Friday, June 21, 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
- Amazon Alexa Adds Seattle Storm Basketball Workout: The Seattle Storm have partnered with Amazon to launch a “Storm Workout” feature for Amazon Alexa. All-Star point guard Sue Bird voices the workout, which can be activated by saying “Alexa, open Storm workout” to any Alexa-enabled device. The workout is aimed at people of all ages and features Bird encouraging participants to complete various fitness drills, which are all basketball-related. “I’m passionate about basketball, fitness and technology, so the chance to work on a product that brings those passions together to support youth fitness was special,” Bird said in a team press release.
- DAZN Ranked Top-Grossing Global Sports App in May: The DAZN streaming service ranked as the top-grossing sports app worldwide for May, according to data collected by Sensor Tower. The report claims that DAZN users spent nearly $11.5 million this past May, a 950 percent year-on-year increase from May 2018. U.S. subscribers represented 37 percent of DAZN’s app revenue in May 2019, followed by 6.5 percent from Japan. The main ESPN app was the second-highest grossing sports app worldwide last month, pulling in $4.7 million in user spending. Sensor Tower’s study considers account revenues from the iOS App Store and Google Play.
- Dignitas Opens Esports Content Production Studio in Newark: Esports organization Dignitas has opened a new content and media production facility in Newark, N.J. The 3,000-square-foot facility is adjacent to the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils. The new facility includes content studio and a gaming space that will serve as the new training home for Dignitas’ seven teams. “This new facility drives to the heart of where Dignitas is moving as a leader in the gaming centric entertainment: with a heavy focus on player excellence, influencer development and content production that will drive key narratives across the confluence of esports, sports, music and pop culture,” said Michael Prindiville, CEO of Dignitas, in a statement.
- Former Walt Disney CEO Predicts Demise of Sports on Broadcast TV: Michael Eisner, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005, predicts that major sports leagues will eventually leave broadcast TV in favor of streaming platforms. “With the financial wherewithal of Apple, the aggressiveness of Amazon, the creativity of Netflix, the existence already of ESPN and ESPN+—you’re going to see a very difficult time ahead for the U.S. broadcasters. I wouldn’t be surprised if all sports of that level eventually leave broadcast television,” Eisner said according to Bloomberg. Previously, when Eisner spoke to SportTechie in May 2018, he had said “one is not going to replace the other.”
- BT Sport Signs Broadcast and Digital Deal With WWE: BT Sport has signed a multi-year deal to become the exclusive TV home for the WWE in the U.K. and Ireland. Starting in January, BT Sport will air both WWE’s Monday Night Raw and SmackDown exclusively live every week. WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania, will be available on the BT Sport Box Office PPV channel. As part of the deal, WWE and BT Sport will collaborate across their digital and social media platforms to create new content aimed at U.K. and Irish fans.