Wednesday, Aug. 14, 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.
- Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are buying stakes in the Seattle Sounders MLS team. The ownership group also includes Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and rapper Macklemore. Terms of the deal are unknown but it closed on July 31, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who died this past October, had ownership stakes in both the Seahawks and Sounders. Forbes has valued the Sounders at $310 million, making them the third-most-valuable MLS club.
- Jay Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation is partnering with the NFL to produce content and boost the league’s new Inspire Change initiative. Roc Nation will collaborate with the NFL on three social justice areas: education and economic advancement, police and community relations, and criminal justice reform. The multi-year partnership will also see Roc Nation work with the NFL to create and distribute content across multiple music streaming services, and advise the NFL when selecting which musical artists should perform at the Super Bowl.
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- Google has updated its advertising policy to begin allowing ads from daily fantasy sports operators in the U.S. Ads will appear in select states starting this month across Google Ads and DV360, the company’s marketing platform for programmatic media buying. Until now, fantasy sites such as FanDuel were only able to reach American consumers across Google’s networks through promoting “free-to-play” contests, rather than services that offer cash payouts. “It takes a lot of investment into technology and engineering to roll out these changes on a state-by-state, localized level,” said Mike Raffensperger, CMO of FanDuel, according to Adweek.
- The second-annual Home Run Derby VR Little League Challenge is taking place today in South Williamsport, Pa. The event is being live streamed on MLB’s Twitch channel and the ESPN app, and features one player from all 16 U.S. and international LLWS teams. Players compete to see who can hit the most virtual home runs in 90 seconds. The VR experience, which includes a proprietary VR bat controller, was developed by MLB and is powered HTC’s VIVE Pro VR system. MLB’s Home Run Derby VR game was released commercially in April 2018, and nearly half of MLB’s ballparks now have an installation.
- The Pittsburgh Knights esports organization has formed a new partnership with sponsorship analytics platform Zoomph. The company’s AI-powered video cognition software will be used to measure audience engagement on the Knights’ Twitch and other social media profiles. The Zoomph AI can detect the Knights logos and sponsor logos in live streams, videos, and images. The Knights field professional teams in games such as Super Smash Bros. Melee and Player Unknown’s Battleground. The franchise received investment from the Pittsburgh Steelers last December.
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