Monday, Aug. 12, 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.
- The NFL has expanded its deal with Sportradar to include exclusive rights to distribute real-time play-by-play data to betting operators in the U.S. and internationally. The new multiyear agreement also lets Sportradar stream live audio-visual game feeds to sportsbooks in select international markets. The NFL will also use Sportradar’s integrity services to monitor all preseason, regular season, and playoff games. A 2018 report from the American Gaming Association projected the NFL would profit the most from legalized sports betting among the four major U.S. leagues.
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- NBC Sports has partnered with entertainment brand AEG to launch NBC Sports Pub Pass, a customizable live streaming platform aimed at U.S. bars and restaurants. The Pub Pass will livestream 140 Premier League soccer matches not shown on TV, 185 live rugby matches from the Rugby World Cup, Six Nations Championship, Champions Cup, Premiership Rugby, as well as extra coverage of cycling races such as the Tour de France. Establishments that subscribe to the pass will receive an Amazon Fire Stick with NBC Sports Pub Pass pre-loaded and will not be able to charge patrons a cover charge at the door to watch games.
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- Russian gambling operator 1xBet has suspended its U.K. operations following a Sunday Times investigation into improper conduct. The British newspaper found 1xBet was promoting a casino featuring topless croupiers, taking bets on children’s sports, illegal streaming, and cockfighting betting. Premier League clubs Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur all have partnerships with 1xBet, whose website is now blocked in the U.K. The Gambling Commission confirmed this past weekend it had launched an investigation into allegations against 1xBet.
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- Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE and China Mobile have partnered to stream the China National Youth Games in 5G. It is the first Chinese sporting event to be broadcasted in 5G. According to ZTE, the company’s 5G solutions reduce latency to less than a second to allow for near real-time viewing when streaming. China’s National Youth Games began last Thursday and conclude Aug. 21.
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- At the Pan American Games on Sunday, Puerto Rico bowler Jean Perez Faure was stripped of his gold medal in men’s doubles bowling after he tested positive for chlorthalidone, a diuretic that serves as a masking agent and is listed as a banned substance according to the World Anti-Doping Agency. The action resulted in the U.S. doubles team winning the gold medal while Columbia moved up to silver and Mexico to bronze. Out of 1,200 tests conducted at this year’s Pan American Games, Faure had the second failed drug test after Dominican baseball player Audrey Joel Perez tested positive for an anabolic steroid according to Fox News.
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