Five years from now connected devices working in concert with one another will be an invariable reality.
While something like Google Glass still seems like a futuristic apparatus, the aforementioned statement reflects the projection made by Brian Dunphy, Qualcomm’s Senior Director of Business Development, at Variety’s Sports Entertainment Summit’s opening panel entitled “Fireside Chat with Qualcomm and MLB Advanced Media.”
Wearable tech and its inter-connectivity across multiple technological hardwares will become commonplace in less than a decade from now. Dunphy also estimates that 25 billion connected devices will be in effect by 2020, which would infinitely multiply the data demand. This climate change presents an ongoing problem in the sports industry that can’t be immediately fixed. As it relates to the in-game experience, Joe Inzerillo, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at MLB Advanced Media, mentioned that the first step is to quantify the problem at the most tactical level. Fans have a thirst for connectivity at the ballpark that is “like oxygen.”
“It’s a utility at this point. If you go to a sporting event and can’t get a phone call, it creates anxiety,” Inzerillo elaborated.
The conversations then shifted towards television and the dynamics taking place there.
Randy Freer’s, Co-President and Chief Operating Officer at Fox Sports, keynote took the first stance against a la carte programming, which sparked greater discussion on the issue thereafter.
“It’s a complete fantasy. It’s not simply a viable opportunity across the parties involved,” said Freer.
Terry Denson, Vice President of Content Strategy at Acquisition for Verizon Communications, added during “The Power of the Regional Channel – Industry Is Cheering, Are Audiences?” panel: “A la carte is not as good of an idea as those people in that position think it is. It’s not a healthy way to go.”
These strong sentiments certainly diffused this preconceived business model as nothing more than a pipe dream. In theory, yes, a la carte seems ideal to most sports fans in order to just pay for the channels they want. However, users fail to realize how much more expensive the overall package would end up being, especially as sports broadcasting rights perpetually rise. This desired offering isn’t a practical one now or in the years to come. Such a radical move would only fragment channels’ availability amongst carriers than presently exist.
The “Beyond the Game Programming Technology – Companion Mobile, Social, and Online Experiences” panel provided a thorough exploration into this growing vertical within the sports industry.
Tyler Slocum, NFL’s Director of Mobile, acknowledged and clarified that there are differences in the second-screen audience along with consumption patterns. Thus, app makers must present a unique content strategy pertinent to the platform and users’ habits than simply a cookie-cutter formula of what’s available on their other properties. This reality will be more imperative to the rapidly growing fantasy sports aspect, which, for Yahoo! Sports, has a user base doubling each year. And social media platforms, specifically, Twitter, dominate the live discussion. Pete Vlastelica’s, Fox Sports Digital’s Senior Vice President, allusion of when Howard Stern first tweeted out about private parts is, in his eyes, a seminal moment for the mobile experience that still resonates today, primarily because of his notoriety, simple, and unexpected nature of it.
If that reference wasn’t enough, the quote of the day that best recapitulated the spectrum of the sports and technology analysis goes to Jim Bell, NBC Sports Executive Producer of the Olympics, and Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”