college football
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EA dips back into college football with Campus Legends event in Madden NFL 22
Ten college teams feature in the mode, which runs until September 27th.
EA Sports is bringing back its college football game
Don't expect to play as real-life student-athletes, though.
ESPN's 4K National Championship broadcast airs on Comcast, DirecTV and Altice
Back in October ESPN started broadcasting college football in 4K, and now it's time for the National Championship Game. For tonight's matchup between LSU and Clemson the network will present a Samsung-sponsored feed from the Field Pass view -- with "free flowing commentary of the game" and SkyCam angle in Ultra HD. There's still no HDR in the broadcast yet, but viewers with appropriate setups from Comcast, DirecTV and Altice can tune in. Hopefully the broadcast won't suffer from any glitches, as Awful Announcing pointed out the the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day ran into numerous "technical difficulties" for DirecTV viewers.
Sports teams are using Signal to duck deflategate-like scandals
Facebook isn't the only company struggling over the prospect of end-to-end encryption in messaging apps, as a report from Yahoo Sports cites examples from "every level of sport" turning to encrypted messaging. While Whatsapp and iMessage provide encrypted communications, increasingly the app of choice is turning out to be Signal, which not only protects their message from MITM spying, but can also auto-delete them based on rules. If you're a college coach or athletic director and someone makes a FOIA request, that could reduce the amount of information they get about contacts with recruits and boosters. In the NFL, investigators pursuing the "deflategate" incident famously requested access to Tom Brady's texts, but the quarterback destroyed his phone prior to meeting them -- an act cited in the league's decision to hand down a four game suspension. He stated that breaking or wiping a cell phone when he got a new one was a standard practice, but execs and agents believe a simpler, stronger argument is that if you've set Signal's rules to delete all messages regularly, then investigators can't claim you were trying to hide a particular conversation. The report specifically calls out the NBA, where commissioner Adam Silver has been pushing to reduce "tampering," or contact between players, their representatives and teams about contracts or transactions outside of the approved periods. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported this week that the NBA sent a memo to teams requiring them to keep all contract-related communications for at least a year, while The Athletic explained that could include notes on training, endorsements, player fit with a team and more. The rule seems specifically aimed at cutting off any argument about using Signal as a simple standard practice, and it wouldn't be surprising to see other leagues do something similar, whether or not they'll be able to enforce it.
Watch ESPN's first native 4K game Saturday -- if you have DirecTV or Comcast
By now we've seen Ultra HD TV broadcasts of sports and other content, but for the first time ESPN is getting into the game. The network just confirmed that Saturday night's college football matchup between Florida and LSU at 8PM ET will be the first one it ever broadcasts live in native 4K resolution. The only problem now is that the only way to watch this broadcast is via DirecTV with the right equipment. ESPN's 4K productions in the future may be available via more distributors, but so far only the one satellite broadcaster has signed on. The broadcast is the first of six planned college football 4K events this year under the "Samsung QLED 4K Game of the Week" banner, which will include a 4K feed of the National Championship BCS game on January 13th, 2020. Unlike Fox's recent (upscaled from 1080p) NFL broadcasts, there won't be any use of HDR, but it is high resolution. Also unlike Fox, ESPN isn't using its apps -- or even Samsung's apps -- to stream the game in 4K, which seems like an unfortunate missed opportunity when the network has been preparing to handle 4K for many years now. Hopefully all goes well, and this doesn't end up like its 3D push that shut down after a couple of years due to a lack of adoption. Update (10/11, 7:14 PM ET): Comcast has also signed on to distribute the first live ESPN 4K broadcast, so if you have one of the cable company's Ultra HD boxes then you should be able to watch too. Additionally, ESPN informed Sports Video Group that along with the 4K game feed, it's also providing an Atmos audio stream.
ESPN will make exclusive shows for Facebook Watch
ESPN will broadcast exclusive shows and segments on Facebook Watch under a new deal. First up are bonus segments from Always Late With Katie Nolan, an ESPN+ sports/comedy show that'll debut on ESPN2 this week, along with The People's MMA Show, a weekly series focused on the lives of mixed martial arts fighters. There'll also be a version of the Countdown to GameDay pre-game show for College GameDay and a video version of Fantasy Focus Live.
Charter will integrate Hulu and Disney+ into its set-top boxes
Disney and Charter Communications inked a multi-year deal today that will deliver a wide range of content -- from college sports to The Bachelor -- to Spectrum subscribers. The deal avoids a blackout of Disney-controlled networks like ABC and ESPN, reported Bloomberg. It also paves the way for ESPN's ACC Network, which Charter has agreed to carry as a part of the deal. The new 24/7 network, which was developed in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, is expected to launch on August 22nd.
Inside the College Football Playoff National Championship
The first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship game, between Ohio State and Oregon, took place yesterday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and we were there to see it unfold. As you likely know by now, the Buckeyes triumphed over the Ducks with an impressive score of 42-20, taking home the biggest prize of the night -- in what will always be remembered as the first title to come from the newly adopted playoff system. There was so much technology at the event too, which isn't surprising given the fact it took place in the home of America's Team (or America's most hated team), the Dallas Cowboys. Some people refer to it as, "Jerry's World."
Ubisoft is bringing The Crew to a college football game near you
Do pseudo-MMOs and college football mix? We'll soon find out since Ubisoft is taking The Crew on a roadtrip to various rivalry games across the country starting this month."Two trucks outfitted with gaming stations will simultaneously tour the country allowing fans from each school to play The Crew and go head to head with their rival school's fans before the big game on Saturday," according to the racing MMO's website. Highlights include the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (otherwise known as Georgia vs. Florida) on November 1st, Florida State vs. Miami on November 15th, and USC vs. UCLA on November 22nd. The Crew launches on December 2nd.
Corner the fantasy football market with Stadium Stock Exchange
At this time of year it appears just about everyone is involved in fantasy football in one way or another. You can enter a league and draft or buy your individual players who score points for you. In an app I reviewed earlier, Big Play Scoring, users select offensive, defensive, and special teams units for each day an NFL game is played and receive points for the big plays those units make. Now you can do a fantasy investment in time and college football teams with Stadium Stock Exchange, a universal app that requires iOS 7.1 Stadium Stock Exchange treats each major college football team as if it was a stock available on the stock market. Users are provided with a $100,000 portfolio that they invest through buying shares in different college teams. The value of each team is determined by how many victories the team is expected to achieve during this season. Each win is worth $10 towards the stock price. For example Clemson's value at the time I did this review was $97.91 per share or a projection that the Tigers will win nine to ten games this year. If you think Clemson will win ten, you can buy shares and if they do the stock price will rise. However if they only win nine or fewer, the stock price will fall. Each team works the same way. So if a team goes through the season unbeaten and wins the National Championship its stock will be worth $150 and if that team instead ends up 10-3 the stock will only be worth $100. Just like the real stock market Stadium Stock Exchange allows you to buy and sell teams at any point during the season. As other users make decisions on buying and selling shares of the teams, those decisions will impact the price of your investments. If a lot of people decide to buy the price will move up and likewise drop if users dump that team. The goal is to find teams that are under valued: projected to win fewer games than you think they will. Buy that team and watch the share price zoom upwards as the wins keep coming. If you find a team you think is valued too highly you can short the stock just like on the real stock market so you are betting on the price being lower at the end of the season than at the time you put in the short order. The goal is simple. He who has the most money at the end wins. Carefully build your portfolio through wise investment and receive a big payoff at the end. If you are a big college football fan, I think Stadium Stock Exchange clearly offers a different and interesting approach to fantasy football.
Track college football playoffs with ESPN Championship Drive
Major college football entered a new era this fall with the end of the BCS and the launching of an actual playoff to determine college football's real champion. Now ESPN has launched an app that provides users with just about all the information they need to follow the long road to the championship game in early January. ESPN Championship Drive is a free universal app that require iOS 7.0 Users need to have an ESPN account, which is free, or you can sign up using your Facebook login. Once you sign in you can choose your favorite college team or teams. ESPN Championship Drive then compiles news, video, scores and other information about your favorites. The app offers information on more than 100 college teams including all the teams in the major conferences. Users can select the team page for their favorites and see news updates, video, scores, and the future schedule for their team. Users are also able to select news, video, and scores on a national basis so you can track what is taking place with teams in other conferences or other parts of the country. I think the app offers a wide perspective of the college football landscape. You will also find lots of videos that provide access to some of ESPN's regular contributors, such as Kirk Herbstreit, or discussions pulled from ESPN programming. Most of the videos are preceded by a short commercial announcement but not all. I looked at more than a dozen that did come with a commercial and they all ran the same one so that can get old in a hurry. ESPN Championship Drive allows users to set up alerts for their favorite teams or for general college football news. The list of alerts for your favorite school includes team news, the start of the game, score alerts at the end of each quarter and the game, for each scoring play, if the game is close, and a separate alert for just the final score. These are controlled through your device's notifications setting and can be especially helpful if you are stuck somewhere with your significant other on a Saturday and can't watch the big game but must know what is happening. Other apps are available that perform the same functions at ESPN Championship Drive but most mix college football information in with other major sports like the NFL, major league baseball, etc. By using this app, college football fans have a single place to go for all their updates and game information.
EA may pay almost $1,000 per college athlete for sports game settlement
Student athletes whose likenesses were used in EA's NCAA football and basketball games will receive up to $951 for each year they were featured in the games, according to a proposed settlement being put forth for approval by a judge. While EA proposed a $40 million settlement in September 2013 for its ongoing litigation with student athletes over its college sports series stemming back to May 2009, it hasn't been clear how that money would divide among the parties in the lawsuit until now. More than 100,000 current and former college athletes will have the potential to claim part of the settlement, according to CBS Sports. Of those athletes, roughly 7,000 of them are current players, based on estimates from Rob Carey, an attorney for former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller. EA tacked on an extra $8 million in expenses related to the settlement in its fiscal 2014 financial results in May. Its proposed settlement followed the cancellation of its 2014 college football game, which would have been without the NCAA's logos and marks after the two parted ways in July 2013. [Image: EA Sports]
College football settlement costs EA another $8 million
When EA settled its ongoing litigation with student athletes in September 2013 related to its NCAA Basketball and Football video games, its expenses amounted to $40 million. Now, it is tacking on $8 million more in expected expenses for fiscal 2014, bringing the total to $48 million, according to the company's year-end financial results. EA reported $40 million in settlement expenses as recently as the last fiscal quarter, ending in December. The publisher canceled its 2014 college football video game in September, following the NCAA's decision to not renew its licensing agreement with EA in July. The settlement by EA and the Collegiate Licensing Company led to another lawsuit in November, this one by the NCAA against EA. EA planned to continue working with the CLC to develop college sports games without the use of the NCAA's marks and logos, a non-exclusive agreement that was slated to last three years. The college athlete likeness lawsuits stem back to May 2009. [Image: EA]
Report: EA requested college athlete likenesses prior to NCAA lawsuit
The NCAA reportedly considered licensing the names and likeness of student athletes to Electronic Arts for its college sports games before the publisher faced its class action suit led by Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller in May 2009. Documents from the ongoing Ed O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit reveal that EA sought to depict the athletes "just as they are shown on TV broadcasts" as of 2007, AL.com reported. "This means putting student-athlete names on rosters and on jerseys in the game, and secondarily using facial likenesses (this could be done in stages)," the NCAA document in question stated. The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) was also involved in the discussion, as documents stating the CLC's position involved in the O'Bannon lawsuit said that "using the rosters in the games, and maybe the names of student-athletes on jerseys in the game would be worthwhile." The documents also reportedly state that the NCAA was aware that EA already based rosters for its college sports games on real-life athletes. While EA and the CLC settled its lawsuit with student athletes to the tune of $40 million last year after canceling its college football game in development for this year, the O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit only just reached a new milestone today: U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered that settlement talks between both parties begin. The NCAA also sued EA and the CLC in November, alleging that EA failed to agree to compensate the NCAA for losses related to legal claims from student athletes after its proposed settlement. [Image: NCAA]
NCAA sues EA over likeness settlement [Update]
The NCAA has sued Electronic Arts and the Collegiate Licensing Company over its proposed settlement with student athletes from late September, Bloomberg reported. The $40 million settlement was in regards to the use of student athlete likeness, an ongoing legal dispute that stemmed back to May 2009. As a result of the string of lawsuits, EA canceled its college football game that was set to launch in 2014, which started with the NCAA's decision to not renew its licensing contract with the publisher in July. Filed in a Georgia state court on November 4, the lawsuit from the NCAA alleges that EA did not agree to compensate the NCAA for losses related to legal claims from student athletes, and that the publisher did not have liability insurance to do so. EA's proposed $40 million settlement would negate the company's contractual obligations to idemnify the NCAA for any liability and attorney fees related to the lawsuits. We have contacted both EA and the CLC for comment. Update: A Collegiate Licensing Company representative told Joystiq that "CLC is caught in the middle of a dispute between NCAA and EA which should not involve us. CLC has valued relationships with both the NCAA and EA and while we hope they can soon resolve their dispute, we see no reason for CLC to be involved." The NCAA has declined to comment on the story. Update #2: EA has also declined to comment on the story.
Report: EA to pay $40 million in student athlete settlement
Electronic Arts' settlement in the ongoing student athlete lawsuits dating back to 2009, filed yesterday, amounts to a $40 million, The New York Times reports. The settlement was announced after EA Sports GM of American Football Cam Weber revealed that the publisher's 2014 college football game has been canceled. Among the cancellation of next year's game and the re-evaluation of its college football series, Weber said the publisher has "been stuck in the middle of a dispute between the NCAA and student-athletes who seek compensation for playing college football." While there's no word on how the settlement amount will be divided among the class, it will reportedly cost EA $40 million. We've contacted the Lanier Law Firm's attorney on the case and EA for confirmation, and we will update as we learn more.
EA Sports cancels 2014 college football game, is evaluating series' future [Update: EA settles lawsuit]
Electronic Arts has canceled its college football game, originally set to publish in 2014. EA Sports GM of American Football Cam Weber wrote in an EA blog that the publisher is "evaluating our plan for the future of the franchise." The news follows the NCAA's decision to not renew its licensing partnership with EA Sports in July, leading the publisher to move forward in a three-year deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company to create college football games without the NCAA names and marks. EA Sports' last published game in the series was NCAA Football 14. Weber notes that the publisher has "been stuck in the middle of a dispute between the NCAA and student-athletes who seek compensation for playing college football," referencing a string of lawsuits, including that of former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller that began in May 2009. Weber says that while EA has worked to settle these legal issues, college football conferences such as the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 withdrew their support for the upcoming game. "Our decision does not affect our commitment to NCAA Football 14 and the consumers who love playing the game," Weber adds. Update: EA and CLC have settled the aforementioned student athlete likeness lawsuit, according to a press release from The Lanier Law Firm, found after the break. "Based on this settlement and other recent court rulings, EA Sports has agreed to change the way it develops future games featuring NCAA athletes in order to protect the rights to their likenesses," the notice reads. Terms of the settlement will be submitted to the court for approval and does not involve the NCAA, which is still a defendant in the case.
SEC branding will not be included in future EA college football games [Update: Big Ten, Pac-12 too]
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced it will no longer license its trademarks for EA's future college football games. Teams from the SEC won the last seven straight BCS National Championship games in college football, so EA's next college football game will be without the branding of the sport's most successful conference. "Each school makes its own individual decision regarding whether or not to license their trademarks for use in the EA Sports game(s)," the SEC said in a statement to ESPN. "The Southeastern Conference has chosen not to do so moving forward. Neither the SEC, its member universities, nor the NCAA have ever licensed the right to use the name or likeness of any student to EA Sports." The news comes nearly a month after NCAA opted to not renew its partnership with EA, pulling all NCAA marks from future games from the publisher. EA will continue to make college football games without the NCAA through the use of a non-exclusive three-year deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company. At the end of July, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal by EA in its ongoing student athlete likeness lawsuit. We've contacted both EA and the CLC for comment, and will update as we learn more. Update: A CLC representative tells Joystiq that "150 collegiate institutions, including SEC schools, have approved renewal of the EA college football license, to begin with the 2015 edition. As with any licensed product, individual schools continue to make their own decisions." Update #2: The Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences are reportedly joining the SEC, and will no longer license their brands to EA. "The Pac-12 Conference has decided not to renew its current licensing agreement with EA Sports that allows the use of Conference trademarks," Pac-12 spokesman Erik Hardenbergh told CBS Sports. "Our member institutions continue to make decisions on their trademarks on a school-by-school basis."
Attorney leading lawsuit against EA: NCAA 'ducking its responsibilities'
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm alleging that NCAA and EA illegally used college athletes' names and likenesses in its NCAA Football series, said "the NCAA's decision to end its long and hugely profitable relationship with EA is tied directly to the pressure our litigation is bringing [to] bear," in a statement to the media. "This announcement makes plain that the NCAA is attempting to mitigate the damage by ducking its responsibilities," Berman said. The lawsuit in question is one of two from Hagens Berman against EA, the other having been settled in July 2012 by EA for $27 million with the requirement that EA not renew its exclusive license with NCAA for five years. NCAA's announcement this week that NCAA Football 14 would be the last game in the series to use the NCAA branding included a note that "given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA," pointing to the ongoing legal battle as reasoning for its departure from the partnership. "Our suit illustrates how the cabal between the NCAA and EA has exploited student athletes for years, using their images in video games without compensation," Berman said. "While we are heartened they've stopped the practice, we believe they owe those student athletes a great deal more than their implied promise to stop stealing their images." EA announced that it will continue development on next-gen college football games without the use of NCAA branding. It will do so under a non-exclusive, three-year agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company beginning on July 1, 2014.
EA holds license for non-exclusive college football games for three years
Earlier this week, the NCAA announced it would no longer provide its name to EA's college sports series of games, but the publisher will continue to work with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the entity that handles trademark licensing and marketing services for universities. A source familiar with the agreement tells Joystiq that EA's current licensing extension with the CLC is for three years starting on July 1, 2014, and is for a non-exclusive college football game. The source says EA was not going to renew its exclusive contract with the NCAA for at least five years, as stipulated by EA's proposed $27 million lawsuit settlement from July 2012. The lawsuit alleged that EA "violated antitrust and consumer protection laws and overcharged consumers" for its football games due to its use of exclusive licenses with the NFL, NCAA and AFL. NCAA announced this week that it will not renew its contract with EA, and that NCAA Football 14 "will be the last to include the NCAA's name and logo." EA's statement on the matter revealed plans to continue development on a next-gen college football game using licensing provided by CLC. The continued agreement with CLC enables EA to develop games using the branding of college programs across the nation as it did in the NCAA Football series, without the NCAA mark.
