The Univ. of Oregon's September 9 game against Illinois,
called the "first broadcast of a collegiate sporting event on the
World Wide Web," was called a "huge success" by UO's James Warsaw
Sports Marketing Center, which conceived of and staged the
"cybercast." Backed by Gatorade, Bank of America, Sierra On-Line
and Apple, the cybercast, which included real-time audio and
video clips, was visited at the Internet home page by more than
6,000 individuals from more than 35 countries. Project
Coordinator Michael Ritchey: "For our sponsors, this meant
worldwide visibility and a chance to learn about how emerging
technologies can enhance their businesses." On October 21 and
November 18, the Warsaw Center will transmit two more Duck games
at http://www.goducks.com (Warsaw Center). The Oregon game, and
similar online broadcasts at Colorado State, are featured in
today's WALL STREET JOURNAL. Apple advertising exec Ken
Phillips: "Up to this point, the Internet users have been mainly
computer folks. But this has the promise of getting regular
folks on the Internet and being a sponsor of that is exciting."
The JOURNAL's Rebecca Quick notes the "tantalizing possibilities"
of football cybercasts and writes that they are "creating a stir
among other universities. Penn State is also investigating
setting up its own cybercast site. Bob Allen, a partner in CT-
based Modem Media, which specializes in interactive ads, says
some of the companies he represents (his clients include AT&T,
Coors, MasterCard, Delta and JCPenney) are interested in football
cybercasts. Josh Brauer, head of World Wide Express, which has
developed Colorado State's site, has registered "Ramline," as
well as 20 other mascot names, including Huskerline (WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 9/13).
OTHER ONLINE OFFERINGS: The Indians launched their Web site
yesterday with stats, photos, audio clips and merchandise.
Address: http://www.indians.com (Minneapolis STAR TRIB,
9/13)....The N.Y. TIMES profiles the online chat possibilities
for angry Jets fans (N.Y. TIMES, 9/13).... NEWSWEEK notes the
NFL's entry onto the Web (http://nflhome. com) but adds that the
league has a way to go to catch ESPNET SportsZone's football
coverage. ESPNET will soon offer "Drive Charts" -- "downloadable
graphics that show how each game developed" (NEWSWEEK, 9/18
issue).
NEED FOR SPEED? GM Hughes' DSS may soon offer an "ultrafast
connection" to the Internet. Most of the one million DSS units
sold have a data port which can handle speeds up to 800 times
faster than modems. DirecTV plans to make use of the data port
next year for "technophiles" who want interactive services such
as games, and through a card that can turn a PC into a receiver
for TV programming and "broad-band" Internet access (NEWSWEEK,
9/18).
