Tuesday, May 7, 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.
- Progressive Field Will Use Clear Biometric ID Entry Through 2019: MLB’s Cleveland Indians announced a new partnership to bring biometric ID platform Clear to Progressive Field. Pre-registered fans will be able to enter Progressive Field through Clear’s designated lines at all Indians home games. Clear will also be deployed at 2019 MLB All-Star Week events, which will be hosted at Progressive Field in July. Earlier this season, Clear added the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Minnesota Twins to its network of venues. A dozen MLB stadiums now use the platform.
- Riot Games Employees Protest Forced Arbitration and Sexism: More than 120 Riot Games employees walked out of the company’s Los Angeles office on Monday to protest forced arbitration and a sexist culture. According to video game website Kotaku, employees held picket signs and gave speeches in the parking lot of Riot’s campus. Five current or former Riot employees have sued the company for violating California’s Equal Pay Act. Last week, Riot filed a motion to force two of those current employees into arbitration. In an email to Kotaku, Riot promised to respect those participating in the walkout.
- Sinclair Broadcast Group Plans Regional Sports Networks Betting Shows: Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley said in a call with investors on Monday that he wants to introduce alternate betting-themed broadcasts for live sports, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg. Sinclair recently announced it will acquire 21 regional sports networks from Disney in a deal valued at $10.6 billion. Riplay said that Sinclair already is working on technology that could be used to power in-game betting on its broadcasts, according to Forbes.
- Colonial Athletic Association Signs Media Rights Deal With FloSports: FloSports announced a four-year media rights distribution deal with the Colonial Athletic Association. According to the company, the deal is the first primary media rights partnership between a Division I college sports conference and a streaming service. More than 300 CAA games per year will stream on the FloSports network, including approximately 50 football games and 140 men’s and women’s basketball contests. FloSports already broadcasts live events from collegiate conferences such as the Big Ten Network, Big 12 Conference, MEAC, Mountain West, and SIAC.