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Comcast Sportsnet Northwest to Stream Trail Blazers Games

January 3, 2012 by

The deal will give fans multiple on-line options

The Portland Trail Blazers have expanded their broadcast reach with a deal with partner Comcast Sportsnet Northwest that will enable fans in remote areas of the team’s NBA-approved area to now have the option to pay to get streaming live video of games in areas that Comcast does not broadcast.

The deal involves the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers and Comcast and will permit the cable company to have a pay-per-view streaming option for fans that are in the parts of the state that Comcast does not have broadcast rights.

The deal, which is free for a trial period that runs from Jan. 1 to Jan.11 after which CSN games will be $2.99 a game or $69.99 for the season. The team has also been streaming the games that have been broadcast by partner KGW/Channel 8 last year and has continued this year. Each game is available for $2.99.

Comcast has had some difficulty in getting some TV providers in the territory to carry its broadcasts including DirecTV, Dish Network and Charter Communications. This will now enable fans in those areas to watch games.

Fans outside of the territory have the option of subscribing to the NBA League Pass that provides TV and streaming access as well as mobile for $169. The league also offers mobile only and streaming only options.

Aside from Portland the Philadelphia 76ers and the Chicago Bulls also stream cable games for their fans. I expect that this will be a tool that other teams will use to fill in gaps in their broadcast map going forward.

Filed Under: Comcast, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBA Tagged With: , ,

NFL: Thursday Night Games Average 450,000 Online Viewers

December 26, 2011 by

In case you were still wondering whether or not online access hurts regular-television audience numbers, here’s another data point to confirm that it doesn’t: The NFL said Monday that TV views of its Thursday night NFL Network games is up 8 percent over last year, while its online audience is averaging 450,000 unique views per game.

The 450,000 number isn’t broken down between viewers of the streaming coverage at NFLNetwork.com or folks watching via Verizon Wireless’s NFL Mobile app, but either way the aggregate total is impressive, and a signal that there may be even more of an appetite for NFL content than was previously thought.

With the Super Bowl slated for online streaming, it is the guess of MSR that the days of online access being a novelty have ended and now an online outlet will become the norm rather than the exception. How that plays into rights contracts and teams’ marketing campaigns is something still in its infancy, but it will be a compelling story we’ll follow closely in 2012.

Filed Under: iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NFL, NFL Mobile, NFL Network, Super Bowl, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , ,

NBC to Stream Super Bowl, NFL Playoffs Online

December 20, 2011 by

In a huge decision that will no doubt increase the worldwide audience for the most-viewed live event, NBC will stream the Super Bowl online along with broadcasts of the network’s Wild Card playoff games and the NFL Pro Bowl, according to an Associated Press report. Users of Verizon Wireless’s NFL Mobile app will also have access to the games, along with additional camera views and in-game replays.

Forget college games — there’s no doubt that even with its already huge TV audience, the Super Bowl would likely become the most-viewed online sports event ever, even if it’s just on a laptop or phone in the bathroom of the house hosting the Super Bowl party. Though we haven’t yet been able to find any press releases from all the participating companies we are also betting that Verizon will use the Super Bowl access in a massive way to promote its NFL Mobile app, which it has been offering free of charge to new high-end cellphone customers. NFL Mobile users currently can watch NBC’s Sunday night games live, along with Thursday night NFL Network broadcasts and ESPN’s Monday Night Football games.

For NBC, the landmark decision to make the world’s biggest TV show available online will also likely result in an advertising revenue windfall, thanks to the online opportunities now available. The move will also likely set off a hurried scramble by advertisers who will want to put together social-media campaigns before the actual game is played on Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis.

UPDATE: Here’s the official NFL press release.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, NFL, Super Bowl Tagged With: , ,

Dear NBA: Your Mobile Games Should Be Free

December 13, 2011 by


After not giving a single damn about fans during its owner-induced lockout, the NBA is continuing its slap-you-in-the-face ways by charging LeBron-type fees — $169 — for its NBA League Pass service, which lets you watch out-of-market games online or on a mobile device.

For hard-core fans who don’t want to miss that important Oklahoma City-Toronto matchup, maybe it’s a small price to pay. But for the casual fan — or the fan completely put off by not having any NBA to watch while the billionaires split up their revenue pie — having to shell out serious dough to watch the numerous boring regular-season games (especially in this hurry-up season of shame) seems like insult to injury. Why not instead embrace the moment and make mobile access free, maybe at least one game a week?

There’s no subscriber numbers available to judge how popular the League Pass program is, but it’s easy to guess that it pales in comparison to other sports services, like MLB.com or the NFL’s Sunday Ticket. In those leagues the regular season games mean something, and are for the most part entertaining. The NBA, not so much. I challenge anyone, even Bill Simmons, to recall any first quarter of any regular season NBA game, ever. So why not just make it free, and use it as a way to win back old fans or find new ones?

The number of folks who care enough to shell out $169 has got to be inconsequential to the overall league revenue pie. So why keep dinging fans for the service? Instead make it free for mobile use, and you will endear yourself to the growing young demographic for whom a smartphone may be the only way they access the Internet. Just about every study out there shows that online viewing doesn’t harm regular-TV audience numbers or season ticket purchases, so there’s no real reason to try to recoup millions in production costs when you are raking in billions as a league. Why not try at least one game a week or two a weekend? Or a “Free February” promotion after the Super Bowl, when we’re starved for live sports?

If it’s free then maybe those fans who felt abused by the lockout can justify spending some of their precious hours on earth watching Jimmer Freddete and the Sacramento Kings. But to spend $169 for the right? That doesn’t feel right.

UPDATE: The league updated its League Pass page with official prices (which weren’t available when the post was originally written). The $169 is the one-time fee for TV, broadband and mobile; there is a lower-cost package for $109 where you get to choose 5 teams and it’s broadband only. Still — too much for me.

Filed Under: Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBA Tagged With: ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Barnes & Noble Enhances Nook Color

December 12, 2011 by

OnLine’s new apps mean Tablets can be gaming consoles
Cloud gaming developer OnLive has developed a set of apps that bring console gaming to tablet and mobile (i.e smartphones) platforms. The company said that this will open up top ranked, high performance games that were once only available on consoles to a market that is at least 500 million strong.

The Universal OnLive Wireless Controller enable a player to use a Wi-Fi network to play a program that is stored in the cloud and streamed live to the tablet, phone, PC or Mac. A user must own the program and once purchased it can be used on any device.

OnLive currently has a stable of 25 games that have been adapted to work with touch screen devices including L.A. Noire, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and Lord of the Rings: War in the North, and Defense Grid Gold. The Universal OnLive Wireless Controller uses technology that the company is expected to be available soon for a list price of $49.99.

Barnes & Noble enhances Nook software
Barnes & Noble has released a software upgrade for its Nook Color, a move that brings the low cost device closer in features and capabilities to its more expensive Nook Tablet as well as rivals from other developers.

Among the new found features is access to Barnes & Noble’s huge Marvel graphic novel collection via Nook Comic, streaming movies and TV shows via Netflix as well as the Flixster app for on-the-go access to digital streaming media.

In all the company said that it added 100 enhancements that ranged from increased font size to the ability to read books in either landscape or portrait mode. Head over to Cnet for a fuller listing of features as well as some issues with the product.

Microsoft to offer Open Source Apps for Windows 8
ExtreameTech has reported that the advocates for Open Source software have won an unexpected ally with the announcement that Microsoft will allow open source apps at its Windows 8 app store.

Microsoft has long been a foe of the open source movement, but entering the app space much later than rivals Apple and the Android lineup it needs a boost and it appears it is taking a chance that one of its rivals is willing to take.

While Apple prohibits open source apps for its iOS in its store Microsoft has stated that it will allow apps developed under a license from the Open Source Initiative and that the OSI license will trump the Microsoft Standard Application License Terms that have tough sharing provisions.

The lack of open source apps has not seemed to hurt Apple yet as it just reported that it just had its 100 millionth app downloaded from its Mac App Store.

The Patent wars heat up
Motorola won an important ruling in German courts last week that could shackle Apple and force the company to pay out royalties and make changes to its technology. The court ruled that Apple has failed to license one of Motorola Mobility’s patent technologies.

Motorola could seek an injunction preventing Apple from selling products that contain the technology in dispute, which basically means no iPhone or iPad sales in Germany if granted. Apple said that t will appeal the ruling.
If Motorola wishes to have a sales injunction enforced against Apple it will need to post a $133 million bond to cover costs in case Apple later prevails in court. Motorola has licensed the technology in question to others but wanted to charge Apple at a higher rate.

Looking for an Android to call your own?
Not exactly what Harrison Ford was in a search and destroy mode in “Blade Runner”, but not like any phone you have used before, a strange new communications technology is emerging from the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) .

Called the Elfoid P1, it is a prototype tele-operated android that will, in the future, mimic motion and appearance of that of the users, hopefully conveying a more human sense to phone conversations.

Sadly it is not a machine that you can send to work in your place but rather a pint sized device that stands in as a phone and resembles, well here is a photo you can decide for yourself what it resembles. Not sure I would want to whip one of these out of my pocket at a business meeting to update my calendar.

CES
If you have an interesting product or app showing at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show that you think we might be interested in drop us a line.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apps, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Motorola, OnLive, Tablets, Wi-Fi Video Streaming Tagged With: , , , , ,

Canadian Phone Companies Buy Maple Leafs — In Search of Mobile Content?

December 9, 2011 by

Reading through the BusinessWeek account of the purchase of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs by two of Canada’s big phone companies I was struck by a quote that seems to signal that part of the motivation behind the purchase was to secure exclusive content for the carriers’ mobile-phone customers.

Here’s a couple nut grafs from the story which spell this strategy out:

The acquisition fits with what BCE Chief Executive Officer George Cope has called his strategy to make more money by adding content he can sell to subscribers on smartphones, tablets and computers. In addition to the NHL’s Maple Leafs, which have won the Stanley Cup championship 11 times, Maple Leaf Sports owns the National Basketball Association’s Raptors.

“Now you’re getting to people with so many more devices and outlets and ability to access content, the value of that content is going to be more valuable, and that’s what this seems to be a play for,” said Jeff Young, chief investment officer at NexGen Financial Corp., which oversees C$900 million including shares of BCE and Rogers.

So instead of buying teams and then trying to reap rewards from broadcasters, it seems like the Canadian telcos are going straight to the source — and are putting up more than a billion dollars to do so. Again, cribbing from the BW story, the meat of the deal:

Rogers committed C$533 million in cash for a 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leaf Sports, according to a company statement. BCE and its pension fund will also contribute C$533 million for an equal stake. The transaction is expected to close in mid 2012. It gives Maple Leaf Sports, also owner of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, an enterprise value of C$2 billion.

Zang! If that doesn’t convince you that there’s money at the intersection of mobile and sports, what else will?

Filed Under: Live sports via mobile, NHL Tagged With:
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