The New York Yankees take batting practice prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park on Feb. 24, 2019. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Friday, Mar. 8, 2019 – A roundup of some of the key sports technology stories you need to know, including SportTechie’s own content and stories from around the web.
- Amazon Looks to Buy Yankees’ Regional Sports Network: An Amazon-led investor group is close to buying an 80 percent stake in the YES Network for about $3.5 billion, according to the NY Post. Sinclair Broadcast Group is also part of the deal for the regional sports network. This would give Amazon ownership of video streaming rights for the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets. Disney, which currently owns YES along with 21 other regional sports networks, must sell the Fox-owned RSNs in order to have its mega-acquisition of 21st Century Fox meet antitrust compliance from the U.S. Department of Justice.
- SportsEngine Will Integrate Snap! Raise Fundraising Platform: NBC Sports-owned SportsEngine, an online platform that specializes in providing management tools for youth sports organizations, has partnered with Snap! Raise, an online social donation platform. The partnership will integrate the fundraising solution into the SportsEngine app for more than 11,000 club and youth sports teams. Snap! Raise will provide teams with their help to set up fundraisers, allowing users to track progress and encourage participation.
- Vodafone Plans 5G Network at Manchester United’s Old Trafford: Soccer superpower Manchester United is in talks with British telecommunications firm Vodafone to launch 5G at its historic Old Trafford stadium sometime later this year, according to the Daily Mail. The high-speed network could be used to augment TV interviews with players on the field with holograms of hosts who are in a studio, and also to improve the speed of video assistant referees. The news comes shortly after FC Barcelona announced Camp Nou will become the first soccer stadium in Europe to have dedicated 5G coverage.
- Brave Bison Will Manage PGA Tour’s Video Content on Facebook: Social video company Brave Bison has expanded its partnership with the PGA Tour. The Tour’s YouTube channels have tripled subscriber totals since 2017, when Brave Bison first took control of the channels. The company will now additionally manage the Tour’s Facebook page and work with the Tour’s content squad to drive advertising revenue, increase organic views, and generate subscriber growth across both Facebook and YouTube.
- Video Advertising Bureau Breaks Down Esports Audience: A new report from the Video Advertising Bureau found that 65 percent of esports fans are millennials with an average age of 26. Additionally, 43 percent of fans have an annual household income of over $75,000, with 31 percent having over $90,000. Esports fans are also highly receptive toward advertising, with 63 percent trying products shown during esports games per the study. Meanwhile, the VAB expects esports’ global revenue to reach $1.8 billion in 2022, the same number that research firm Newzoo projected the industry would reach.
