Microsoft on Friday launched Xbox One, which will provide NFL fans "with pretty much everything but snacks as they watch the action," while NFL coaching staffs soon "will be able to use the Surface tablet for game-planning," according to Barry Wilner of the AP. Xbox Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer Yusuf Mehdi said, "For consumers, you can now snap the NFL experience on your TV screen next to live games so you can track your fantasy players stats while you watch the game. On the sideline, we aim to bring the power of Microsoft technology to coaches and players to help them view plays and improve the game." The idea for the NFL on Xbox One is "to take the information viewers consume on second and third screens, from checking on their fantasy teams to devouring stats and chatting with friends, and put it all on the main screen in their home." Along with live game telecasts, fans will have access to "NFL RedZone and NFL Network; Snap, through which fantasy teams can be tracked while still watching the game on the screen; and Skype for, well, trash-talking with folks at the other end." Roughly 20 million Americans "play fantasy football." The NFL on Xbox One "requires advanced TV hardware, broadband internet and special accounts" (AP, 11/22).
