Nike today confirmed that it will start selling products on Amazon.com, starting with “a limited Nike product assortment,” setting aside its longtime reluctance in a sign that working with the Seattle-based e-commerce giant is increasingly unavoidable for the world’s major brands. The confirmation by Nike CEO Mark Parker followed a report by the Wall Street Journal that Amazon had agreed to better police counterfeit and third-party sales of Nike products. “In the US, we’re executing a new pilot with Amazon with a limited Nike product assortment,” Parker said on Nike’s earnings conference call today. He added, “As we do with… Read More
Everyone these days wants to be like Amazon, even the NFL apparently. At the 2017 GeekWire Sports Tech Summit, NFL COO Tod Leiweke addressed Amazon’s deal to stream 10 Thursday Night Football games this season for a reported price of $50 million. Amazon took over for Twitter, which paid a reported $10 million for the same exact package last season. Leiweke praised Amazon and compared his league to the retail giant’s approach of “customer obsession” when it comes to improving the experience for fans. “It’s been fun for us to talk to the Amazon guys,” Leiweke said. “They are just amazing… Read More
Amazon’s voice technology has made its way into Major League Baseball. Earlier this month, the Seattle Mariners became the first professional sports franchise to place Amazon Echo devices inside stadium suites. At Safeco Field, fans at each of the 59 suites can now use their voice to order food, change TV channels, play music, and even have Alexa — the AI powered voice assistant built into the Echo — sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” GeekWire had a chance to test out the new technology this week before the Mariners took on the Oakland Athletics. Fans can use Alexa for its… Read More
Twitter lost out on a chance to broadcast live NFL games for the second season in a row, but the social media company will still host exclusive pro football content this year. Twitter and the NFL on Thursday announced a new multi-year deal for several programs to be aired through Periscope and Twitter. Twitter will be home to a 30-minute daily studio show with top analysts from the NFL Network, as well as a pre-game show before primetime Thursday, Sunday and Monday games that will include player warm-ups and sideline interviews. “This new multi-year collaboration will bring compelling live studio… Read More
Fans of the Seattle Mariners might have a lot of questions about why their team is off to a slow start this season. Amazon’s Alexa probably doesn’t have the answers, but the voice-activated artificial intelligence can perform other tasks now at Safeco Field. Guests in 59 private suites at the Mariners home ballpark now have access to Amazon Echo devices enabled with an Alexa skill geared toward helping users further enjoy being out at the old ballgame. With the voice prompt “Alexa, ask the Mariners to …,” users are able to call for their suite attendant and order food and drinks… Read More
