The sports world has always been at the leading edge of technological progress. Athletes dominate the list of most-followed celebrities across social platforms. Teams and players have used everything from video games to fitness trackers to AI in order to get an edge over their competition. Nothing has shaped the future of TV more than the bidding wars over live events like the Super Bowl or the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. You’ve seen Microsoft’s Surface tablets thrown all over NFL sidelines, VR cameras promising a courtside view of the NBA Finals, and shoes that make marathon runners even faster somehow. From VAR and robotic umpires to hyperrealistic Formula One simulators and league-affiliated esports, the future of sports is as much a story about technology as it is about wins and losses. It’s taking place across sports, across the globe, and at record-breaking speed.
Originally scheduled to go on sale in spring 2024, the SS version of Chevy’s Blazer EV is finally close to shipping amid rumors the gas-powered Blazer is going away. Orders are now open for the vehicle that promises 615hp in Wide Open Watts mode and a 3.4 second 0 - 60 time.
Chevy will put it in front of the stock car field and the public on February 16th and debut a “Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype.”
Though Fubo has always been a more streaming-focused service, the company announced today that it has plans to distribute its Fubo Sports linear network “on over-the-air (OTA) stations in more than 100 markets nationwide including major markets New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.”
If you’re watching the Super Bowl, Streaming Media Blog shares details about Tubi’s stream like its max bitrate (14.4Mbps) and that it’s English-only.
You’ll also need to be logged in, either using a Tubi account or (if on a Fire TV) an Amazon account. The stream won’t work if you’re using the app as a guest, according to the blog.
Tubi is streaming the Super Bowl this weekend, which is pretty much the best imaginable way to get people to try your streaming service. It also has a new original show, The Z-Suite, that is apparently pretty good? This is a fun rundown from our friends at Vulture on what Tubi is, how it’s planning to win big this weekend, and whether it’s going to be able to keep up with the traffic.
[vulture.com]
A report from Wired looks at attempts to plug AI technology into the General Services Administration (along with other departments). According to one source, DOGE’s push is for using AI tools “to analyze huge swaths of contract and procurement data” with a custom GSAi chatbot.
It also notes other shifting AI approaches, with coding assistant Cursor reportedly approved then retracted, and a new push to use Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot.
CNN reports on a former SpaceX intern being set up in the Energy Department’s systems by Chris Wright:
Members of the general counsel and chief information offices “said this is a bad idea” because [Luke] Farritor hadn’t had a standard background investigation needed to access the department’s system, one of the people told CNN. “He’s not cleared to be in DOE, on our systems. None of those things have been done.”
Sega’s quarterly earnings revealed that after two delays, this year’s Football Manager isn’t coming: “Whilst many areas of the game have hit our targets, the overarching player experience and interface is not where we need it to be.”
This reminds me of EA missing NBA Live releases in the 2010s, but it’s still disappointing that last year’s game isn’t getting updated to fill in the gap as Sega and Sports Interactive shift focus to FM26.
MySports, which offers access to live games from the NFL, NBA, and MLB, has expanded access to 122 more cities, including Denver, Cleveland, West Palm Beach, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and others. It was previously only available in 24 metro areas at launch.
After taking a break from the promotion last year, T-Mobile is once again giving away free MLS Season Pass access to “qualified T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers,” Apple has announced.
You can redeem it “for a limited time” using the T-Mobile Life app starting on February 18th.
According to The Information, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was annoyed by the costs of shows like LotR: The Rings of Power and Citadel and has pushed for the video service to be profitable by the end of this year. As Netflix raises prices, Prime is promoting shows from competing services and focusing more on live sports than originals.
Amazon’s betting that sports can more reliably draw audiences to the Prime Video service than new movies and shows, significantly boosting its ad revenue, according to multiple people familiar with its strategy.
[The Information]
These 10 designs are the finalists in Manchester City’s contest that tasked fans with creating future kits using AI. Not sure why mine wasn’t chosen.
Dozens of subreddits announced they’re banning links to posts on X, following Elon Musk’s appearance at a Donald Trump event where he made a gesture that looks a lot like a Nazi salute.
r/NBA is taking the X ban a step further and will also ban links to Meta platforms, moderators announced today.
The bronze medals produced for the Paris Games seem particularly susceptible to deterioration. “In just over 100 days since the Olympics closed, more than 100 athletes have asked for their crumbling medals to be replaced,” reports the NYT. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has not yet commented, but the IOC says it will find replacements.
Though WWE Monday Night Raw’s premiere on Netflix was marked by a heartening round of boos when Hulk Hogan popped up, the show reportedly racked up 4.9 millions views between Monday and Tuesday.
That figure isn’t huge by Netflix’s standards, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s more than twice the viewership that Raw drew in last year on USA Network.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
That’s the kind grown specifically for football turf, and now it’ll be used for indoor golf too. According to Jacob Feldman at Sportico, the vibes of TGL — a new rival golf league to the PGA — feels a lot like professional wrestling. TGL hopes they can create a compelling new TV product with video game-like camera angles, loud sound effects, golfer entrance music, and of course, new grass.
You wanna go down a rabbit hole? The corporate structure alone is bizarre:
Why would a Cayman Islands–registered metaverse company use a proxy to establish first an Ohio subsidiary and then a boutique record label, and then have the record label strike up a concert deal with a different subsidiary, located on an entirely different continent?
The farther you go, the more questions you have.
According to Netflix and Nielsen, peak viewers for the streamer’s Christmas Day NFL games reached over 27 million during Beyoncé’s halftime show. Now, it’s available to stream directly without the football game.
The Chiefs just beat the Steelers, and we’re not hearing about any Paul vs Tyson-level issues other than scattered reports of weird buffering blips and TV going-to-sleep bugs.
But the real test for Netflix’s live broadcast ambitions will come when Beyoncé performs during halftime of the Ravens-Texans game (Update: if you missed it, the stream is staying up for three hours after the broadcast ends, and Netflix says it will be available as a standalone soon.)
One way or another, Netflix’s help page is setting expectations early with a warning message.
As the NFL’s Netflix broadcasts threaten to dominate Christmas and people fret over ratings drops, today’s slate of NBA games includes a “Dunk the Halls” simulcast — similar to other overlay broadcasts we’ve seen recently — available on Disney Plus.
Instead of Jalen Brunson and the Knicks vs. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, it’s their cartoon avatars, with occasional drop-ins from recognizable characters. Are any of you watching this instead of Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson?
Netflix is good at streaming. It quickly learned that streaming live is a whole different ballgame.
Here’s why the Jets didn’t trade for star receiver Jerry Jeudy, according to a devastating profile of the team in The Athletic:
Douglas told the Broncos that Johnson didn’t want to make the trade because the owner felt Jeudy’s player rating in “Madden NFL,” the popular video game, wasn’t high enough, according to multiple league sources.
Just a reminder that Aaron Rodgers chose to be traded to this team after, you know, doing his own research.
Shaquille O’Neal ordered a custom coupe version of the electric sedan, equipped with floating Superman-logo center caps on the wheels and a front rebadge that replaces “Lucid” with “Diesel.”
He’s gifted his extra long legs with a custom-stretched Lamborghini before.
