Monday, July 1, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology stories you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web
- Aussie Rules Fans Can Vote via AFL Partnership With Google: The Australian Football League will implement fan voting features as part of a new partnership with Google. This season, AFL fans can cast their votes for the weekly Best of Ground player and weekly Player of the Round winner directly through a Google search. The winners will be announced each week via the AFL’s social media channels. At the end of the season, fans will also be able to vote in new categories as part of the inaugural the “Fan Awards.” The MLB used Google to allow fans to cast their All-Star Game selection votes this year, and the NBA has done the same since 2015.
- NBA Summer League Will Allow Coaches to Challenge Calls: The NBA will allow coaches to challenge referee calls at the upcoming Las Vegas Summer League and expects to implement a pilot program for the new system during the 2019-20 NBA season, according to a league memo obtained by ESPN. Coaches will only get one challenge per game and can challenge only called fouls, goaltending, basket interference, and plays where the ball is knocked out of bounds. During some upcoming summer league games, the NBA will also experiment with a connected official game ball that is embedded with a motion-tracking chip.
- VICIS Launches Soft Headgear Protector For Non-Helmeted Practices: Helmet technology company VICIS has launched a soft headgear protector for non-helmeted football practices and for flag football. VICIS tested its new product, called the ULTIM Cap, both in its own lab and at the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. Results indicated that ULTIM reduces impact forces more effectively than any commonly worn soft headgear. ULTIM is also reported to be 25 percent thinner than the next top-performing headgear. A recent study suggested that the VICIS Zero1, which is the company’s traditional football helmet, may have reduced concussions among high school football players.
- New Jersey Overtakes Las Vegas as U.S. Sports Betting Capital: More sports bets were placed in New Jersey during May than in any other state, signaling the Garden State has overtaken Las Vegas as the sports betting capital of the country. New Jersey sportsbooks took in $318.9 million in bets, while Nevada took in $317.4 million. Roughly 80 percent of sports wagers in N.J. have been placed via mobile device. “Over the past year, New Jersey has in many ways ascended to the center of the sports betting universe thanks largely to the Garden State’s embrace of mobile technology,” said Jamie Shea, the head of digital sports book operations at DraftKings, according to the New York Times. “We have taken in over 20 million bets via mobile and paid out over $600 million in New Jersey alone.”
- Amazon Remains Undecided on Future Sports Media Strategy: Amazon is still analyzing consumer behavior as it remains undecided on its sports media strategy, according to Amazon’s VP of global sports video, Marie Donoghue. “We’re literally at day one in sports, so we’re learning and experimenting. We want to use live sports to drive value for Prime customers,” Donoghue said. according to Reuters. To determine which sports products are well-received by users and what to offer next, Amazon is analyzing market research and its own viewership data, as well as consumers’ use of the company’s X-Ray tool. Amazon Prime currently streams Thursday Night Football globally, and EPL matches and the U.S. Open tennis tournament in the U.K.