Monday, Jun. 3, 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
- ESPN Tests Youth-Focused Live Stream of NBA Finals: ESPN ran a live stream of Sunday’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals that was aimed directly at teens. The game was broadcast on the ESPN app, and was hosted by Katie Nolan, Jay Williams, SportsCenter Snapchat host Gary Striewski, and YouTube influencer Mike Korzemba. Viewers saw various emojis used during gameplay—like a “fire” graphic if a shooter had a hot hand—and were given data nuggets about steals, assists, and rebounds. “This is really the Twitch-ification of television,” said Tim Hanlon, CEO of Vertere Group, a media and advertising consultancy, according to Variety.
- Twitter Canada Signs New Content Deals With Sports Media: Twitter Canada announced new deals with sports media publishers including Sportsnet, NFL Canada, DAZN, CBC Sports, and TSN. Sportsnet’s #IceSurfing NFL highlights show will return to Twitter next year, while the NFL will deliver a new weekly video series with interactive features such as Q&As, fan polls and Twitter moments. Live sports and highlights from DAZN’s professional soccer, tennis, and basketball portfolio will be streamed on Twitter, CBC Sports will offer video content related to Tokyo 2020, and TSN will live stream all 52 matches from the upcoming France 2019 Women’s World Cup. All content will only be available to Canada-based Twitter users.
- Microsoft Partners With Cloud9 to Innovate New Esports Tech: Microsoft and esports organization Cloud9 announced a new multi-year partnership to innovate new technologies in esports. As the new official technology and performance analytics partner to all Cloud9 teams, Microsoft will focus on developing tools that show game-insights and performance metrics for players on both the team and its opponents. “I am excited to see how tech can help with analytics, competitive research, our team feedback system and ultimately increase our performance,” said Bok “Reapered” Hang-gyu, League of Legends team Head Coach, Cloud9.
- NBA 2K “The Ticket” Tournament to Be Played at Full Sail University: The NBA 2K League announced its three-day tournament “The Ticket” will be played at Full Sail University’s new esports arena Jun. 13-15. Orlando-based Full Sail opened its $6 million, 11,200 square foot venue in May. This will be the second NBA 2K League tournament hosted outside the league’s NYC studio, after the league ran a tournament in Las Vegas last month. The Ticket will offer a $180,000 prize pool and the winning team will receive an automatic postseason bid. Tickets will go on sale at NBA2KLeague.com this week. All games will be live streamed on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube Channels.