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Bantr Seeks to bring Soccer Fans Together

June 18, 2012 by 3 Comments

With the Euro 2012 tournament up and roaring along with the first round of eliminations I got to wondering about what type of chat and viewing options that was available for fans to catch up on scores and possibly talk a bit of trash to rivals and went looking.

Not surprising there is a number of apps available for a fan, including some we have talked about here previously such as Fancru. One i found that caught my eye was Bantr, an app that is designed to bring together soccer fans.

What made it noteworthy was it was one of the first fan interaction sites I have seen that is dedicated to a single group of fans, it is only about soccer, which I suspect is just fines with fans of that sport because the cross over talk would probably get pretty heated.

The free app is currently only available for products that run Apple’s iOS operating system including the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone. It is obviously designed for European soccer and supports English, German, Northern Sami and Spanish.

It shares many similarities with other interactive fan sites: you can select your teams that you support, check into games; chant or banter with other fans and predict outcomes. Some interesting touches include in game voting on if a player dives, on cards and penalties and the worthiness of substitutions. You can also vote for player of the match, rate players, refs and matches, and vote on manager and player approval.

The company was founded in 2010 and has secured $328,000 is seed money, according to Crunchbase. If you want to get a taste of what is available but do not want to download the app just yet, or do not have an iPhone (Android support is supposedly coming) you can head over hear at Facebook and take a look at what is available.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, ESPN, Euro 2012, Facebook, iOS, Soccer, Startup Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf this Week: Many Ways to Watch the U.S. Open

June 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Why is this post a little late in delivery? Because I’ve been spending the morning watching the U.S. Open live, on a window that’s open just to the left of the one I’m typing on. I could go over to the couch and watch ESPN’s live coverage, which starts at 9 a.m. Pacific time today and Friday. But I like the online focus, which today is following the Tiger-Phil-Bubba group from start to finish.

Unlike the Masters online coverage — where you had choices of different groups or different holes — the US Open online video is one group at one time. But there are so many ways to get U.S. Open coverage, from the ESPN overload on Thursday and Friday — which is sandwiched around a couple hours of NBC coverage Thursday and Friday — that you won’t go lacking.

Since this is the first U.S. Open we’ve been able to cover live, it’s been an incredible learning experience to see a course like Olympic up close and personal. Check out our previous links for info that will help you with your viewing. We’re also big fans of the U.S. Open site itself, since it has a plethora of info (live scoring, archived video interviews, and a new feature called “Playtracker” which shows a live view of the groups on the course, with stats for each player in each group. (This would be cooler if it had a live view of where the players were on each hole, like a visual Shot Tracker. Maybe next year?)

So far, we haven’t seen many glitches with the live online video — like the Masters coverage there are intermittent stops and stalls but we’ve found that when that happens, it’s easy to just close the old window and re-open a new one. Since I had to stay home this morning for work and family reasons I wasn’t able to use my press pass to watch the golf up close and personal — but I bet I have a better seat than most press folks there, because the blanket coverage of the marquee group has been phenomenal, and I can sip coffee and sit in my comfy office chair while watching. Enjoy the great weekend of San Francisco golf!

Here’s where to follow the action:

2012 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)

OFFICIAL U.S. OPEN COVERAGE SCHEDULE

TV COVERAGE
Thursday, June 14 — ESPN, 12 p.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m. NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Friday, June 15 — ESPN, 12 p.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m. NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 16 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 17 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.

RADIO
Radio this week is via the U.S. Open app, or the U.S. Open website.
1 p.m. — 7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
See above. Live online at USOpen.com, Thursday and Friday, following a “marquee group” in the morning and afternoon. Morning tee times around 7:30 a.m., afternoon tee times around 1

PGA SHOT TRACKER
No shot tracker this week — hard to believe, but true.

FACEBOOK PAGE
The USGA is doing a great job with its Facebook page. Like.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
US Open — The official Twitter feed for the championship is active and great, with lots of links, live info. Add it to your feed now.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer — go back in his timeline this week for some great videos showing the holes on the Olympic course. Maybe the top golf Twitterer out there, especially when it comes to analysis/insight.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend. Works hard and long every day, and also has great insider views, via Instagrams.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
If you haven’t had your fill of Olympic info, you’ve been on another planet. So far the overall view we like best was the Sunday special in the San Francisco Chronicle, where beat writer Ron Kroichick interviewed Ken Venturi for a hole-by-hole breakdown of the course. The official Open website also has an extensive hole by hole page with flyby views, etc. etc.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Rory McIlroy, the boy wonder.

LOCAL FLAVOR
The columnists and writers at the San Franciso Chronicle do golf right.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Jason Dufner, 1,735 points
2. Hunter Mahan, 1,477 points
3. Tiger Woods, 1,404
4. Zach Johnson, 1,386
5. Bubba Watson, 1,372

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Tiger Woods; 5. Bubba Watson.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, ESPN, ESPN Radio, Golf, Golf Channel, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, US Open Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Tiger Doesn’t Like Fans With Cell Phones, Either

June 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Tiger Woods offered an unsolicited opinion on fans with cellular phones, telling ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi that if the Tiger-Phil-Bubba pairing was done in a regular tour event — where fans are allowed to have cell phones this year — “it would have been brutal.”

Rinaldi, who we think interviewed Tiger after his mass press conference Tuesday (we saw Rinaldi waiting for Tiger outside the press tent, and Tiger is in the blue sweater/blue shirt he wore to that press conferece), asks Tiger about the marquee pairing of himself, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson, a trio certain to attract the balance of the gallery at the Olympic Club during Thursday and Friday rounds.

If you watch the video (which is under the USGA auspice, and not ESPN even though ESPN’s Rinaldi is doing the interview) Tiger says the pairing should be “fun, a lot of fun,” and then adds the caveat which is a non-subtle dig at the PGA’s cell-phone friendly policy.

“It’s something I don’t think we all would enjoy that much in a regular tour event, with the new camera policy,” Woods said. “It would have been brutal. But here they’re not allowed in, so this will be a fun pairing.”

After overzealous cell-phone fans bothered Mickelson at the recent Memorial tour stop, the issue has come to the forefront — with even the USGA saying they are looking at allowing cell phones on course during tournament days, though not this week. Perhaps the PGA and the USGA need to look overseas to the British Open, where there is a clear, smart and civil list of guidelines that should probably eliminate 99 percent of problems.

For us colonists, it might help to have really big signs near tee boxes and greens, saying “turn your damn phone off” or something to help people remember. And in the meantime, the pros who are playing a game for millions of dollars of other peoples’ money should remember that it is the fans, and the sponsors who want to reach golf fans, who line their pockets — so maybe the golfers, who text like madmen on the course when they are practicing, can cut normal folks some slack.

Filed Under: ESPN, Golf, iPhone, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, US Open Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

ESPN’s Soccer Push Pays off with Euro 2012 Viewership

June 13, 2012 by 3 Comments

ESPN has reported preliminary numbers for its UEFA Euro 2012 broadcasts and it is showing the sports giant that there is great potential in the sport. The opening match for the Group C teams Italy and Spain, both powerful squads, garnered an average of 2.1 million viewers.

While in terms of other major American sports this might not be that impressive but it, along with results from the Premier League show that increasingly ESPN can draw in viewers for a variety of soccer matches. It should be noted that the matches do not include a US team so there is no nationalistic urge to watch the sport.

According to ESPN the Italy vs Spain match was the biggest Euro match viewership aside from the championship match four years ago that had a 3.76 million viewership. Overall through the first six matches the network is averaging a hair over 1 million households and 1.3 million viewers on its English language broadcasts.

This represents a increases of 198% and 214%, respectively, versus the first six games of the UEFA EURO 2008

Last Sunday’s UEFA EURO 2012 match between Italy and Spain at on ESPN, a 1-1 tie and tournament opening match for both Group C teams, was seen by an average of 2.113 million viewers, bigger than any UEFA European Football Championship 2008 match except the final on ABC. That game, Germany vs. Spain, was watched by an average of 3.760 million viewers.

Through six matches, ESPN’s English-language presentation of the event is averaging 1,007,000 households and 1.328,000 viewers — up 198 percent and 214 percent, respectively, versus the first six games of the UEFA EURO 2008 (338,000 households and 423,000 viewers in ’08). The second most-watched game to-date in 2012 is Saturday’s Portugal-Germany match up – a 1.1 household coverage rating, 1,244,000 households, and 1,798,000 viewers, second to only one ESPN game in all of 2008.

Then there is the viewership from the rest of the networks broadcasting arms. ESPN Deportes is showing a 147% increase in households watching over 2008, and has reached 166,000 households. It is also getting strong viewership on its digital platforms, not a surprise since many of the matches are during work day hours for most of us.

Its ESPNFC.com has globally logged 876,000 daily visitors, 8.5 million page views and 33 million minutes, up 45%, 11% and 191%, respectively from four years ago. ESPN3 and WatchESPN, which reach a broad array of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets as well as PCs has generated 65.8 million minutes to both the English and Spanish language feeds.

It will be interesting to see how the numbers grow as we head to the elimination rounds and more weekend matches. It is tough to head out to the TV, or even watch at work, with matches that occur when your boss is expecting you to be productive.

Filed Under: ESPN, ESPN FC, ESPN3, Euro 2012, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Soccer, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Early Thursday U.S. Open Coverage of Tiger-Phil-Bubba Group Only Available Online

June 12, 2012 by 5 Comments

Getting psyched to watch the incredible first-round pairing of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson Thursday at the U.S. Open? If so you better have an Internet connection or a smartphone with a good cell signal, because the first 90 minutes of that group’s play will only be available online or through the USGA’s mobile app.

Though there’s going to be a ton of regular TV coverage of the Open this week, first from ESPN on Thursday and Friday and then NBC on the weekend, it’s kind of cool that the somewhat staid USGA (an organization that bans cell phones on the course during tournament play) is highlighting its digital chops in this manner.

Starting a 7:33 a.m. Pacific time from the No. 9 tee at the Olympic Club, you can watch Tiger, Phil and Bubba only at usopen.com or via the U.S. Open Golf Championship app, which is available for iPhones and iPads and Android devices. The live online TV at the Open is powered technically by IBM, the same folks who are the technical brains behind the Masters’ excellent online coverage.

“Mobile is an increasingly strategic part of our marketing strategy,” said Joe Goode, managing director of communications for the USGA. “It’s an interesting group and for the first round USOpen.com and the apps will be the only way to watch the first 90 minutes.”

The online coverage of the marquee group will continue throughout their round, so you can keep watching online if you can’t get to a TV screen when ESPN comes on live at 9 a.m.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, ESPN, Golf, iOS, iPad, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , , ,

U.S. Open Gets Twitter-Crazy During Day 1

June 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Even though Mobile Sports Report is covering the U.S. Open live and in person, we almost didn’t need to be at the Olympic Club to get a feeling for what was going on, thanks to the multitude of tweets resonating Monday around golf’s biggest event.

With no cell-phone ban yet in place (that doesn’t happen until competition starts on Thursday) there were plenty of certified folks with mobile cellular devices, transmitting 140-character messages as well as pictures and videos from the fairways, greens, practice facilities and sponsor tents hovering on the southwest edge of San Francisco, one hill removed from the Pacific Ocean.

But why just talk about the tweets? Thanks to technology we can share some of our favorites. Why not start with the tour’s hottest player, last weekend’s champ Dustin Johnson, who tweets pretty darn regularly at @DJohnsonPGA. DJ today hit us with a bunch of pictures of his practice day at Olympic, which included a visit with the Most Interesting Man in Golf:

Golf writer extraordinare Geoff Shackelford was a twittering man possessed Monday, shooting little bits of video as well as cool snaps — like this one of USGA executive director Mike Davis greeting 1955 Open winner and Hogan-killer Jack Fleck.

Maybe the best place to get a wide fix of overall U.S. Open tweets was the Open’s own live updates page (which just shows up as “Twitter” on the USGA mobile app). That’s where we found out that Luke Donald, aka World No. 1 is cool enough to RT an answer to a fan request for a photo:

(Don’t everyone tweet @ Luke at once now.)

ESPN talent Scott Van Pelt also arrived on scene, and gave us all a view of his “office” for the week:

And the gear sponsors were all out tweeting heavily as well. From our friends at Nike Golf, a faraway picture of the Man, El Tigre himself:

With two more practice days we expect more tweets to be flying the innerwebs way from Olympic, even with its challenged cellular reception. Our favorite of the day comes from another recently smokin’ player and a personal MSR favorite (we so wanted him to win the PGA last year), Jason Dufner. Apparently the Duf is getting some good travel guides to the more lively areas of town. However it appears he may not be ready for the clothing-challenged scenery:

C’mon, Duf, it’s called the Castro — and it was hot out today! Just wait, they will probably be in your gallery tomorrow!

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, Golf, iPhone, PGA, Social Media, Tiger Woods, Twitter, US Open Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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