A team from Piran, Slovenia, talks during a time-out during the Sydney FIBA 3×3 World Challenger event on May 19, 2018. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Wednesday, June 19, 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
- FloSports Partners With FIBA to Stream International 3×3 Basketball: FloSports announced a multi-year partnership with FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, to stream 3×3 hoops in the run-up to the sport’s Olympics debut at Tokyo 2020. The media company’s basketball microsite, FloHoops, will carry the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, FIBA 3×3 World Tour, and the Tokyo 2020 3×3 Olympic qualifying tournaments. The World Cup, which features 20 men’s and 20 women’s teams, is now underway through June 23 in Amsterdam.
- ESPN Launches EXP Series to Host Esports Events: ESPN recently created EXP, the umbrella under which the sports media giant will host esports competitions in conjunction with network events. The series will run in partnership with Electronic Arts and the next tournament will feature EA’s Apex Legends, a battle royale game, at the ESPY’s on July 11. “We are proud ESPN continues to be at the forefront of the growth and popularity of esports, collaborating with some of the top publishers in the industry including EA for our first-ever esports event series,” said John Lasker, ESPN’s VP of digital programming, in as statement. “EXP, short for experience, has been central to gaming history, and giving fans a great experience is central to our strategy at ESPN.”
- Counter Logic Gaming Opens Streaming Studio at LA Performance Center: Esports group Counter Logic Gaming opened a dedicated streaming studio at its Los Angeles performance center. CLG is best known for its League of Legends squad, the oldest active professional team in that game, but has also expanded into Fortnite and other esports. The Newegg Streaming Studio will host CLG founder George “HotshotGG” Georgallidis, and fellow CLG players. CLG Super Smash player VoiD will host a small tournament in an upcoming session to showcase the new streaming space. Madison Square Garden owns a majority stake in CLG and struck a content creation partnership last year with OMEN by HP.
- Mexico’s TV Azteca and Allied Esports Plan 24-Hour Digital Channel: TV Azteca, the top sports network in Mexico, and esports entertainment company Allied Esports announced plans to create a 24-hour digital channel dedicated to esports and gaming. They also intend to build a competition arena and content studios. This major, new investment in the Mexican esports market is part of a larger deal in which Black Ridge Acquisition Corp will acquire Allied Esports and TV Azteca will become a shareholder. “Continuing to expand our footprint around the world with likeminded leaders and innovators is imperative to our success, and we are delighted to partner with TV Azteca as we enter Latin America with a smart, aggressive plan,” Frank Ng, co-CEO of Allied Esports’ parent company, Ourgame, said in a statement.
