CES formally opens today in Las Vegas, with both Turner Sports and The Sports Innovation Lab partnering with the Consumer Technology Association to produce a series of sports-related content at the event. The Sports Technology Innovation Summit, developed by the Angela Ruggiero-led Sports Innovation Lab, is scheduled for today and Friday and will include more product and tech-focused sessions, with scheduled speakers including Intel Sports Head of Product David Aufhauser, KAGR CEO Jessica Gelman, Fenway Sports Management Managing Dir Mark Lev and AEG Facilities COO Chuck Steedman. The Turner Sports-presented CES Sports Zone, slated for tomorrow and Thursday, will be more business-oriented. Speakers include Twitter COO Anthony Noto, NFL Senior VP & CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, SpringHill Entertainment CEO Maverick Carter and Ticketmaster North America President Jared Smith.
Last fall’s mass shooting at Mandalay Bay and recent death threats against FCC Chair Ajit Pai have helped prompt an uptick in security around the tech showcase. CES this year will encompass more than 2.7 million square feet of exhibit space, once again the largest in the event’s 51-year history.
Meanwhile, Intel during last night’s pre-CES keynote address announced it will make its biggest push yet into VR sports content during next month’s Pyeongchang Games, covering 30 events in the enhanced video format. This marks the tech company's first major demonstration of capabilities under a seven-year global Olympic sponsorship announced last June. Intel will deploy its True VR at the Games, and promises to have more than 50 hours of live VR content and on-demand replays. Intel is providing the enhanced footage to Olympic Broadcast Services, which in turn will make it available to rightsholders such as NBC, the CBC and Discovery.
