Friday, Apr. 26, 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.
- Fans Can Race Drivers in Real Time on Formula E Mobile Game: Electric car racing series Formula E released a new mobile game that lets fans compete against Formula E drivers during races. The game is titled Virtually Live Ghost Racing: Formula E and uses telemetry to replicate the real-time movement of cars during Formula E events. “Together with our partner—Formula E—we accomplished a quantum leap in gaming full of innovation, including the world’s first in-game live race commentary laying the foundation for Virtually Live’s success in the fast-growing esports industry,” said Markus Tellenbach, CEO of Virtually Live.
- The Action Network Launches Daily Sports Betting Show on SiriusXM: The Action Network and SiriusXM have partnered to create a daily sports betting show on SiriusXM’s fantasy sports radio channel. The show will be available to SiriusXM subscribers across the U.S every weekday morning starting Apr. 29. The Action Network’s Darren Rovell and former MLB All-Star Paul Lo Duca are among the many sports betting analysts set to appear. “Content is a great way of acquiring users in a top-of-the-funnel way,” said Patrick Keane, The Action Network’s CEO, at SBC’s Betting on Sports America conference in New Jersey on Thursday.
- Disney Could Reach 90 Percent Ownership of Hulu With Comcast Deal: Comcast is in talks to sell its 30 percent stake in Hulu to The Walt Disney Company, according to CNBC. Disney already owns a 60 percent stake in the video streaming platform. Last week, Hulu bought back a 9.5 percent stake in itself from AT&T, in a deal that valued the company at $15 billion. Hulu offers access to several U.S sports networks such as the Big Ten Network, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and ESPN. The company has also signed deals to livestream the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the NBA Playoffs, EPL matches, the NHL Stanley Cup, as well as MLB and NFL games.
- The Arena Football League Website Hosts Chalkline Sports Betting Games: The Arena Football League has partnered with online betting platform Chalkline Sports to launch AFL Fan Games on the league’s website. The free-to-play betting games will include live contests during AFL games, plus weekly competitions. The odds and lines for which team will win a game, the score, top individual performers, and other bets will be set by a third party. This partnership comes just a few days after the AFL launched a fantasy game on DraftKings.
- Allied Global Marketing Invests in NFLPA’s Content Production Group, ACE Media: The Allied Global Marketing agency has invested in ACE Media. The investment will create additional capital, production capabilities, and sales and marketing resources to accelerate the growth of the content protection arm of the NFL Players Association. “With Allied’s support, there is unlimited opportunity to develop a new range of content partnerships and programs which will continue to reveal our passions, interests and stories—we can’t wait to see what’s next,” said Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, in a press release.