Wednesday, Mar. 13, 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.
- ESPN Events Launches the Collegiate Esports Championship: ESPN Events will stage the inaugural ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship this May in Houston. Players will compete in five games: Overwatch, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Heroes of the Storm and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition for a chance to win college scholarships. “As universities continue to grow their esports programs at the varsity, non-varsity and club levels, we’re proud to be providing a platform for national exposure and recognition of some of the most talented players in the collegiate space,” said John Lasker, VP of Digital Media Programming for ESPN, in a press release.
- BeIN Sports Accuses the Asian Football Confederation of Breaking Contract: Qatar-based broadcaster BeIN Sports has accused the AFC of breaching its broadcast agreement after the AFC said it will stream soccer matches for free in Saudi Arabia through Facebook and YouTube. The dispute originates over BeoutQ, a Saudia Arabia-based streaming operation that has been illegally broadcasting BeIN sports content. “The AFC’s decision is not only a self-harming commercial decision and a clear political play with Saudi Arabia, but most damagingly it will impact rights holders across sports and entertainment around the world,” said BeIN CEO Yousef Al-Obaidly, according to The Associated Press.
- U.S. Soccer Will Compete in the FIFA eNations Cup Esports Tournament: The American soccer federation will make its entry into esports after the federation announced it is joining the inaugural FIFA eNations Cup, an international EA Sports FIFA tournament taking place Apr. 13-14 in London. Representing the U.S. on the global stage will be the top two eligible finishers at the upcoming eMLS Cup in Boston. “As we work toward our mission of making soccer the preeminent sport in the U.S. we see competitive gaming as an opportunity to engage fans and gamers while exposing U.S. Soccer to a growing and connected soccer audience,” said Jay Berhalter, U.S. Soccer Chief Commercial & Strategy Officer, in a statement.
- Facebook Will Pay a Dozen Media Publishers for Video Content: Facebook plans to begin paying 12 different media publishers to produce new video shows for the Facebook Watch platform, according to Digiday. BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Complex Networks, The Players’ Tribune, and Whistle Sports are among the companies selected as part of the new program, which is expected to run this year and beyond. The Facebook-funded shows will not be Facebook-owned “originals,” meaning Facebook is only licensing the programming for a certain amount of time before the producers are free to distribute on other platforms.
- Intel Will Again Broadcast March Madness in Virtual Reality: Intel will broadcast live action from the upcoming NCAA College Basketball Tournament in virtual reality for the third year in a row. Intel’s NCAA March Madness Live VR app will broadcast 21 games and is available in the Oculus Store. VR coverage of the Final Four and Championship Game will additionally feature Intel’s True View 360-degree replays, using a large number of cameras to capture and recreate any play from any angle.