Welcome to Gridiron Tech, a weekly column highlighting the latest technology trends and how they’re impacting the football industry. In this edition, we take a look at how Sports Illustrated and ESPN are turning their attention to online video programming, plus a look at the newest NFL tourist attraction that is lighting up Times Square. 

SI dives into Amazon: Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated slashed its editorial staff in an attempt to shift its sports coverage from articles to predominantly video. Now, it’s launching an independent online video channel. Starting Nov. 16, Time, Inc., is launching Sports Illustrated TV (SITV) as its first-ever OTT channel available on Amazon. For $4.99 per month, viewers will be able to access 130 hours of movies, documentaries and original content programming. Original SITV shows will include, The Vault, SI: Under the Cover, and original weekly studio shows The Crossover, Planet Futbol and The Line. Oscar-nominated and award-winning sports filmmaker Mike Tollin, co-chair of Mandalay Sports Media, and 10-time Emmy winner Jonathan Hock have also been hired to produce two different sports documentary projects slated for 2018. The channel is available at Amazon.com/amazonchannels.

SportsCenter goes Snapchat: The jockeying for online digital platforms continues as ESPN has announced that its flagship show, SportsCenter, will now be available on Snapchat via their mobile app. The show will vary from its TV counterpart as hosts will dress more casually and program content will target the under 25-demographic. The move comes at a time where ESPN is trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding from losing online cable subscribers, while Snap Inc., struggles to meet Wall Street growth expectations since its initial public offering in March. “A year ago we launched Snapchat shows, and currently have 30 to date,” said Sean Mills, Snapchat’s Head of Original Content. “We really wanted to reimagine SportsCenter for a new generation, while still keeping the DNA that makes the show what it is. In today’s world, especially with the younger generations, the ‘mobile screen is the first screen,’ and we’re making a significant investment in producing content for this medium.” Daily episodes will vary in length between 3-5 minutes and are scheduled to air at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET during the week and 5 a.m. ET on the weekends. 

Times Square welcomes NFL Experience: If you live in New York or are visiting for the holidays, be sure to check out the much-anticipated NFL Experience, which opens its doors this week in a partnership with Cirque du Soleil, which produces and operates the attraction. The project took 12 weeks of careful planning before construction could even begin, and now is composed of a 38,000-square-foot attraction housed in a 39-story, mixed-use high-rise. It includes a 188-seat, 4-D movie theater with motion-capable seats and weather effects that simulate NFL experiences from the athlete’s standpoint. The space also hosts interactive exhibits and simulated training drills, including running back and tackle challenges and a touchdown dance photo op that can be televised on a 2,120-square-foot digital display in Times Square. While the attraction is designed to draw fans to its interactive displays and technology features, its main purpose is to capitalize on the 26 million visitors who pass through the tourist section of the Big Apple each year. NFL memorabilia and merchandise will be on sale, in addition to food and beverage stands.

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This week in Gridiron Tech news, we take a look at how mainstream media outlets such as CBS and ESPN are preparing for the online streaming apocalypse, plus a breakdown of why Twitter has decided to take a plunge into the world of 280 character limits.

CBS goes livestream 24/7: In a move that is sure to be emulated by its competitors, CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves announced the launch of CBS Sports HQ. The new 24/7 livestream sports channel is expected to launch in the coming months and helps offset the alarming rate of cord-cutters while positioning CBS to compete for digital rights against rivals such as Amazon and Facebook. The licensing rights for obtaining exclusive sports content are soaring, which is why CBS Sports is preparing for what some are calling “the roaring twenties” of exclusive livestream sports packages. “What we see is an appetite of demand for consumers that want news and highlights of sports where we see a void in the marketplace,” CBS Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ianniello. “They want it on their terms, on their time. So we’re going to give that to them. We think the demographic is very attractive for advertising.”

Networks strike new cord: Not sold yet on the Over The Top (OTT) sports movement? According to a new survey by the Consumer Technology Association, more households are cutting the cord in 2017 than ever before. Over 1.5M households have cancelled their cable subscriptions through the first three quarters of the year. That’s a significant number which is only expected to increase further next year. The report also states that nearly 70% of Americans now subscribe to some sort of streaming service. The new evidence is forcing companies such as the aforementioned CBS to change the way they do business and shift their focus toward online streaming. Want more proof? ESPN also just announced preliminary plans to launch a stand-alone sports streaming service in 2018. It will not stream the same live content it shows on cable TV. Instead, it opens the door of opportunity for sports leagues to license some of their out-of-market games, which MLB has already agreed to do. It seems like every major media outlet is now angling to be a major player in obtaining exclusive rights to more livestream sports packages.

Twitter doubles down: Get used to longer Tweets. The much-anticipated move by Twitter to double the maximum user character count from 140 to 280 has officially taken full effect. According to a company blogpost, nine percent of tweets were reaching the maximum of 140 characters. During testing of the new 280-character limit, just one percent of tweets hit the max. The move is designed to make it easier for people to fit thoughts into a tweet so they can say what they want and send Tweets faster than before, which is great for reporters.

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Welcome to the Gridiron Tech blog here at Succeed In Football, where we keep tabs on how the latest technology is impacting the football world. 

Pack pays back with tech: In a partnership with Microsoft, the Green Bay Packers have invested $5 million dollars towards building a new “Titletown Tech” facility near Lambeau Field. The project is geared towards boosting the growth of startup tech companies in the community and helping revitalize the local economy. Green Bay CEO Mark Murphy acknowledged that the new facility would have a great economic impact in the region. “Titletown has gained a tremendously impactful partner in Microsoft,” Murphy said in a released statement. “Economic development is the key to our region’s future, and Microsoft, with its array of tools and expertise, will help grow new businesses as well as assist our existing companies to use technology to realize greater success.” The decision to move closer towards the technology era for the Packers, who are the only publicly owned NFL franchise, has been welcomed by the fans of Green Bay. With the emergence of eSports and technology in the NFL, it wouldn’t be surprising if more teams followed suit in years to come.

IOC considers eSports: Speaking of eSports, the rapid movement involving the sport of video games is gaining major momentum, not just in the football community but in the global sports world. Representatives recently met to discuss the role of eSports in future Olympic events and how implementing the “sport” could help generate increased interest amongst millennials. We have seen NFL owners such as Robert Kraft (Patriots), Stan Kroenke (Rams) and Jerry Jones (Cowboys) invest up to $20 million each for an eSports franchise. This past April, the University of Utah became the first Power Five school to offer a varsity eSports program. For those of you who thought playing Madden Football on the latest console was all fun and games, it may be time to change how we perceive eSports.

Big Ten embraces live streaming: The emergence of online streaming content deals has been well documented in this column, as we have examined the impact of the AmazonPrime TNF package. We have also seen the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA strike deals on the collegiate level. Add the Big Ten to the growing list of NCAA conferences looking to capitalize on livestream licensing rights. The announced partnership with FloSports is a four-year deal that will grant FloSports the exclusive right to livestream over 1,000 events (that otherwise wouldn’t be televised) on their subscription-based online service. While many of the B1G football games are televised, the conference intends to make other sporting events more accessible on FloSports, with channels such as FloWrestling, FloTrack, FloVolleyball and FloHoops. While livestream deals initially took some time to catch on, you can be sure that every sport, conference and event will have some sort of online content licensing agreement in place by this time next year. Failure to do so would mean ignoring an entire new revenue stream that is currently exploding.

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