Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology news you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web.
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has launched the Open Innovation Challenge, a global contest asking developers to build apps that enhance the viewing experience for urban sports. The sports covered include 3×3 basketball, BMX freestyle, skateboarding and sport climbing, which are all new Olympic events coming to Tokyo. Alibaba will provide contestants with its cloud computing services while Intel will provide various AI products. The deadline to apply is Oct. 13; an application can be found on Tokyo 2020’s website. Tokyo 2020 is considering preparing a place to showcase the winning apps near the venues during the 2020 Games.
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- Varsity high school football programs using Hudl in the U.S. will receive one free NFL Game Pass subscription as part of an expanded partnership between the NFL and Hudl. More than 16,000 high school football teams use Hudl’s video review platform. NFL Game Pass allows users to watch replays of every NFL game as soon as they end and offers access to an exclusive show that highlights concepts, techniques and first-hand tips by NFL players and coaches. As part of the agreement, Hudl will also provide the NFL with data from high school football games to help the league anticipate future changes in style of play and tendencies.
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- The National Women’s Hockey League signed a three-year exclusive partnership with Twitch to live stream all games starting with the 2019-20 season. Games will stream globally for free; this partnership marks the first time that the NWHL will receive a rights fee in a broadcast deal, according to Front Office Sports. The partnership could see Twitch roll out interactive features such as the co-streaming of games, fan voting and utilizations of Twitch chat. The NWHL streamed its games on Twitter last season, but star player Kendall Coyne told SportTechie in May that the league was in need of a broadcast partner to become sustainable.
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- The NHL has signed a multi-year deal with European internet giant Yandex to broadcast all NHL games in Russia via the Yandex streaming platform. Starting with the 2019-20 season, all NHL regular-season and postseason games will stream on-demand for free on Yandex. Russian viewers will be able to live chat with other audience members during games on Yandex and watch games in Russian commentary. Yandex owns the leading internet search engine in Russia and its streaming platform also offers TV shows and movies.
- Buffalo Wild Wings has partnered with MGM Resorts to deliver sports gaming experiences inside BWW restaurants across the U.S via the BetMGM mobile sports betting app. The partnership kicks off today with a free-to-play football game available at BWW restaurants nationwide. MGM will launch a sports betting test program at Buffalo Wild Wings in New Jersey later this year, with the goal of expanding to additional states as legislation is passed. A new Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar is slated to open at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in 2020. “Adding access to MGM’s world class properties and the BetMGM mobile app will create unique customer experiences and redefine how fans enjoy sports,” MGM said in a statement.
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