MLB delivers completely revamped At The Ballpark app

mlbcom

With the start of the Major League Baseball season just days away the league has delivered a complete rebuilt At The Ballpark app that includes a great deal more local customization, new technology integration and support.

The app has been available for 4 years and the facelift will add many features that will give users a greater ability to customize the app to meet their personal needs and usage model. It is available now for 20 ballparks and runs on both Android and Apple’s iOS operating system with additional customization in the latest release for the iOS 7 operating system.

The first of the two key technologies that have been incorporated is mapping and directions provided by a MapQuest-powered engine. MapQuest has a deal with MLBAM that will call for the delivery of additional MLB-focused features that will be available soon for both operating systems that At The Ballpark supports. In addition MapQuest and MLBAM also are co-creating an original video series, expected to debut in May 2014.

The second technology has been much more talked about in recent months, and that is the inclusion of iBeacon, a low powered micro-location technology that was introduced with iOS 7. MLBAM has equipped 20 ballparks with dozens of iBeacons each, and starting with Opening Day fans can check in at the ballpark and then receive offers and information from locations within the park as they travel around or sit in their seats.

Currently there are only a select few applications for the technology at the ball yards but MLBAM is working to create more and expects to deliver them later this year, as well as expand the number of fields that have the technology.

For fans who have been using At The Ballpark in the past it will still have the familiar functions including the ability to use MyTickets Mobile for delivery and storage of all MLB tickets sold as well as seat upgrade functions in select clubs. Some clubs also allow you to order food and beverages with the app.

You can view team stats, schedule and watch video of games, a number of hooks into social media and rewards for check-ins as well as more mundane features such as ballpark guides, parking and directions are all among the functions of the app.

This is a great upgrade to the app and really enables fans to not just customize their experience but will provide even seasoned baseball game attendees the ability to make the experience easier and more enjoyable.

Friday Grab Bag: Where is the MLS TV deal?

For those of you who managed to miss it the Major League Soccer season started recently and its broadcast contract, which many had expected to be finalized sometime last winter, is still unfinished business.

Awful Announcing does a good job pointing out the issues, which have to do with how each side perceives itself. An interesting note showing the increasing popularity of the sport is that the average MLS attendance is greater than the NBA or NHL’s.

Android flaws could make upgrades a danger
System updates are a fact of life for most mobile phone users and a recent report from researchers at the System Security Lab at Indiana University and Microsoft have found a vulnerability that could enable hackers to take over Android systems.

It is not a real threat as they did a proof of concept test only but the threat would be in the form of an app that waits for a system update and then takes gains access for privileges that it had not had previously. Interestingly it only works if you have a fairly old version of Android running.

FIFA Exec paid millions for votes
If you ever wondered how sun-baked Qatar managed to win approval to host the World Cup during its summer this story might help explain it: FIFA executive Jack Warner appears to have made millions off of the deal.

According to a piece in the Telegraph a Quatari company paid Warner millions after the country won the vote. The Big Lead has a list of his apparent transgressions over the past few years that shows a long history of shady dealings.

NBA pondering new TV deal
MLS is not the only sport that is taking its time in finalizing its next broadcast deal as the NBA is also taking a leisurely approach on its current round of negotiations. However the NBA is in a much stronger position.

According to the Sports Business Daily there are a number of interesting options being considered at this time including adding an additional broadcasting partner, bringing its digital rights in-house and moving NBA on TNT off of Thursday night. It looks like big changes are in the works.

Drones can read Wi-Fi messages?

A report in the International Business Times is saying that you should turn off your smartphone’s Wi-Fi because drones that are flying overhead can monitor the conversation, using a pretty simple trick that I think many of us would fall for.

A drone overhead could present itself as a free Wi-Fi network, something that phones are constantly looking for. Then if a user connects it can intercept traffic. Boy would they be bored with reading my stuff.

Love baseball and need a date? MLB has you covered!
Major League Baseball has joined forces with online dating site Match.com to create club-focused singles pages, because apparently there was a need for this. I am not kidding it seems that some rabid fans, say Yankee fans, whose first question is to ask “Who hates the Red Sox?” [editor’s note: insert joke for “getting to first base” here.]

It will be interesting to see how this works; maybe MLB could do the same for the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, or even a dating site set up for stats nerds, which is almost the same as the D&D group.

MLB unveils analytic player tracking system

mlbam

Major league Baseball’s Advanced Media (MLBAM) used last week’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston as the platform to showcase a new analytics system that will track every play on the field and track a number of factors that in the past were only difficult to properly analyze.

The goal of the program is to provide the tools that will enable a better evaluation of a huge number of aspects of the game. An example MLBAM used was on a diving catch in the outfield. The system will help determine how that outcome occurred by looking at how quickly the player reacted, how direct he went to the spot from which he leaped and how fast he was going. The program will try and look at all aspects of the game including pitching, batting fielding and base running. About the only aspect that will not be under the microscope will be strategy.

This is the latest in a number of major steps the sport has taken to enable a more accurate analysis of events in the game. The first was the introduction of PITCHf/x in 2006. That technology tracks pitching including every pitch’s speed, spin, release point and location. This has been a boon to everybody from pitchers, coaches and managers, sabermetrics as well as general fans. Possibly only umpires dislike it. The addition and then expansion of instant replay is another move in this direction.

While the statistics and analytic revolution lead by Bill James has helped change how most people look at players and performance the defensive metrics have always seemed to be the ones that get the most negative feedback. This should help settle arguments on that side, but then again maybe not.

Starting this season the program will be tested at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Target Field in Minnesota and Citi Field in New York. The goal is to roll the program out at all ballparks over the course of the season so that on Opening Day 2015 all parks will be equipped with the technology that collects the data.

Friday Grab Bag: MLB to live stream World Series

Taking its digital game up a notch MLB’s Advanced Media has announced that it will start permitting subscribers to its MLB.TV using its At Bat app to watch both the All-Star game as well as well as the entire World Series on their registered mobile devices and computers.

The games will be broadcast over the air by Fox Sports and some details still need to be worked out as Fox’s broadcast partners will be involved in some manner in the vetting process. Still this is a great move by MLB opening up the games to more viewers. Think it will go back to day games for the Series? Me neither.

Samsung teams with Mandalay Sports Media on second screen content
Samsung Electronics America will be working with Mandalay to develop new and original second screen content that will then be made available on select Samsung products. The content will be built around Samsung’s Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology platform to enable complementary and supplementary content experiences for TV programming.

The programs will initially be distributed on Samsung’s 2012, 2013 and 2014 Smart TVs as well as select tablets and smartphones. No word yet on what types of shows will be developed under the program.

NFL to add two more playoff teams in 2015?
The NFL has hinted that it is looking at adding additional playoff teams in the future because, well the owners will make more money. The rumors appear to be picking up steam and the Washington Post has reported that it will happen in 2 years.

This is interesting in that in the last postseason the league had issues selling playoff tickets and the addition of more teams will dilute the value of the regular season and possible create even more issues in selling playoff tickets.

ESPN talks about ESPN
There used to be an adage in reporting that “You reported the news, you are not part of the news.” Well that message has never sunk in at ESPN as the latest round robin of repeating itself has taken on comic qualities.

After one of its analysts reported that he would not take Johnny Manziel as a QB for his team, ESPN’s talking heads then discussed this comment endlessly for the next day or so. Awful Announcing does a great job in dissecting how much coverage the network gave to a comment made by one of its own people.

Latest version of Fanatic sports app has enhanced features

fanatic

The Fanatic sports app, from the same named company has some simple tools and an easy to use interface but its purpose is even more basic; it is designed to unite fans who are seeking sporting experiences with similar minded fans. However even simple ideas can be improved on, and that is what the company has done with its latest release.

The idea makes a lot of sense, particularly for people who travel a great deal and find themselves in a strange city yet want to watch their favorite team. You simply access the app, available for both Apple iOS and Android devices, and find a local sports bar that is highly rated for supporting a specific team so that you can watch in a comfortable atmosphere rather than having to worry about if your allegiance could create backlash from rival fans.

The company has built on this base and added or enhanced a number of features that most fans probably want such as the ability to organize a viewing party at a venue using social media.

The addition of a Live Score feature addresses a shortfall in the original program. Fans do not just want to know the score of the game they’re watching, and it always seems that the moment you look at the television the scores have finish scrolling and you miss the numbers for other favorite teams that might be playing simultaneously.

The news feed has been improved with a more robust and filtered feed that helps eliminate the chaff from the wheat. It has a private chat feature that enables chat before, during and after the event and includes a push notification so that you can quickly respond to comments.

Its core service, to find favorite team bars in different cities has gained an improved search function as fans using the app have increased the number of bars that are rated as well as expanded the geographical reach of the program.

The app can find bars for a wide number of sports and leagues including the NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLB, NHL and MLS, along with the top European soccer leagues, including the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

MLB finishes first two ballpark iBeacon installations for LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres

mlblok

Major League Baseball Advanced Media has installed the micro-location technology called iBeacon that is found in Apple’s iOS operating system in the first two ballparks as part of project that expects to land the capabilities in a total of 20 sites this season.

The first two parks are Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Petco Park in San Diego. The parks are filled with small iBeacon beacons that fans will be able to use via mobile devices that support the technology, which can be supported by Android devices as well as Apple’s. They will also need the upcoming version of the MLB.com At The Ballpark app when that is released sometime prior to Opening Day.

iBeacon is an indoor positioning system, operating much like the GPS that most users are familiar with but designed for a much more pinpoint location capability. With it a fan could conceivable find all of the different concessions, restrooms and other features of the park while sitting in their seat waiting for a break in play.

It also has the ability for the teams to tailor marketing to fans, from enabling social media check ins at specific locations in the park to showing them where items are on sale and since the technology includes point of sale capabilities a user could purchase items with their phone or tablet. Retailers and others are now starting to look at the technology as a way of engaging customers and keeping the in the stores.

Baseball demonstrated the capabilities of iBeacon with the New York Mets last season so that this move should not be a surprise. Baseball already includes the ability to upgrade seats and ordering food to At the Ballpark so the iBeacon capabilities are a natural extension.

MLBAM continues to keep baseball at the forefront of the digital world by constantly updating and enhancing the technologies and apps that fans use including apps that allow users to watch or listen to games on mobile devices and a number of contests and games over the course of the year to keep fans following the sport even in the offseason.

Football and basketball fall far behind baseball in terms of embracing next generation digital technology. The NFL is just now developing some digital capabilities and considering the resistance teams have put up in wiring their stadiums it might not see huge usage. Though most NBA stadiums have internal Wi-Fi for fans, few teams are actively promoting the service and there is no league-wide directive on wireless. Only Barclays Center in Brooklyn has expressed any interest in the iBeacon technology.