National Football League
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An NFL football game is coming to Meta Quest and PlayStation VR
The NFL is making its first-ever VR game.
Amazon Prime Video adds on-demand replays for Thursday Night Football
When Thursday Night Football returns to Amazon on October 8th, you'll be able to queue replays on demand.
Microsoft Teams will bring fans into NFL stadiums virtually
That's certainly better than having completely empty stands.
Facebook Watch gets more NFL highlights, news and analysis
The National Football League isn't done teaming up with tech companies. Today, the NFL announced it is extending its partnership with Facebook, a deal that began back in 2017, which will continue to bring highlights of all 256 regular season games, playoffs and the Super Bowl to Facebook Watch. In addition to these recaps, this year the league is serving even more snackable programming on Watch, including news and analysis clips, video versions of podcasts, classic game archives from NFL Films and special videos dedicated to 100th NFL season. Facebook says that, in 2017 and 2018, over 22 million people watched at least a minute of an NFL recap, a sign that people on its site have an appetite for this type of video content.
The NFL's new TikTok account is all about highlights and sideline moments
The National Football League is hyping up its 100th season with a TikTok partnership. Today, the NFL is launching an official TikTok account with packaged highlights, sideline moments and behind-the-scenes footage. To get things started, it's promoting a #WeReady challenge. Today through September 5th, the NFL is asking fans to share videos about their favorite teams with the hashtag.
NFL celebrates 100th season with Snapchat AR Lens that comes to life
The National Football League and Snap have made another augmented reality experience together. In celebration of the NFL's 100th season, which kicks off on September 5th, the companies are unveiling an AR Lens that lets people scan an NFL 100 logo and bring it to life inside the Snapchat app. The feature uses Snap's Marker technology, introduced in 2018, to let people use their Snapchat camera to unlock a special video created by the NFL. After scanning an NFL 100 logo, the video will show historic highlights between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, the two teams that are playing the first game of the 2019-2020 season next Thursday. And right beneath the video, as pictured above, there's a clock counting down the days, hours and minutes to the beginning of the NFL 100 season.
Intel installed its 3D camera system in eight more NFL stadiums
Intel's 360-degree replay system is already in place for Major League Baseball and has been available for the National Football League in Baltimore, Houston and San Francisco for some time. The technology company has just announced that it will expand what it calls freeD technology to another eight teams in the NFL, including the Cardinals, Panthers, Browns, Colts, Chiefs, Vikings, Patriots and Redskins. This brings the total to 11 NFL stadiums equipped with the system.
Sony Pictures softened 'Concussion' to appease the NFL
Looks like it isn't just its own Players Association that the National Football League can push around with impunity. Internal Sony emails recently brought to light by the company's massive data breach indicate that Sony Pictures intentionally softened the point on it's upcoming film Concussion so as not to upset the league. The movie, which stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man who helped first diagnose CTE (or chronic traumatic encephalopathy). According to the emails, Sony executives discussed at length with Smith and Peter Landesman, the film's director, about altering the script and marketing for the film to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The movie's angle was reportedly changed from being a condemnation of the NFL's handling of the growing CTE crisis to focus more on Omalu's discovery and initial diagnosis.
Dallas Cowboys become the first NFL team to go all-in on VR
When an old-school coach like Mike "Da Bears" Ditka gets behind virtual reality as a football training device, you know there's something there. And now, the Dallas Cowboys are the first NFL team to adopt VR tech from a Stanford-based company called StriVR Labs, according to ESPN. The franchise dedicated a new room at its training facility to the tech, which it'll use to help quarterbacks, linebackers and safeties. Players will put on an Oculus Rift or other headset and then watch scrimmages recorded by 360-degree cameras attached to players' helmets.
On the sidelines: how the NFL is making use of the Surface Pro 2
Now that we've talked about the design process behind the NFL's Surface Pro 2s, it's time to show you how these things are actually being used throughout the league. It's worth noting that at least for now, the functionality of the Sideline Viewing System is limited to players and coaches annotating, drawing and looking at images from plays. Still, this is a notable first step in the NFL bringing technology into the game, and Microsoft wants to play a big role in that development. Sure, it doesn't hurt that the tech titan is said to have paid a huge sum of money to the NFL for the alleged five-year partnership, but it's safe to say that it's equally beneficial regardless. Microsoft's laptop/hybrid device began appearing on NFL sidelines earlier this year, at the start of the preseason, and the company tells us that the adoption rate of the Sideline Viewing System by players and coaches has been "great" up to now -- though a spokesperson wasn't willing to discuss specific numbers. That said, it's one thing to see these in action during games from afar, on TV, so when the opportunity to spend time with the Seattle Seahawks arose, to learn their game day workflow with the Surface Pro 2, we couldn't say no.
How Microsoft redesigned the Surface Pro for the NFL
Earlier this year, Microsoft revealed its plans to take over NFL sidelines. How so? With a partnership with the National Football League, a collaboration reportedly valued at $400 million -- though neither party ever confirmed this. Powered by the Surface Pro 2, the Sideline Viewing System lets NFL players and coaches use Microsoft's laptop/tablet hybrid device to review images from plays almost instantaneously, as opposed to using the paper-based, black-and-white method that's been in place for decades. Not only is it faster, but it's also more efficient, since it allows team members on the sidelines and those in the booths above to view any markups in near real time, something that's made possible by digital pen input. But, as expected, before getting approval from the NFL on the final version, Microsoft went through many design iterations of the casing that protects the Surface Pro 2 during games. It needed to find a solution that would meet the requirements of the league; it had to be rugged enough to handle various weather extremes, from 100-degree temperatures in Arizona to sub-freezing conditions in Wisconsin. At the same time, though, the technology giant wanted to strike a balance in the aesthetics, keeping it fully functional, protected and easy for any player to hold.
NFL's online network is coming to Roku, Fire TV and Kindle Fire tablets
The National Football League has yet to formally launch its new digital network, NFL Now, but there's no doubt it will be fully prepared once it does. As such, the NFL has announced that Roku will join Microsoft, Yahoo and Verizon as distribution partners for its upcoming online video service. In other words, you can expect NFL Now to be available on Amazon's Kindle Fire and Fire TV, as well as Roku streaming boxes when it launches in August. Apps for iOS, Android, Windows devices and "select" game consoles are also set to be ready from day one.
The NFL's new digital network is a step forward, but still not what cord-cutters want
Many people were excited by the announcement that this year's Super Bowl would be streamed online. But this came with a catch on smartphones -- the need to go through Verizon's NFL Mobile service rather than the Fox Sports Go app. And that's nothing new, as most networks often require some sort of subscription for access to live or on-demand content. A&E, CNN, MTV, NBC Sports -- they all do it, and the list goes on and on. Last week, the NFL announced Now, its new network tailored for the era of the internet. However, despite the league trying to do something novel, a quick look at the comments from our recently published article about the release tells you that on-demand content isn't enough, particularly for those who have decided to cut the [pay-TV] cord. For those people, the lack of live games overshadows most everything NFL Now will bring to the table when it launches in July -- namely, an online channel with a personalized experience accessible on different platforms all over the world.
NFL Now online network promises a unique experience for football fans
Super Bowl XLVIII is just around the corner, and the NFL's taking advantage of the week leading up to it by using it as a platform to reveal its next venture: NFL Now. Today, at a press event in New York City, the National Football League introduced a newly created digital network, dubbed NFL Now, which it says will focus on delivering a "personalized stream of content" to fans of the sport worldwide. While the online service won't be streaming football games live -- not at the time of launch, at least -- it will have full on-demand clashes to offer, as well as highlights and other content produced by teams across the league. In addition to all of this, there's also going to be an abundance of extra video from across other NFL properties, including NFL.com, NFL Network and NFL Films. And, better yet, it will be free. However, don't expect Now to act only as a hub for all that aforementioned stuff: The NFL says we can anticipate a ton of original programming to be available as well -- though it hasn't gone into detail about what type exactly. Once it actually gets rolling, we're told the user experience on NFL Now is set to be extremely personalized and easily customizable. For example, users can select from a number of preferences, like favorite team and fantasy players, and NFL Now will show a stream of content based on those choices. "Eventually, no two users should get the same experience on NFL Now," a league representative said to us. NFL Now is set to have applications on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8, Xbox One and "across select consoles and streaming devices."
Sports fans with iPads score with in-stadium WiFi
A lot of sports fans are going to be, in the words of Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson, "Happy, happy, happy" this fall. That's because a number of stadiums are installing WiFi networks that make toting the iPad to a football game a great way to access the second screen that fans enjoy at home. ZDNet's Jason O'Grady attended the Philadelphia Eagles home opener at Lincoln Financial Field last weekend and was delighted to find a free WiFi network that can fulfill the bandwidth requirements of 45,000 simultaneous users (the stadium holds 69,000 fans). A dozen NFL stadiums are currently outfitted with WiFi, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants all stadiums to be equipped so that fans can use their smartphones and tablets for fantasy football and social networking. According to a press release sent out by the Eagles last week, here's what fans can do with their iPads and the free Eagles iPad app: Fans will have the ability to stream the popular NFL Red Zone Channel live through the app, allowing them to watch action from around the league. Live camera view of the player tunnel prior to the game, which will give fans a unique glimpse of the players pumping each other up right before they run onto the field. Live stream of the video board, allowing the user to get a better view of the replays that are displayed on the big screen. A dynamic stats channel that provides fans with updates from the Eagles game, as well as information and statistics from around the NFL. Social media hub, which will make it easy to log on to various popular social platforms including Facebook, Twitter and others without having to leave the Eagles app. Many of the original features remain, including news, game previews, video clips, photo galleries, fantasy stats, rosters, depth charts, bios, stadium information and much more. Some Major League Baseball parks have also made free WiFi available for fans, including four of the five teams in the NL West -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Arizona. My favorite ballpark, Denver's Coors Field, doesn't provide WiFi -- between that and the Rockies' season record, it's been a lousy year for baseball.
Report: Microsoft's NFL deal valued at $400 million over five years
The NFL will receive $400 million from Microsoft over the next five years, according to an Associated Press source. The partnership was announced during Microsoft's Xbox One unveiling yesterday and will see NFL content coming to Microsoft's next-generation console. As for the NFL side, fans will see Microsoft branding on-field during live games starting this upcoming season. Coaches and other team officials will be provided Microsoft Surface tablets, with the possibility of further technological innovations coming from Microsoft throughout the longevity of the deal. The Xbox One will have interactive features integrated during broadcasts, including SmartGlass, group Skype calling and fantasy stats available during live NFL games. Recently, Amazon announced a limited edition version of Madden NFL 25 bundled with a free DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.
How Ubi is selling Assassin's Creed 3 to the general public
Ubisoft debuted the above commercial for holiday blockbuster Assassin's Creed 3 alongside the opening of the NFL season this week, prompting one Joystiq editor's father to call the game "impressive." For us, it serves to highlight how we've become snobs about the music Ubisoft uses in its trailers. Hey, when you set such a high precedent, it's hard to shrug off just some boring old song, you know?
DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket returns to PS3 in time for the upcoming football season
With this year's National Football League season almost ready to kick off (not taking pre-season games into consideration, of course), DirecTV's properly preparing itself on all entertainment cylinders. The satellite provider announced earlier today that the well-known Sunday Ticket package will be returning to the PlayStation 3 on September 4th via a PS Store update, allowing current subscribers to stream full-HD games directly to Sony's renowned console. As for those without any current attachments to DirecTV, however, there is an option out there -- one which costs a familiar $300 per NFL season. We've still got a few days until the madness gets started, which should be plenty of time to get approval from your better half to snag the action-packed ticket.
Cablevision set to offer NFL Network, RedZone Channel after finally striking a deal
It certainly took a lot longer than we expected it to, but it's here at last: Cablevision and the National Football League have finally struck a viewing deal -- a multi-year agreement, no less. Earlier today, the aforementioned TV provider announced it will start offering the well-known NFL Network and RedZone Channel to its Optimum TV customers starting tomorrow, with both channels being available in standard definition and, of course, high-def as well. Naturally, Cablevision users will have to be subscribed to the proper IO package in order to get the action included in these channels, but something tells us you won't mind upgrading your bundle if need be. The official word from the cable company's in the PR below, and now you have something else to look forward to tomorrow.
NFL adds Google+ Hangouts to fantasy football leagues for extra-personal trash talking
So your fantasy football team just clinched its spot in the virtual Super Bowl. There's now a better way to rub it in everyone's noses than snarky message board posts: Google has just teamed with the NFL to integrate Google+ Hangouts across the league's fantasy football pages. The multi-person video chat is now just a step away, whether you're trading players or checking the latest results. Google is even bending the rules slightly to allow for a full league's dozen players in one session, instead of the usual 10, and will help host talks between commentators and league participants. Hangouts at the NFL pages are already up and running -- that gives us just enough weeks to hem and haw over linebacker choices before the real NFL's schedule gets going.
