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University of Oregon embraces Social Media with Quack Cave

August 30, 2012 by

Oregon's Quack Cave

The PAC-12 Network’s introduction yesterday of its Pac-12 Now for iPad is just the latest conference effort to expand its brand to a wider market but some of the individual schools are also making a push to create a stronger bond with their fans and alumni.

One school at the forefront of this effort is the University of Oregon which has been aggressive in the past with programs such as its GoDucks.com web site and other initiatives but now has gone another step with its Quack Cave.

Touted as the first social media hub in college sports and modeled after an effort by the NHL’s New Jersey Devils the school has outfitted a room that would be the envy of any technophile, filled with flat screens connected to iPads.

While the site is not just sports specific it looks like it will be sports centric. The Quack Cave will be charged with representing the school on a wide variety of social medias including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

The schools previous efforts at digital outreach have been very successful, with approximately 500,000 Facebook and Twitter followers, but the current effort could make that number seem small potatoes. Housed in a former storage unit near the school’s Autzen Stadium

The school is still in the process of setting up the effort and the site www.QuackCave.com was not active as of this writing but I expect that a big push is underway in order to get it up and running by this weekend when the football season opens for much of the nation. Fans can also follow at @QuackCave on Twitter.

I think this is a great idea, not just for Oregon, but any school. It seems that it will have a much more immediate and personal impact than the conference efforts, which will have to be more balanced (hopefully). If your school is doing something similar drop me a line at gquick@mobilesportsreport.com

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Filed Under: Apple, Facebook, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Football, Pac-12, Pinterest, Sports Social Media, Sports Social Media Data, Twitter, University of Oregon Tagged With: , , ,

Pac-12-Networks, Ooyala release Pac-12 Now for iPad

August 29, 2012 by

Pac-12 Now for iPad opens up multi-screen viewing

The Pac-12 via its Pac-12 Networks continues to move to enhance its presence in the digital world and with partner Ooyala has now delivered an iPad app that will enable fans to watch both live and video on demand games (VOD).

The app, Pac-12 Now for iPad, is one of the first efforts from the recently formed Pac-12 Networks, an organization that is designed to bring both broadcast and streaming sports and entertainment to fans, in conjunction with its partner Ooyala. Pac-12 Now for iPad is available in the iTunes Store and on Pac-12.com.

Ooyala developed what it calls a graphic interactive program guide (IPG) that enables users to customize the app to meet their individual preferences. It allows a user to prioritize both sports and teams during setup and has a chat feature so that fans can share comments and thoughts when viewing live action via Facebook and Twitter feeds that are enabled next to the video feed so that you do not have to switch to a different app while viewing.

Going forward the IPG will also feature the ability to alert users to events that are currently live and inform them on issues such as games that are tied, close or near the final moments as well as provide social feedback via a social graph that you can ac

cess.

The two plan on continuing to expand the technology so that users with PCs, tablets and smartphones will be able to watch games when not in front of a television or to use it as a second screen, watching two events at the same time. Android is the next platformed targeted and it should be out soon.

The goal is to broadcast 850 live and VOD sporting events over the year as well analysis and commentary, statistics, press conferences, documentaries and other content. By connecting it directly to social media such as Facebook and Twitter it enables a degree of participation for fans that a simple broadcast would not allow.

Aside from the IPG Ooyala also provided what it calls a Stat Server. The Stat Server automatically imports sports stats and timecode data from third parties and tags that with live and VOD content. This enables users to search by stats or event tags and allows the information to be displayed at the proper time when an event is being viewed, regardless if it is live or VOD. The authentication is designed to make it easy to view content across multiple connected devices.

It is very interesting to look at all of the ways in which colleges are reaching out to fans and getting both sports and academic advancements out to alumni and fans. Recently the ACC added YouTube to its digital network. The Big Ten Network has already expanded out to digital devices and recently added Android support.

This is just great for fans, not just mobile ones but also fans of multiple teams or sports-they can now watch a game on a mobile device while also catching a different one on the TV or a computer, enabling them to easily stay abreast with events in areas that interest them.

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Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Big Ten Network, Comcast, iOS, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Football, NCAA Hoops, Ooyala, Pac-12, Smartphone, Social Media, Tablets Tagged With: ,

Fanzooloo Debuts Full College Schedule Sept. 1 With Alabama Versus Michigan Game

August 23, 2012 by

Self-described as a sports fan's combination of ESPN, Trip Advisor and Yelp, the mobile application Fanzooloo and its corresponding website has launched its check-in system and will debut into college sports Sept. with the Alabama vs. Michigan game in Arlington, Texas.

Fanzooloo touts it streamlines the fan experience with parking, last-minute ticket, merchandise and restaurant deals and is using the moniker:  “Fanzooloo, It's About More Than Just The Game.”

The Fanzooloo website (www.fanzooloo.com) offers the same information as the mobile application plus additional content while designed like a sports and leisure magazine.

Entertainment, sports, entertainment, food, and social activities nea

r each sports venue will be offered.

According to Fanzooloo, content is both fan-generated and aggregated and will target the overall live game experience – leisure, food, drink and social interaction.

Although the check-in system will premier at the Cowboys Classic, Fanzooloo will encompass all SEC football teams this season, as well as roll out the check-in system for NFL teams and stadiums.

Fanzooloo already includes more than 1,500 merchants and information for every NFL, MLB and NBA team stadium. Fans can find what local bars offer a free shuttle to the game; locate and purchase parking and game tickets within the app; read, write and share fan experiences; find pre-game happy hours; and conveniently locate fan recommended food and beverages inside every stadium.

For additional information, visit: www.fanzooloo.com. The mobile download is available, at http://fanzooloo.com/appstore

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Filed Under: Denver Broncos, ESPN, iPhone, NCAA Football, NFL Mobile, Sports Social Media, Total College Sports Tagged With: , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: 30 on 30 Returns, Arena Bowl Tonight

August 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Avitae Arena Bowl XXV

The Arena Football League will crown a champion this weekend when the Arizona Rattlers take on the Philadelphia Soul in New Orleans at 10:30 ET on Aug. 10 for all of the marbles.

Philadelphia reached the championship game by decisively defeating the Jacksonville Sharks 89-34 while the Rattlers reached the final round with a much closer victory over the Utah Blaze, 75-69. The Rattlers will be playing in their second consecutive championship and seventh overall, quite an accomplishment in a 25-year-old league.


What do the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NCAA have in common?
Apparently it is an extreme hatred of a new sports betting lottery game that has been long talked about in New Jersey. The bill would permit gambling on both pro and college sports, and that is something that has the said sports leagues very upset.

From a look at the discussion at ProFootballTalk it looks like New Jersey has a very tough challenge ahead of it. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, relies on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, and the window that would enable New Jersey to allow gambling has long since closed. In addition the state of Delaware has already tried this and lost.

It seems that if the bill does make it past the courts the NFL will retaliate by “punishing” New Jersey by not allowing it to host another Super Bowl. I wonder if a win would open the floodgates to other states also allowing sports betting and what the NFL will try and do about that?

Apple expected to exclude YouTube in iOS 6
Apple is expected to no longer include the popular video viewing app YouTube in the next version of its mobile operating system iOS 6 when that OS is released. The app has been a standard feature included with Apple’s products for the past five years.

Apple said that its license to include the standalone version of YouTube app in its operating system has ended. It can still be used via the Chrome browser and Google is working on a version for the App store. What will the world do without its morning fix of cute animal videos?

Will NBA backpedal on Under-23 rule for Olympics?
NBA Commissioner David Stern had advocated that future Summer Olympics only allow players that are under 23 into the competition. This move would have the affect of saving the NBA’s team owners the angst of worrying about their star players’ health prior to the start of the season.

However it appears that there is a great deal of pushback from the rest of the basketball playing world. It seems that many nations want to send their best athletes, not just the ones that are convenient for the NBA. Who would have guessed?

Anyway it now sounds as if the NBA may just leave well enough alone, at least until a new commissioner replaces Stern, who is running out his term as commissioner.

AT&T Shared data plan on the horizon
AT&T has said that it will launch its mobile share plans, which allow a user to have a data plan that can be used with multiple devices, eliminating the need for a separate plan for each device, on Aug. 23.

The plans will range in size from 1GB to 20GB each and requires at least one smartphone with a unlimited talk and text plan as part of the overall bundle. A user can have a maximum of nine devices on a single plan.

ESPN re-ups 30 for 30 for second season
ESPN’s 30 for 30 series will make a reappearance this year as the sports giant has a new slate of topics that will get a full blown film treatment. The series is scheduled to start on Oct. 2, 8 pm ET with an episode entitled “Broke” about athletes who have burned through their fortunes. The series will run through December and you can head over to ESPN to get the synopsis for the fall offerings.

Google to add voice activated services
Google is once again firing a shot across Apple’s bow as it launches a voice activated service that will run on Apple’s iPhones and so directly compete with Apple’s Siri. The company will also be pushing the app, called “voice search” on the Android platform.

The company expects to release the app for iPhones within the next few weeks and then it will release it for the Android at a later, unspecified date.

Instagram on your camera?
It makes sense on the face of it. You might have a camera that has much greater capabilities compared to the one in your smartphone. Now at least one camera manufacturer is working to deliver both Android in its cameras, but Instagram along with the operating system.

Mashable has reported that Nikon is working on just this solution in its next generation cameras and that one could be available soon. While the vast majority of apps would be relatively worthless, unless the camera is a hybrid of some sort, image apps such as Instagram should find an instant home.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Arena Football League, Basketball, ESPN, Facebook, FIBA, Google, Instagram, iOS, iPhone, Major League Baseball, Mashable, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, Nokia, ProFootballTalk, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

PlayerLync expands its iPad playbooks to College

August 7, 2012 by 2 Comments

PlayerLync, a app developer that has captured five National Football League teams as customers for its electronic playbook app that runs on Apple’s iPad has now made the leap to college football with Stanford University using the technology for its players.

The school announced that it has ditched traditional paper notebook playbooks, which can often run to 500 pages and need to be reprinted on a weekly basis, in favor of PlayerLync’s tablet-based offering.

The move to iPad appears to bring significant advantages to the school. Aside from eliminating the need to print out new playbooks to match each opponent, the platform allows coaches a great deal of flexibility in customizing the playbooks for individual players as well as team units.

The technology permits coaches to prioritize plays and keep them at the front of the playbook so that players understand the importance of the selected plays. Other areas of customization include by opponent, situation, role and player, both home and opponent.

Overall the technology can show plays, formations, route trees and can display them in a chalkboard or audio/video mode, with the ability to toggle back and forth between the two modes.

Aside from the playbook aspect of the technology it also brings a range of other features into a unified, networked solution as well. It features a calendar that can be customized by an individual and shared throughout an organization.

The NFL has been moving ahead with using tablet-based playbooks, with at least nine teams having announced that they will be using them in the upcoming season. PlayeLync is the developer for 5 of these teams while a number of MLB teams are also starting to use tablets in a variety of areas including for scouting purposes.

The opening up of the college ranks presents a great new market for the company, as the number of Division A schools alone dwarfs the opportunity that the NFL presents. Once in a school it seems likely that the technology will find its way to others ports such as basketball, so PlayerLync has opened a huge new market for its products.

Filed Under: Apple, iOS, iPad, Major League Baseball, NBC Sports, NCAA Football, NFL, PlayerLync Tagged With: , , ,

YouTube Deal Will Enhance ACC’s Digital Network

July 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Atlantic Coast Conference’s digital network has introduced a channel on YouTube that will deliver live content from the ACC as YouTube continues to grow as a force in live sports broadcasting with deals such as this.

We have long talked about the emergence of YouTube as a de facto channel for sports, and YouTube has been working hard to cement that position with the ACC deal as one of its more notable deals. However in case you missed it will also be serving up some nice Olympic moments via a deal with NBC that will enable it to show highlights and live events from the London Olympics.

The ACC and YouTube have been partners to a degree for several years and provided exclusive, but not live content at its site since at least 2009, however this takes it a significant step further.

Between that time and now the ACC started a deal with Silver Chalice that enabled it to launch the ACC Digital Network that provided broad coverage of the ACC schools including news conferences, highlights and analysis that could be delivered to both Apple and Android mobile devices.

Now it will also present live events as well as on demand videos that are created by the ACC as well as a live weekly studio program during football and basketball season. There will also be condensed replays of ACC Network productions of football and basketball games.

The current deal will call for the ACC to provide fan access and interaction to its analysts via Google’s Google Hangout. Fans can view, comment upon and share the programming by visiting youtube.com/accdigitalnetwork, or by searching for ACC Digital Network on YouTube.

Of course others are also working on attracting digital partners. The Big Ten Networks recently expanded to support Android in its broadcast and the Pac-12 is increasingly involved in digital media. Still it is nice that the ACC will be presenting live sports to its fan base and other interested parties.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Atlantic Coast Conference, BCS, Big Ten Network, Google, iOS, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Football, NCAA Hoops, Pac-12, YouTube Tagged With: , ,
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