The sports world has always been at the leading edge of technological progress. Athletes dominate the list of most-followed celebrities across social platforms. Teams and players have used everything from video games to fitness trackers to AI in order to get an edge over their competition. Nothing has shaped the future of TV more than the bidding wars over live events like the Super Bowl or the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. You’ve seen Microsoft’s Surface tablets thrown all over NFL sidelines, VR cameras promising a courtside view of the NBA Finals, and shoes that make marathon runners even faster somehow. From VAR and robotic umpires to hyperrealistic Formula One simulators and league-affiliated esports, the future of sports is as much a story about technology as it is about wins and losses. It’s taking place across sports, across the globe, and at record-breaking speed.
Last month, I published a story about tennis embracing the electronic line calling system — and all of the data, sports betting, and financial implications that come with it. Wimbledon, the most prestigious of the Grand Slams, just announced it will get rid of human line judges at next year’s tournament. At this point, the ELC takeover is inevitable.
There’s white smoke from ESPN’s HQ in Bristol, CT, today, as Shams Charania broke the news of his own free agent signing, saying:
I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider.
He will take over the spot from his one-time mentor and longtime rival, Wojnarowski, who announced his retirement last month.
You’ll be able to watch up to four Fubo channels simultaneously. “Additional” Roku devices are set to get the feature in the “coming weeks,” Fubo says.
Fubo’s multiview is also available on Apple TV.
Who is at fault? The judges, the technology, or the way we measure time itself?
Nike is moving on from CEO John Donahoe less than a week after Bloomberg published its unflatteringly-titled profile of his four-year tenure.
Under Donahoe, Nike de-emphasized retail stores to chase direct sales, flooded the market with retros like the Panda Dunks, and put the RTFKT NFT shoe brand on the same level as the Swoosh and Jordan Jumpman.
Today’s announcement doesn’t include the RTFKT logo.
Last month, Apple announced an update for the Sports app that adds Live Activities support to help you follow games on the lock screen of your iPhone or Apple Watch.
Now, it has been released in the App Store just ahead of the launch of iOS 18 and watchOS 11, and it includes a new drop-down menu and search setup to switch between leagues and teams.
Tennis has big plans for the future: TikTok, sports betting, and a lot of matches in Saudi Arabia. Last year, I started reporting on Hawk-Eye, the electronic line-calling technology used by the US Open. That sent me down a much longer rabbit hole after I learned the data used to call balls in or out was feeding into the algorithms used by gambling oddsmakers.
You can read the story or check out the bite-size version below.
Sources tell the New York Post that Amazon is in talks with Bally Sports for a deal that would simultaneously air MLB, NBA, and NHL games on Prime Video and cable.
The rumored sports package would reportedly let users watch local games for around $20 per month. Amazon already has an agreement with the NBA that will put dozens of games on Prime Video next season.
Bill Belichick, the longtime Patriots coach who famously never said anything interesting in public for like three decades, just joined Instagram — sorry, Instaface — in the absolute most chaotic way possible. The cuts! The dad jokes! The second slide!
Can’t help but notice Tom Brady hasn’t followed him yet.
The start of this carriage dispute even nixed a US Open viewing session on a screen at New York’s Hudson Yards. While DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-verse customers miss the services they pay for and Venu Sports remains on hiatus, both sides point fingers over the blackout.
...we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs.
Disney is again taking an anti-consumer approach, demanding that customers from DirecTV and other TV distributors be forced to pay for channels they don’t watch...
Netflix is about to look back at the history of WWE co-founder Vince McMahon with a six-episode series premiering September 25th. Just after Netflix signed a 10-year $5 billion dollar deal with WWE in January, McMahon was accused of sex trafficking and abuse and resigned as executive chairman of its parent company, TKO.
The series covers McMahon’s transformation of WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse, and the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation.
The good ol’ days: two fun, funny anchors telling you about the day in sports.
The future, according to ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro:
By the time the flagship ESPN streaming service launches, he said, AI tools will be able to deliver a personalized version of SportsCenter to individual viewers based on their preferences.
It’s year two for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, and it appears there’s not a ton of new stuff, but the combination of Yahoo Fantasy integration and a build-your-own-multiview feature is right up my alley. Sunday Ticket is expensive, but might be worth it.
Oh, and PSA: do not under any circumstances subscribe through the App Store. That price is highway robbery.
[YouTube Official Blog]
If you’re still trying to get that Olympic feeling back, sprint athlete Nick Mayhugh has a reminder that the Paralympic Games are right around the corner and will be at least as exciting on social media as the Olympics were.
The Opening Ceremony takes place on August 28th, so you have until then to try to figure out unique sports, like murderball, aka wheelchair rugby, and exactly how classification works.
Yesterday, we got a cetacean entry in the annals of photobombing. Congratulations to everyone involved, and also to me, since I have watched this clip like 10 times.
A team from Belgium pulled out of a Monday event and Switzerland changed its lineup for a mixed relay race because athletes got sick.
Risky levels of E. coli in the river have forced officials to postpone at least one triathlon event. But the teams haven’t confirmed whether their athletes’ illness is because of swimming in the Seine.
[The New York Times]
