last100 » ESPN

Hmm. ESPN developing “interactive television programming” around baseball content

Daniel Langendorf — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:04:03 +0000

ESPN and Major League Baseball Advanced Media announced today that they have extended their new-media rights deal, allowing ESPN to stream live games on the Internet and add baseball content onto a number of platforms and devices.

But that news didn’t catch my eye. Buried deep was a little tidbit about ESPN also developing interactive television programming around baseball content.

Ding! Ding! Ding! What the heck does that mean?

Will ESPN and unnamed partners develop some sort of interactive widget or mini-screen that runs alongside baseball broadcasts on ESPN? Will this interactive television programming thingy offer up baseball stats and news from the ESPN Web site in real time?

Could ESPN be another player in what seemingly is the latest round of companies attempting to put dynamic Web content on our living room TVs?

Just yesterday Yahoo and Intel announced they were working together to bring Web content to the TV set through the use of widgets. We noted then that companies large and small have attempted to bring Web content to TV for years and that most of the efforts have failed for a variety of reasons.

There are no guarantees that the Yahoo/Intel “Channel Widget” platform will amount to much. And there’s no more word on what it means for ESPN to develop interactive television programming around baseball content.

But this activity is intriguing. Maybe there are a few companies rethinking the Internet-to-TV interactive relationship, and they might have some innovative solutions up their sleeves.

The time seems ripe, and who better to lead the charge than sports programming? The ESPN/MLBAM deal allows ESPN to stream on ESPN360 its Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday-night telecasts. ESPN can syndicate some MLB content to its partners, delivering baseball on alternative platforms such as iTunes and Xbox Live Marketplace. And maybe, just maybe, ESPN Web content is going to mingle with the sports network on your TV.

Ooh. This is getting interesting.

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ESPN to launch Action Sports Network online in fall

Daniel Langendorf — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:15:38 +0000

Fans of action sports such as surfing, skateboarding, motocross, and snowboarding, your time has come. ESPN will unveil a new digital strategy today that’s aimed at you, not the middle-age male sports fan.

ESPN will launch in the fall the ESPN Action Sports Network, which will encompass a bunch of Internet sites dedicated to a specific “action sport.” The action sports network will offer coverage of events that are not carried on mainstream television, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“We felt like we were under-delivering on a year-round basis,” Dave Finger, director of action sports for ESPN Digital Media, told the LAT. “We felt like we were missing out on covering action sports with the same voice and authority that we bring to stick and ball.”

ESPN was the first mainstream media outlet to embrace “anti-establishment” athletes and their fans with the creation of the Extreme Games in 1995, which later became the X Games. The X Games, however, are held only twice-yearly, while the non-team, non-traditional sports included in the X Games are often “played” year-round.

ESPN’s extreme sports Web site, EXPN.com, will now become a part of the ESPN Action Sports Network.

It’s a great move by ESPN. Television will continue to be dominated by the big four sports — football, baseball, basketball, and hockey — and time slots are limited for other sports like skateboarding, snowboarding, and motocross.

Online, however, ESPN can cater to every sport with exclusive video and in-depth content with no time or space limitations. ESPN will expand original digital programming like “Guerilla Cam”, which takes fans behind the scenes at events, and the also will invite fans to upload and share their own videos in an attempt to build community around each sport.

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From an RC beer cooler to an ESPN remote, digital lifestyle gifts for Dad on Father’s Day

Daniel Langendorf — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:06:15 +0000

There are only a couple of more shopping days left until Father’s Day, that once-a-year event when wives and kids all across the U.S. buy Dad ties, aftershave, and other things he — let’s be honest here — will never use.

So to make shopping easier this year, we’ve assembled a few digital lifestyle ideas for your husband or Dad. Most of these are more expensive than Aqua Velva aftershave but, since we’re being honest here, these are what Dad might buy for himself, including a remote control beer cooler.

The obvious

The most sought-after Father’s Day gift on the planet will be the new 3G iPhone from Apple, which isn’t available until July 11. Until then, a hand-written IOU redeemable for the iPhone will do. Thankfully, the price is coming way down: $199 for the 8 GB model, $299 for the 16 GB phone. And since it now supports the enterprise with Microsoft Exchange syncing and other business-place features, the grumpy IT guys at Dad’s office will be happy.

Alternatives: none. Sure, we could argue for a Sony Ericsson, BlackBerry, or HTC smart phone, but why bother? Until Google’s Android phones are available — long after this Father’s Day is over — the iPhone will head Dad’s wish list.

Media Man

Dad already has a big screen, HD television and, probably, a DVR like TiVo. Don’t despair. This Father’s Day, give him the Netflix set-top box by Roku ($99). It’s butt ugly — just a square black box — but it delivers more than 100,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix to his TV instantly, without having to wait for the postman.

Acceptable alternatives: the AppleTV ($229) for iTunes purchases, Vudu ($299) for movies on demand, and the Slingbox Pro ($229), which allows you to watch and control up to four video sources from anywhere in the world on a laptop or cell phone.

If Dad is a sports nut — and who isn’t? — then the ESPN “The Ultimate Remote” Universal Remote ($299) is the perfect gift. It’s billed as the first-ever digital media remote with Wi-Fi, meaning it’s a traditional advanced home theater remote but with access to the Internet. And what will Dad do on the Web? Go to ESPN.com, of course.

Lastly, dear ol’ Dad can’t be left watching movies on the Netflix-Roku set-top box or channel surfing with his ESPN remote without the greatest invention known to beer-drinking man: the RC Cooler. Yep, a remote control cooler that brings ice-cold beer to Dad and his lazy buddies. The RC Cooler is available from Solutions for $69.95 and Firebox for $78.30. No word, though, on whether the Cooler is smart enough to go on a beer run.

For the fun of it

The Sony Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable (PSP) and the Microsoft Xbox 360 are so last year’s models. At the top of any Dad’s Day list should be the Nintendo Wii ($249, if you can find one) and the new Wii Fit ($89.99), a quasi fitness game that, if used a little bit each day, is supposed to deliver a healthier, fitter Dad through a variety of fitness activities.

If Dad happens to be a more sedentary gentleman, then the new Grand Theft Auto IV ($59.99) video game will keep him on the couch for hours, maybe days as Niko Bellic wreaks havoc in Liberty City. This should be enough, but if Dad needs more there’s always Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Finally, if Dad isn’t a big video gamer he might still enjoy an activity like billiards. What’s cooler than Dad walking into the local pool hall with a new laser-guided pool cue ($79.95)? When activated, a harmless visible laser provides a precise guide for lining up the 8-ball in the corner pocket.

Shutterbug

If Dad’s hobby is photography, then Canon’s new entry-level EOS Rebel XS (1000D), 10-megapixel digital camera will be greatly appreciated. It will replace the baby of the Digital Rebel line, the XTi, and is a relatively inexpensive, quality digital camera for consumers ($599 body, $699 with kit lens).

To go along with a new dSLR, Dad might like to have the clever Eye-Fi wireless memory card ($99), which uploads photos automatically from the SD card inside the camera to a home network or to photo sharing sites such as flickr, Picasa, photobucket, and Shutterfly and to social networks like Facebook.

Man on the go

If Dad endures a nasty commute to work, then consider buying him the $399 Dash Express, a two-way Internet-connected portable GPS navigator. It delivers surprisingly accurate real-time traffic information that’s invaluable when you want to avoid that hour’s delay on the 405.

To go along with the Dash is the environmentally friendly Smart car, which became available in the U.S. earlier this year. The fortwo passion coupe, which gets 40 mpg in the city and 45 on the highway, will start at $13,500 and the fortwo passion cabriolet will start at $16,590. As these cars are this year’s Mini Coopers, you might want to buy Dad a $99 reservation to purchase the car and let him pick up the tab for the new wheels.

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In a departure from business as usual, ESPN syndicates video content on AOL

Daniel Langendorf — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:00:02 +0000

In a significant departure from business as usual, ESPN for the first time is syndicating its short-form video content through AOL Video.

ESPN currently syndicates video on mobile devices but has restricted video clips to its own Internet properties. ESPN says the strategy has been successful as fans viewed ESPN.com videos more than 1.2 billion times in 2007, a 54 percent increase over 2006. On average, fans viewed more than 105 million videos per month last year.

So why get involved with AOL?

Despite the fact that ESPN was the 13th largest distributor of video on the Web in February (according to Nielsen’s VideoCensus), ESPN will get more distribution and exposure for its video through AOL — and the ad revenue that goes along with it. AOL gets more content to differentiate it from other video aggregators.

Videos via an embedded ESPN video player will include highlights from games and major sporting events, breaking news, as well as clips from ESPN’s original programming, including “SportsCenter Right Now,” “Mike and Mike in the Morning,” and “Around the Horn.”

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