(Courtesy of Whistle Sports)
The following interview is part of our ongoing Expert Series that asks C-level professionals, team presidents, league executives, athletic directors and other sports influencers about their latest thoughts and insights on new technologies impacting the sports industry.
Name: Jeff Urban
Company: Whistle Sports
Position: President/Co-Founder
A graduate of James Madison University, Jeff Urban is currently the President and one of the Co-Founders of Whistle Sports, a digital sports network and media company. Prior to co-founding Whistle Sports in 2009, Urban spent eight years at Gatorade as the senior vice president of sports and event marketing. Urban has also served as the director of sports marketing at USA Today, where he oversaw all league and property relationships.
1) What utilization of technology in professional or college sports has recently blown you away and why?
Recently, live streaming on Facebook has been a great content option and there has been some really cool live streams. ONE World Sports is broadcasting 10 Ivy League games this season on its linear channel as well as through Facebook Live. These new streaming platforms give viewers the chance to watch live as well as authentically engage with content.
2) If you had to invest in one technology that would change how young millennials consume content, what would it be and why?
Millennials are choosing to consume their content through the smaller screens of their phones. If I had to invest in one bit of technology, it would be to be able to watch video on your smartphone, with or without cell phone signal or Wi-Fi.
3) If money were no object, what technology would you build or buy to help you do your job better?
If money were truly no object, I’d buy Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Google and combine them into one massively, seamlessly integrated content creation, delivery and engagement platform that would also lead the world in R&D for new tech.
4) As a sports fan, what sports-related service, app, product, etc., could you not live without and why?
As a fan, my social media networks are integral to consuming sports. As a complement to live games, my friends, family, Whistle Sports and others in my network, will be creating and connecting on platforms around sports. To me, those interactions are some of most fun moments of being a fan these days.
5) If you had to project 20 years into the future, how will most fans watch their favorite sports teams?
We have seen fans look to complement their traditional TV broadcasts with mobile viewing and second-screen consumption. In 20 years, I believe that will only continue as more and more technology allows fans to engage with their favorite teams, brands and more.
However, fans will still be at games. You can fast forward 50 years and I’ll still be in the stands cheering for Chicago teams (assisted by the nanotechnology that helped reverse my aging process).
6) Give us your bold prediction about a form of technology that will be integral to digital content providers over the next 12 months and why?
Digital content providers have already been experimenting with it, but live streams and live video is going to be a big piece of content in the future. We have already seen tons of experimentation and engagement on videos. For us at Whistle Sports this summer we partnered with TBT (The Basketball Tournament) where we live streamed the early rounds of their amateur basketball tournament via Facebook live stream, which engaged millions of viewers.
