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Champions League matches are coming to Facebook
Facebook can add another feather to its live-sports streaming cap: UEFA Champions League soccer (football to the rest of the world) matches. Reuters reports that thanks to a partnership with Fox Sports, the 2017-18 season will be watchable on Zuckerberg's social network. Champions League went from being one of the most-watched competition on earth to the exact opposite thanks to several countries blocking access via paywalls. Jerks. Anyhow, if you can't access the League via YouTube in your area, this should fix that.
Fox Sports is airing the Champions League final in VR
Samsung just announced that it's adding UFC fights and other events to its new immersive programming lineup. It's the latest company to start broadcasting sports events in VR, but it's far from the first. Fox Sports has been uploading virtual reality coverage of big-name events for years, most recently livestreaming this year's Super Bowl. But the network is airing in VR a match that folks outside the US might consider just as massive: This Saturday's UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus.
Fox Sports will broadcast Super Bowl 51 in a 'VR suite'
Sure watching boxing, basketball and tennis in VR are cool, but what about the biggest TV event of the year? Come Sunday, Fox Sports will fix that gap in its lineup by teaming with LiveLike to beam the Super Bowl into your Gear VR or Cardboard headset via the network's app. Or, you can ditch the headsets and use the 360-degree video with your mobile device.
Fox and Intel will offer a player's perspective during the Super Bowl
Over the last year or so, Fox Sports has been keen on bringing the latest tech to its live broadcasts. When the network hosts Super Bowl LI in a few weeks, its plans to offer viewers a player's perspective without requiring the participants to wear cameras. Using Intel's 360 Replay technology that's already been employed in MLB and the NBA, Fox will "allow a moment to be recreated in 3D space" to show fans exactly what a player saw during a play. The network is calling it "Be the Player."
Refs will wear GoPros for Fox's Big Ten championship broadcast
During this weekend's Big Ten football championship game, Fox Sports will offer fans a different kind of on-field views during its coverage of the match-up. When Wisconsin and Penn State take the field Saturday, December 3rd, referees will be wearing hats equipped with GoPros to give fans another perspective of the action on the gridiron. The network says it worked alongside GoPro and Big Ten officials on a hat that would capture footage it could use immediately during its broadcast.
Fox Sports Go is streaming on Chromecast and Roku too
Just in case you need another way to watch college football, Fox Sports Go has launched apps on a few more platforms. There's now an app available for Roku, as well as the ability to stream on Chromecast (at least on Android and from the web, I didn't see an option to do it from iOS yet). Neither platform mentioned support for the 60fps or Multiview Display support that's in its just-released app for the new Apple TV, but if all you want to do is stream a game quickly, they should get the job done.
Fox Sports will stream the Big East hoops tournament in VR
Between the news that March Madness Live will be available on more devices than ever this year and TuneIn partnering with the NBA to host live game audio, it's been a pretty interesting week for hoops fans already. But Fox Sports isn't content to sit on the bench while others boost their draft prospects, announcing it'll be broadcasting the last seven games of this year's Big East Men's Basketball Tournament in virtual reality.
Daytona 500 will be broadcast in VR
Fancy seeing the Daytona 500 from the perspective of the pit crew? Now you can, thanks to a new five-year deal signed between Fox Sports and NextVR. The pair are planning to broadcast a series of major sporting events in VR, with the deal kicking off at this year's edition of the great American race. If you own a GearVR headset and a compatible phone, you'll be able to watch the race from the stands, starting line, middle of the infield and the aforementioned pit lane. In addition, the VR stream will have dedicated audio commentary and pop-up graphics telling you who's in pole position.
Fox Sports to stream boxing card in VR this weekend
Virtual reality isn't only taking root in gaming and movies, it's hitting the world of sports, too. This weekend, Fox Sports will broadcast its Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage in VR with the help of NextVR. The network says NextVR will install "multiple cameras" around the ring area to give "fight fans the best seat in the house." Of course, that seat is in your living room. In addition to the visuals, Fox will offer commentary and match stats on the VR stream. NextVR has teamed up with the broadcaster before, with coverage of a NASCAR race and golf's US Open last year.
Fox Sports is streaming a Bundesliga soccer game on YouTube
The Bundesliga, Germany's top-tier football league, is coming to YouTube. After recently securing US broadcast rights for this competition, Fox Sports has now announced it will stream a live match via Google's video service on August 14th. As the network points out, it's the first time one of its major sporting events heads to YouTube, which is going to let people in the US watch the initial game of the 2015-2016 Bundesliga season for free. Not surprisingly, the match between current league champions Bayern Munich and Hamburg is also going to be streamed across Fox's own services: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2 Go and FoxSports.com.
Facebook is sharing more ad dollars with its video creators
Facebook's shiny logo isn't all that's new for the social network today: The outfit's also announced how it plans to split video ad revenue with publishers. Like YouTube, Facebook will give content creators 55 percent of ad revenue and keep the rest, according to Fortune. Early publishing partners include Funny or Die, Fox Sports, Hearst and the NBA. And if you're curious about how ads will work with video, it doesn't seem like you'll have to worry about them auto-playing loud and proud while you're scrolling through your news feed on mobile. On the handheld platform, when you tap a clip you'll go to a different screen with "Suggested Videos" and once your selected video finishes, an ad will play before the next one's served up.
Fox US Open broadcast has live VR streams, drones and 4K cameras
We haven't connected cutting edge TV tech to golf much since 3D met the Masters, but Fox is promising a live streaming virtual reality setup this weekend during the US Open tournament. It's working with NextVR -- the same company that brought a Malibu beach sunrise streaming live in 180-degree VR to my house in Michigan -- so that viewers can pop into any of five camera rigs around the course and peek around like they were really there. According to Fox, this is believed to be the "first live multi-camera VR broadcast experience in history." This is still in the demo phase so the easiest way to watch is to actually be at the event in one of the properly equipped hospitality areas, or at a Fox Sports location in New York, Vancouver or LA. Even if you can't catch the live feed, NextVR will have the video ready for its portal that is coming to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets.
Fox Sports and NBC come out against Verizon's custom TV plans
Not long after ESPN voiced its objection to Verizon's customizable FiOS TV packages, Fox Sports and NBC are following suit. Earlier today, both networks revealed they are also not on board with Verizon's new TV plans, which let customers pick channels based on their viewing preferences, citing a violation of contract agreements by the New York-based service provider. In a statement to Bloomberg Business, Fox Sports stated, "We reject Verizon's view that it can pursue the new packaging scheme it announced yet still comply with our agreements," while NBC claims that the Custom TV package does not meet the current programming terms between the two companies.
Fox Sports Go will stream some football games live -- if you have cable
Got cable? If so, there's a good chance that you can stream some live football this season. For the first time, Fox Sports Go is offering live internet access to regular NFL games. So long as you're using an eligible TV provider, you'll have access to 97 standard match-ups along with four NFC playoff rounds that include the conference championship. That should be convenient if you're away from your TV when a big game rolls around, although you can't go too far. Fox warns that the league won't let it offer games on smartphones, so you'll still have to catch the action on a larger screen unless you're on Verizon. Still, that beats having to settle for the occasional score update. [Image credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
ESPN strikes deal with Fox to carry some Champions League games
Europe's biggest club football competition, the Champions League, will be hitting the US in strong fashion this year. Thanks to a recently announced agreement with Fox, which owns the rights to the tournament through the 2017-2018 season, ESPN is set to also broadcast matches here in the States. There are a couple of caveats, however -- the games acquired from this deal are only going to be available on ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language) and WatchESPN (ESPN3), so don't expect to catch any of these on the main ESPN or ESPN2 channels. That said, the cross-licensing deal between the two networks is still a great thing for US soccer fans, particularly after the 2014 World Cup, as they will have more ways to watch one of the best tournaments in sports. It's worth noting that while the Champions League Final won't be streamed on WatchESPN, it is going to be televised on ESPN Deportes, right alongside Fox.
Super Bowl sets new record for live streaming, barely
At first glance, Fox Sports' viewership numbers for its Super Bowl stream are impressive, but when compared to data from previous games, they lose a bit of their luster. This year, an average of 528,000 people tuned into the stream per minute compared to 2013's 508,000 viewer total. The increase is enough for the broadcaster to say the game is the "most-viewed live stream ever for a single sports event in the US," (phew!) but the extra eyes only bumped the number by about 4 percent. How long people streamed the game increased by 25 percent this year, averaging around 48 minutes total. What's more, Fox says that on Sunday, its Sports Go app was the number one most downloaded sports app for iPhones and iPads, and the number two iPad app overall. Peak viewing time was in the third quarter when 1.1 million simultaneous users tuned in -- you know, when the Seahawks' victory was all but guaranteed.
Super Bowl XLVIII will be streamed for free on Fox Sports website and app
The past Super Bowl live streams have been wildly successful, so it's no surprise that fans will again be able to watch each touchdown online for the third year in a row. Fox Sports, the channel in charge of this year's coverage, will start broadcasting Super Bowl XLVIII (including Bruno Mars' halftime songstravaganza) on its streaming website and iOS app at 6:30PM on February 2nd. In addition to the big event (and the interesting commercials that go with it), Fox Sports will also stream its NFC coverage starting January 5th. According to Variety, only cable TV subscribers of certain providers can access the games, but Fox has yet to confirm that info. If that's true, well, fans can always watch the AFC playoffs on CBS' online portals instead. [Image credit: Stephen Luke/Flickr]
Fox Sports becomes official Formula E broadcaster
What good is an EV racing league like Formula E if there's no way to watch it? Not much, which is why the FIA has reached a deal making Fox Sports the official Formula E broadcaster. The agreement gives Fox a US exclusive for TV coverage as well as a mixture of exclusive and non-exclusive rights (including online content) in over 80 regions. We won't know if Fox is truly ready for the job until the first Formula E race begins in September 2014, but it won't be hard to tune in.
Fox mobile apps add TV Everywhere streaming, 24-hour sports network due this fall
Fox has been quietly busy over the last few days, unveiling plans for a 24-hour sports network that may be the biggest challenger to ESPN's throne, and adding new features to its mobile apps. Fox Sports 1 is scheduled to launch Saturday August 17th, loaded with content including NASCAR, soccer (Champions League, Europa League and World Cup in 2018 and 2022), weekly UFC fights, college football, college basketball and in 2014, pro baseball. The bad news? According to the LA Times, for Fox Sports 1 to live Speed TV will die this fall, while Fuel TV is expected to be replaced by Fox Sports 2 while Fox Soccer is turned into an entertainment channel. One tweak it will bring is the "double box" commercial format that keeps the game on while ads play, which is expected to be used frequently on the new channel. It will have a suite of studio shows to compete with the sports leader as well, and even a Fox Sports Go "mobile experience" on iOS, Android and the web with live video streaming and news/stats for authenticated subscribers. Speaking of "authenticated" cable and satellite subscribers, the broadcaster also updated the free Fox Now second screen apps on iOS and Android, adding access to stream full episodes of its TV shows wherever you are -- as long as you have a membership with a participating provider. That list currently consists of Mediacom and Verizon FiOS, but it may grow in the future. The Fox Now apps still have other features, with synced content, Twitter streams and behind the scenes info, so New Girl and Bones fans may still have a reason to check them out.
Time Warner Cable brings ESPN, Fox and Turner sports live streaming to apps, website
The newly-available-on-Android live streaming feature of Time Warner Cable's TWC TV app (and TWCTV.com website) has just gotten a major content upgrade, adding many national and regional sports feeds. It looks like ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, MLB Network, NBA TV and NHL Network are available in most regions, along with the applicable Fox RSNs. The full lineup of areas and channels is in the press release after the break. Of course, if you'd like to keep telling your significant other sports channels haven't been added yet and they will need to watch their reality show on the tablet while you use the big HDTV, then we can all just pretend this never happened.
