Not too long after American families finish their Thanksgiving dinners and celebrate all they’re thankful for, malls and shopping centers across America become charged with consumers looking to cash-in on Black Friday deals. This year, to help you either navigate or avoid that hysteria, SportTechie is bringing you our pick of some of the best in-store and online deals in sports tech.
Streaming Devices
Several over-the-top sports streaming services were introduced by some of media’s biggest and newest players in 2018. Disney purchased majority ownership of BAMTech to develop the ESPN+ streaming platform, Perform Group expanded its DAZN offering into the U.S., and Turner Sports entered the OTT streaming arena with the launch of B/R Live. Not only can cord-cutting sports fans select from a plethora of OTT-streaming platforms, but there’s also an abundance of discounted streaming devices, enabling subscribers to watch streaming content on their televisions as opposed to on their mobile phones or personal computers.
Roku has announced several Black Friday deals for its line of streaming devices, including offering the Roku SE streaming player for just $20 when purchased at an in-store Walmart. Google is lowering the price of its Chromecast third generation device to $25 (a saving of $10) when purchased from Google Store, Best Buy, Target, or Walmart. For the same $25 price tag, Amazon is selling its Fire TV Stick with Alexa voice remote (a saving of $15) available at all major retailers, including Amazon. The technology giant is also offering a 50 percent discount on its Fire TV Cube, combining a 4K streamer, an Echo Dot smart speaker, and a universal remote control for $59.99.
Esports
The 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup generated 29 million online views across the globe, a reported 400 percent increase over the 2017 event. The FIFA 19 video game was released this past September, and shortly after its launch, the English Premier League announced a FIFA 19 esports league, mirroring the eMLS, which was founded earlier in the spring. The UEFA Champions League also recently established the eChampions League. Fans hoping to compete in those esports tournaments need access to the game, of course. GameStop in offering FIFA 19 for $27 (usually $60) in-store only starting Thanksgiving Day.
For basketball fans with dreams of competing in the expanding NBA 2K League, GameStop is also dropping the price of NBA 2K19 to $37 (usually $60) when purchased in-store starting Nov. 22. Although the NHL has yet to launch its own esports league like the NBA, the league did host the inaugural NHL Gaming World Championship in July. Hockey fans can purchase NHL 19 on PlayStation 4 for $29.99 from Best Buy, or from Target for $35. Both deals went live Thursday, Nov. 22.
Wearable Devices
Everysight, the developers of Raptor AR smart glasses designed for cyclists, will offer a $100 Black Friday holiday sale available at Everysight’s website. The company will also offer a Cyber Monday deal where customers can buy one device and get free accessories (total savings of $138). Those looking to get in shape with the help of a Fitbit tracking device can purchase a Fitbit Charge 3 for $120 (save $30) starting online Thanksgiving day.
The Apple Watch series 3 smartwatch, which can track ski and snowboard metrics—perfect for the coming snow season—was made available for $199 (save $80) at Target and Macy’s starting Thanksgiving Day at 5:00 p.m ET, both in-store and online.