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talkSPORT opens Barclays Premier League Commentary to World via Twitter

October 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I am always looking for new ways to experience sports and I stumbled upon talkSPORT Live, which seems a bit slow on my part since on the sports radio program has been around for a dozen years but all my teachers said I was a slow learner.

Anyway the service has now joined forces with Twitter in what will be good news for fans of the Barclay Premier League Football as they will combine to provide live streaming of live commentary of the matches using talkSPORT Live’s audio player embedded in an enhanced Twitter profile page at twitter.com/talkSPORTLive.
The broadcasts will reach outside of the talkSPORT traditional market and aside from English it will be broadcast in Spanish and Mandarin/ I wonder what the demographics show about its Chinese listeners?

The move comes as talkSPORT seeks to expand its profile internationally and one of the big moves has been the launch of talkSPORT Live. The program has live commentary on the games and is available both live and on demand in case you wish to go back and see commentary on a past match.

However this is only part of its international push. Earlier this year it signed an exclusive four year deal with the Premier League audio broadcasting rights, from the 2012/13 season to the 2015/16 season.

talkSPORT Live also has broadcast partners across five continents including SiriusXM in the USA and Canada, TSN and TEAM stations in Canada, Brila FM in Nigeria, Citi FM in Ghana, SBS in Australia, Radio Sport in New Zealand and Astro stations in Malaysia who all broadcast the station’s Barclays Premier League commentary.

Filed Under: Barclays English Premier League, English Premier Soccer League, Live sports via mobile, Soccer, talkSPORT Tagged With: , ,

Polaroid Makes a Strong Move into Action Cams

October 16, 2012 by 2 Comments

Polaroid has expanded its presence in the growing sports action cam space with the addition of a trio of offerings that are designed to meet a wide range of uses and price points as the company moves more strongly into this space.

This is an interesting space, with these cameras used in place of smartphones at one end of the device spectrum and more dedicated camcorders at the other end. Often housed in at least water resistant cases and more durable than a phone or a tradition camera they are for users that wish to record their latest skiing, skateboarding, diving or off road biking experience.

The 1.6 ounce entry level XS7 has the ability to take 720p high definition video or still images at 1MP, 3MP and 5MP and has a 2-inch full color screen so that users can view video and images that they have just shot with the camera.

Its case is waterproof up to 30 feet and it, as with all of the new action cams, comes with mounting brackets that enable it to be used on top of a helmet or on a bike’s handlebars. The $69.99 camera supports Micro SD cards with capacities up to 32GB.

Moving up a step is the Polaroid XS20 that also captures 720p video as well as 5MP still images. It is waterproof to 65 feet so it can be used on dives and other more water based activities. Its three hour battery gives a user more time to record their activity while it is designed for use in all lighting environments including low light due to its 8 built-in LED lights. The $99.99 camera can even act as a security device due to built-in motion sensors.

The Polaroid XS100 is the high end offering and can not only record in 720p but also 960p and 1080p video as well as record 3MP, 5MP and 16MP still images. It has an ultra wide lens that can provide 170 degree coverage and while in camera mode it has adjustable frame rates like burst shooting mode, time lapse and fast and slow motion.

Polaroid is a well recognized name in imagery and has an established track record delivering quality cameras so it will be interesting to see how well it is accepted in this space.

There are some well established players in this space led by GoPro, which has deals that bring it into the forefront such as its relationship with ESPN’s X Games. Others are moving into the space such as Sony with its Bloggie Sports Camera. However Polaroid is a well recognized name in imagery and has an established track record

Filed Under: ESPN, Facebook, GoPro, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, X Games Tagged With: , ,

BuddyTV Preps for MLB playoffs — Lets You Know When Games are On

October 3, 2012 by 3 Comments

BuddyTV MLB Quicklist

BuddyTV, an app that enables sports fans to quickly find out what games are available via local broadcast and cable carriers is launching a feature that will enable fans of Major League Baseball to track the playoff games that are slated to begin later this week.

The MLB Quicklist will be part of the company’s current app, BuddyTV Guide, and will provide the broadcast information of the games, listing them in either chronological order or if a user wants they can get specific team information. If all of the playoff series went their full set there would be 43 games played during the current post season.

The program allows users to set alerts to remind them of game times and the app has a number of filtering features that enable users to select just a single topic such as sports, comedies or reality tv shows.

The overall app is easy to use. It indexes all the major cable and pay TV providers’ schedules as well as major Internet Video providers and then presents that in a user defined format for them to peruse. Users can set up watchlists, and also filer out types of programming that they are not interested in. It also connects with Facebook and has the ability to integrate iTunes, NetFlix and Amazon programming as well as allow you to blacklist programs and channels. The program is free for iOS devices and is available at Apple’s iTunes App Store. So far the company has had approximately 400,000 downloads since the app was introduced.

There are a growing number of apps for tracking TV programming with ones available such as TV Guide Mobile and TV-Listings USA and TV Show tracker so the more customization an app can provide for a user the more appealing it will make itself.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Baseball, Facebook, iOS 6, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile

Watching Golf this Week: The Ryder Cup

September 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

It’s really too bad that the Ryder Cup, the biennial golf competition between the U.S. and Europe, takes place in the fall — because that means a lot of fun and interesting golf is going to get lost in the tornado of football this weekend. Fortunately, thanks to the PGA and Turner Sports there’s a boatload of Ryder action taking place online, so get your browsers fired up for Friday morning foursomes. And then some fourballs. What?

Oh yeah, the Ryder Cup’s first two days have something we never see during the regular tour year — team competitions! If you need a how-is-it-scored primer, the BBC has a great one explaining the scoring — but basically foursomes are alternate-shot competitions (meaning each of the two players trades shots) while fourballs are more familiar team play, with everyone playing their own ball and the team with the player with the lowest score wins the hole. Each hole is worth a point, and the team with the higher score at the end wins an overall match point. If the match is tied each team gets a half-point. Singles on Sunday need no explanation. Mano a mano, also match play so it only matters how many holes you win, not your total score.

And after the inflated importance of the FedEx Cup — yes there was some good golf by the big names and congrats to Brandt Snedeker for bagging the big check — there is nothing truer than playing for your country or your continent, no prize money on the line just pressure and pride. This year the Cup is being contested in my home town, Chicago, at the monster known as Medinah. I remember playing there once, just out of high school, thought I had some game, and put something like a 120 on the scorecard. The pros, of course, will be shooting pars and birdies but the scores matter less than the head to head, between the great Euro players led by Rory McIlroy and the U.S. team, led by Tiger Woods.

With live coverage online, on TV and on an app, you have no excuse for not watching some great golf, even if you are also watching football. The great thing about Ryder coverage is that it’s also unlike tournament coverage — there is usually always some tension going on, and the TV folks are usually in a Red Zone-type mode, switching to where the pressure is most high. A great way to end the real golf season. Just wish we didn’t have to be distracted by the return of real refs and all that.

REMEMBER: ESPN for TV Friday, NBC on Saturday and Sunday.

THE 2012 RYDER CUP

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Friday, Sept, 28 — ESPN, 8 a.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29 — NBC, 9 a.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 30 — NBC, 12 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

ONLINE / MOBILE APPS
Ryder Cup Live will be online basically the whole tourney, starting at 8:20 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, 12 p.m. on Sunday, and going until competition is over each day. The live video is free (no cable contract required), and mobile viewers can download the iPhone app, the iPad app, or go to the Ryder Cup Mobile Site if you have an Android device.

ESPN3 is also carrying the ESPN broadcast live on Friday.

FACEBOOK PAGE
The PGA Facebook page is the Facebook home of the Ryder Cup.

SOCIAL MEDIA
The Ryder Cup has something called the 13th Man page, similar to the Social Caddy we saw at the PGA. Lots of Twitter streams, a USA vs. Europe Twitter competition, an Instagram feed… worth a bookmark.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

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?
Here’s the deets on Medinah Country Club course.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Europe is the defending champ, if you remember. I remember bad raincoats.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, ESPN, Facebook, Golf, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, Ryder Cup Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Ryder Cup Gets Big Online Push — Live Video and Social Media Too

September 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Following on their successful joint effort at the season’s last major, the PGA and Turner Sports will kick out the online jams for this week’s Ryder Cup matches, with a lot of free online live video and some social-media bells and whistles that include a U.S. vs. Europe Twitter contest.

According to a press release from Turner and the PGA, the Rydercup.com website will be the host of a wide array of event coverage that will supplement the TV coverage, which is also extensive — 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN on Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on NBC Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on NBC Sunday. Online coverage will start Friday and Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and continue until play concludes. Sunday, online coverage of the singles matches starts at noon. The matches are taking place at Medinah Country Club just outside Chicago.

The live video online will probably be similar to the experience we saw at the PGA Championship, with live updates, video archives and scores. There was both good and bad, with a great feature that let you go back and replay anything that had happened previously, and a terrible feature called “predict it” that keeps annoying you in a popup window asking you to predict what’s about to happen. Though sports prediction games are increasingly appearing, I have yet to be convinced that predicting shots in golf online is what the experience is all about.

There is one big whiff, however, on the Ryder Cup mobile side — the accompanying mobile-device apps for all this online goodness only work on iPhones and iPads, leaving half of the mobile consumers who use Android platforms high and dry. Though Turner reps claim the mobile website will work just as well as the iPhone app, any mobile user knows that a dedicated app almost always delivers better performance.

On the social-media side, Rydercup.com will offer a “Tweet Battle” between Team U.S.A. and Team Europe, with a “Social Scoreboard” showing which team is winning, both online and at the course. The score will be tallied by counting the number of fans using the respective hashtags — #RyderCupUSA or #RyderCupEurope — in their social media posts. The event is also on Facebook and on Twitter, with something called “The 13th man” replacing the “Social Caddy” feature from the PGA, where you could follow a bunch of Twitter streams.

The PGA earned itself no small amount of social media self respect by not censoring messages from the PGA, especially when its parking situation at Kiawah Island resulted in a lot of angry fans and media for long delays getting out to the course. Right now it appears the site is taking a very USA-USA-USA stance, which is perhaps understandable, but probably not so appealing to European fans. Not sure if other golf fans agree but I for one would rather we see a return to the days when this competition was more collegiate and friendly, and less jingoistic. You can still compete hard without having to make it a sports equivalent of war. But I may be on the short side of that argument.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, ESPN, Golf, Golf Channel, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, NBC Sports, PGA, Turner Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

YouTube and Gillette Team up for Soccer Channel

September 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Gillette Football Club

YouTube continues to become an alternate source of sports programming for fans and its latest effort is in partnership with Gillette to create the Gillette Football Club, a channel that will focus exclusively on soccer and its fans.

The sports channel will deliver on demand high definition video to soccer fans and is designed to enable fans to register to follow their favorite teams and provides goal and highlights for the teams as well as other league highlights including stats from a player, team or league.

It allows you to follow the English Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A (both Brazil and Italy), Eredivise, SPL, MLS, La Liga, Ligat Ha’Al, Ekstraklasa and Bundesliga players and teams and will also show select highlights from international matches.

However it provides much more including videos of interviews with top players and team personnel as well as other features including football shows. Several high profile teams are creating content for the channel including one called Copa90 Allstars where skills and ball handling tricks will be demonstrated by top footballers.

While the programming is free, all you need to do is register, the site will be filled with advertisements from Gillette, but that really seems a small price to pay.

YouTube has been increasingly pushing into sports as an alternative to broadcast sports and had a wide variety of the 2012 Summer Olympics events available in much of the world as part of its partnership with NBC and has invested approximately $200 million in marketing its growing number of channels.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this has on broadcasters such as Fox Sports and ESPN, both of whom have been increasingly focusing on the growing interest in the US as well as trying to leverage the already great demand for the sport worldwide. It seems to me that the Gillette Football Club, with VOD, is a much better avenue for fans to get updates than to rush to their TV when a network has a scheduled program that does essentially the same thing.

Will we see an ESPN or Fox team with YouTube in the future or will they seek to launch their own rival highlights program online. Whatever happens it seems to me that fans will benefit from increased competition and the resulting growth in exposure the sport receives.

Filed Under: English Premier Soccer League, ESPN, Fox Sports, Gillette Football Club, Live sports via mobile, Soccer, The Ligue de Football Professionnel, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,
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