Amazon will help make a bit of sports broadcasting history on Thursday. The tech giant has hired Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm to commentate all 11 of its Thursday Night Football streams on Prime Video this season, starting with the Rams vs. Vikings game this week. It’s the first time two female announcers will call an entire NFL game. “Teaming up with Hannah and Amazon for this is truly special,” Kremer said in a statement. “Hannah is a brilliant journalist and she has been a friend for many years. With decades of experience as storytellers, we will be bringing a… Read More
TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: It was Christmas morning on Thursday for soccer fans as the World Cup kicked off in Russia. The host country breezed by Saudi Arabia in the opening match, 5-0, but as usual with this tournament, the storylines went far beyond the pitch. Uruguay took down Egypt, 1-0, in Friday’s early bout. Matches run through July 15 and will usually air live in the U.S. in the morning. Here’s the full schedule. Fox is airing all 64 matches, both on Fox and Fox Sports channels. If you have a cable log in, you can… Read More
For any Mariners fans hoping to watch today’s game against Texas, your only option is Facebook. That’s because of a deal Major League Baseball inked in March to stream 25 games on Facebook Watch, the new video platform created by the social media giant last year. It’s part of an experiment that allows MLB to test new ways to air live baseball as more and more sports content is streamed online. It’s also part of Facebook’s push to get more sports video content on its site as it competes with other tech giants — Amazon and its deal with the… Read More
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ESPN on Thursday debuted its new ESPN+ service, reflecting larger trends in the sports industry and marking the first big step into streaming for the Disney-owned sports media giant. For $5 per month or $50 per year, sports fans can access thousands of live games on ESPN+, though it’s not exactly must-see content or the biggest matchups. “Here’s the most important thing to know: ESPN+ is no replacement for ESPN the cable channel,” The Verge reported today. “It’s not supposed to be.” ESPN+, part of ESPN’s redesigned app that also launched today, will get you one MLB and one NHL… Read More
