The sports world has always been at the leading edge of technological progress. Athletes dominate the list of most-followed celebrities across social platforms. Teams and players have used everything from video games to fitness trackers to AI in order to get an edge over their competition. Nothing has shaped the future of TV more than the bidding wars over live events like the Super Bowl or the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. You’ve seen Microsoft’s Surface tablets thrown all over NFL sidelines, VR cameras promising a courtside view of the NBA Finals, and shoes that make marathon runners even faster somehow. From VAR and robotic umpires to hyperrealistic Formula One simulators and league-affiliated esports, the future of sports is as much a story about technology as it is about wins and losses. It’s taking place across sports, across the globe, and at record-breaking speed.
According to Netflix and Nielsen, peak viewers for the streamer’s Christmas Day NFL games reached over 27 million during Beyoncé’s halftime show. Now, it’s available to stream directly without the football game.
The Chiefs just beat the Steelers, and we’re not hearing about any Paul vs Tyson-level issues other than scattered reports of weird buffering blips and TV going-to-sleep bugs.
But the real test for Netflix’s live broadcast ambitions will come when Beyoncé performs during halftime of the Ravens-Texans game (Update: if you missed it, the stream is staying up for three hours after the broadcast ends, and Netflix says it will be available as a standalone soon.)
One way or another, Netflix’s help page is setting expectations early with a warning message.
As the NFL’s Netflix broadcasts threaten to dominate Christmas and people fret over ratings drops, today’s slate of NBA games includes a “Dunk the Halls” simulcast — similar to other overlay broadcasts we’ve seen recently — available on Disney Plus.
Instead of Jalen Brunson and the Knicks vs. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, it’s their cartoon avatars, with occasional drop-ins from recognizable characters. Are any of you watching this instead of Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson?
Netflix is good at streaming. It quickly learned that streaming live is a whole different ballgame.
Here’s why the Jets didn’t trade for star receiver Jerry Jeudy, according to a devastating profile of the team in The Athletic:
Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in “Madden NFL,” the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources.
Just a reminder that Aaron Rodgers chose to be traded to this team after, you know, doing his own research.
Shaquille O’Neal ordered a custom coupe version of the electric sedan, equipped with floating Superman-logo center caps on the wheels and a front rebadge that replaces “Lucid” with “Diesel.”
He’s gifted his extra long legs with a custom-stretched Lamborghini before.
Along with bringing a key plays section to the Play-By-Play tab, the latest Apple Sports update adds pregame lineups for soccer and baseball games as well.
You can also schedule Live Activities for more games and view league standings that show “which teams have qualified for the postseason and which have been eliminated.”
It’s not a feature you typically associate with ski and snowboard gear, but POC’s new $550 Obex Connect helmet creates its own mesh network so you can talk with others on the hill even if you don’t have a cellphone signal. It’s also got Bluetooth for connecting to smartphones, audio courtesy of Harman Kardon, and an NFC chip with your medical info.
TNT Sports is going to show some NBA 2K25 overlays over real-life 2024 Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals and semifinals matches. Weird, but interesting.
NBC Sports will similarly overlay elements of Madden NFL over the Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs NFL game that airs on Peacock on December 21st.
Update: Added details of NFL game with Madden elements.
Despite the glitches in its Tyson-Paul livestream that pulled in more than 60 million viewers, Netflix is pushing forward to another major live event with two exclusive NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day.
And now the streamer has announced that Beyoncé will perform at halftime of the second game, as the Houston Texans host the Baltimore Ravens starting at 4:30PM ET on December 25th.
The company is dropping its legal battle in favor of an 11-year settlement for domestic and global rights to “a significant amount of NBA content,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
WBD’s TNT will still lose NBA games to Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal next year, but got one consolation:
In addition, these people said, ESPN will sublicense Big 12 conference college football and basketball games to Warner Bros. Discovery that it can air on TNT, as well as on its Max streaming service.
Everything about this trailer is geared toward me specifically: the iconic “It’s in the game!” catchphrase, the debates over player ratings, the fact that Madden really has been the same damn game for like 10 years. This doc drops right around Thanksgiving, and even promises to share what’s coming next year. Which I will buy. And be bad at. Just like every year.
Juston Gordon-Montgomery sees his new shonen-inspired Adult Swim series as a gateway to the world of wrestling.
Last month, I published a story about tennis embracing the electronic line calling system — and all of the data, sports betting, and financial implications that come with it. Wimbledon, the most prestigious of the Grand Slams, just announced it will get rid of human line judges at next year’s tournament. At this point, the ELC takeover is inevitable.
There’s white smoke from ESPN’s HQ in Bristol, CT, today, as Shams Charania broke the news of his own free agent signing, saying:
I am honored to join ESPN as the company’s Senior NBA Insider.
He will take over the spot from his one-time mentor and longtime rival, Wojnarowski, who announced his retirement last month.
You’ll be able to watch up to four Fubo channels simultaneously. “Additional” Roku devices are set to get the feature in the “coming weeks,” Fubo says.
Fubo’s multiview is also available on Apple TV.
Who is at fault? The judges, the technology, or the way we measure time itself?
Nike is moving on from CEO John Donahoe less than a week after Bloomberg published its unflatteringly-titled profile of his four-year tenure.
Under Donahoe, Nike de-emphasized retail stores to chase direct sales, flooded the market with retros like the Panda Dunks, and put the RTFKT NFT shoe brand on the same level as the Swoosh and Jordan Jumpman.
Today’s announcement doesn’t include the RTFKT logo.
