cable subscriber.

Confused? So are we after reading and re-reading the PGA’s official announcement of its new live streaming feature. Safe to say, the PGA is moving in the direction of having all its live TV available online, but there are a lot of moving contractural parts that haven’t quite been sorted out yet. But hey! It’s moving in the right direction, of MORE GOLF ONLINE. Thank you PGA Tour.

To put it simply: Starting with CBS’s coverage this weekend, all weekend broadcast coverage this season from CBS and NBC should be available online; weekday coverage from Golf Channel is also available online right now IF you have a Comcast cable subscription — and later in the year for other broadband video providers. The lucky Comcast subscribers and others later will also be able to watch live video via mobile devices, through the NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra apps. Your best bet if you have questions about where to find live online video is to check out PGATOUR.com every week until this all gets solved and is easy.

No word yet on the Majors but we expect those properties to bust out online extras like they did last year — and since we never got around to giving out our 2012 awards, let’s just say that the online golf coverage champ is still CBS and the Masters, with the U.S. Open and the PGA a close tie for second. (The British Open needs to step up its game, in our opinion.)

And golf this week? That guy Eldrick returns to his favored stomping grounds of Torrey Pines. Now that the Phil “controversy” is out of the way we can go back to the story of the forthcoming year, that of Tiger vs. Rory. And the anchoring ban! Let’s ignore that for now. The overworked golf media can only stand so many controversies at one time.

FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, Jan. 24 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 25 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 26 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 27 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel coverage via PGATour.com and GolfChannel.com; Saturday and Sunday, CBS coverage at CBSSports.com. The PGA will also show live coverage of the 10th and 13th holes at Torrey Pines South at its Live@ page. You can also get live video via the PGA’s mobile apps, for tablets and smartphones. Cable contracts and wireless plans necessary. Right now only Comcast cable subscribers can watch live online video on weekdays.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday-Friday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here’s the Farmers Insurance Open Facebook page. Like it.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The Farmers Insurance Open Twitter feed. Beware of links to CEO speeches. You’ve been warned.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
If you’ve never played, you should hit this bucket list course hard by the Pacific coast north of San Diego — one of the great classics that is open to public play. (And even at $229 a round, it’s a bargain.) And the scene of Tiger’s great 2008 U.S. Open win. Here is the Torrey Pines site, complete with its mystical music.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Brandt Snedeker. Remember him?

Filed Under: Apps, CBS Sports, Comcast, Golf, Golf Channel, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

NFL.com adds Exclusive ‘Fan Pass’ Content for Super Bowl

January 22, 2013 by

In case you can’t get enough Super Bowl info from your regular media outlets the National Football League is providing some new content and Super Bowl event interactivity via something it is calling the NFL Fan Pass, available at NFL.com/fanpass.

In addition to daily “exclusive” interviews, video segments and photos, the NFL says Fan Pass will let fans submit questions to celebs and players and it will also be the hosting place for a Google+ Hangout on media day. Given the oversaturation of media covering the Super Bowl, we’re not sure how “exclusive” NFL material will be. But given the league network’s generally high quality of analysts and production, it will likely be at least the equal of anything from anyone else so — why not add it to your Super consumption schedule, especially if you are bored at work with a decent Internet connection.

Like we said, if you can’t get enough from your regular media outlets, the NFL is making sure you have… more. In addition to Fan Pass, if you bookmark the NFL.com and SuperBowl.com sites you will find a wealth of live streaming run-up events, including live video from Radio Row, live coverage of commissioner Roger Goodell’s Super Bowl press conference and the Hall of Fame class announcement.

To answer the one question everyone will have: The GAME ITSELF starts on Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, with TV coverage from CBS.

Filed Under: NFL, Super Bowl Tagged With: , , , , ,
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