Thursday, Apr. 11, 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.
- Fox Sports Detroit Offers “Players Only” Broadcasts of Tigers Games: This season, Fox Sports Detroit will produce “Players Only” telecasts for 17 Tigers games. Ex-players, and possibly current players, will commentate on the action during those games, according to the Detroit Free Press. The telecasts will also feature special guests through two-way video calls accessed via smartphone, marking the first time a baseball broadcast has used video call center technology on a consistent basis. “With this technology, we can check in with guys from all over the world and we plan to do just that,” said former Tiger and Fox Sports Detroit analyst Kirk Gibson, in a press release.
- Boston University Researchers Investigate Possible Living Test for CTE: A study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine by Boston University researchers has found elevated levels of a protein associated with brain disease in football players. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can currently only be formally diagnosed through autopsy, but brain scans of 26 former NFL players with symptoms of neurological disease found elevated levels of tau protein when compared to a control group of 31 symptomless people. “It’s an important finding that will hopefully at some point lead to a diagnostic breakthrough, but we’re not there yet,” said Dr. Michael Weiner, a professor of neurology at the University of California at San Francisco, according to The Boston Globe.
- Stick & Ball TV Streaming Service Targets Baseball Education Market: A new streaming service called Stick & Ball TV launched yesterday. The OTT platform is targeting the baseball instructional market and will publish instructional videos each week aimed at players and coaches from the youth to professional level. Longtime MLB infield coach Perry “Bone” Hill is a featured instructor on the platform, which costs $9.99 per month or $99 annually, but is currently offering a 30-day free trial for new users. Members can watch content through downloading the free iOS or Android app, or visiting the Stick & Ball TV website.
- The NBA’s Rockets Sell Stake in Esports Team: The Houston Rockets have agreed in principle to sell a majority stake in League of Legends franchise Clutch Gaming to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment for $20 million, according to ESPN. HBSE owns the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and esports organization Dignitas. Clutch Gaming will be rebranded to Dignitas later this year. When the deal is completed, Clutch Gaming will become the first League of Legends Championship Series team to sell a majority ownership stake since the league adopted a franchise model ahead of the 2018 season. According to ESPN, the owners of two other LCS teams, OpTic Gaming and Echo Fox, are also considering selling majority stakes.
- MLB Strikes Another Betting Data Deal: Major League Baseball has agreed to a data distribution deal with Perform, the B2B content division of DAZN Group. Perform will now supply real-time MLB statistics to U.S. sports betting operators through its ‘RunningBall’ fast data service. Perform is MLB’s second authorized data distributor after the league partnered with Sportradar in February. “It’s an important development for us to partner with Perform as the second Authorized MLB Data Distributor in the U.S. for sports betting operators. Multiple distributors of our rich, reliable, low latency data will help drive competition and innovation in the sports betting landscape, providing MLB fans with the best gaming experiences possible.” said Kenny Gersh, MLB EVP of Gaming & New Ventures, in a statement.
- Electric Racing Adds Sustainable Signage: Electric race car league Formula E has partnered with ad-agency CSM Live to deliver sustainable branding and trackside signage at various racing events this season. Branded signage will now consist of an adhesive film made of polypropylene and will be applied to barriers that line circuits at races. The switch to the new material will save 35 kilometers of potential plastic waste and will debut at the Rome E-Prix on Apr. 13. Formula E is currently in its fifth season and has previously partnered with steel-tech company Voestalpine in an attempt to accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles.