The official World Cup match ball is seen prior to Germany’s match against China on June 7, 2019. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Friday, June 7, 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
- Women’s World Cup Broadcast and Streaming Options: The Women’s World Cup kicks off in France today with linear broadcasts in English on Fox, FS1, and FS2, and in Spanish on Telemundo and Universo. Fans can stream via the Fox Sports Go app or other services such as Hulu, which announced a yearlong partnership with the U.S. national team. The campaign includes a 30-second spot starring a dozen current players and past legends like Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. The theme of the ad is explicitly stated: “Hulu Has Live Sports.” The first U.S. group game is not until Tuesday, June 11, against Thailand.
- Dim Outlook for Online Sports Wagers in the Empire State: Mobile sports betting in New York has hit a roadblock, with a source telling the Daily News “It’s just not going to happen. I just don’t see a path forward with the amount of time left.” The state legislature ends its session later this month. State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. and Assembly member J. Gary Pretlow have advocated for mobile betting in New York being legalized under existing law, so long as the servers are located in casinos authorized to accept retail sports bets. The legislators have filed an amended bill and released a joint statement touting mobile betting’s capacity to increase tax revenue and create jobs. “Together with Assemblymember Pretlow,” Addabbo said, “I intend to work with all interested parties in bringing legal sports betting to New York. We can’t just sit back and watch New York’s illegal sports betting business flourish while money flows out of our state and into New Jersey.”
- Sports Tech Tokyo Lands Another Premium Partner: SoftBank Corp. has joined the Sports Tech Tokyo accelerator as a gold partner. Sports Tech Tokyo is a joint initiative between Silicon Valley’s Scrum Ventures and Japanese creative firm Dentsu aimed at helping grow sports technologies in advance of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The accelerator’s platinum sponsor is the Itochu Corporation, and Japanese multinational SoftBank now joins Sony, Microsoft Japan, and CBC Co. as fellow gold partners.
