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Cricketers will use smart bats to track their performances
Cricket is a game of technique. Throwing the perfect out-swinger, or hitting a clean square drive takes a tremendous amount of practice and skill. If you're watching a professional match at home, it can be hard to keep up with the mind games or understand where a player's execution went wrong. To help, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is adopting bats that have swing-sensing chips inside. They'll be used by "several" batsmen including Ben Stokes, Alex Hales and Jason Roy at the Champions Trophy, which takes place in London, Birmingham and Cardiff next month.
PiQ puts AI to work in the 'world's first' smart ski
Baseball bats and tennis rackets aren't the only pieces of sports equipment that are getting smarter these days. Ski maker Rossignol and consumer electronics company PIQ announced on Monday that they have created the world's first "connected" ski. Behold, the Hero Master.
Tokyo's Olympic medals will be crafted from old gadgets
Tokyo's olympic planning committee has a novel idea for crafting new medals: old technology. Instead of relying on mining companies for new gold, silver and bronze, it's turning to the public and its swathes of unwanted, forgotten gadgets. You might not realize it, but your smartphone and household appliances contain small amounts of these precious materials. Starting in April, public offices and more than 2,400 NTT Docomo stores will offer collection boxes in Japan. The initial target is eight tons of metal, which will be whittled down to two tons and then, hopefully, used to produce 5,000 Olympic and Paralympic medals.
BT to start charging TV subscribers for BT Sport
In the coming months, things are going to get a little more expensive for BT customers. The provider confirmed today that it will be raising the price of its broadband and landline services, while BT TV customers will be charged for access to BT Sport. For some customers, it will be the first time they need to pay for BT's sporting coverage, but others will see an increase in their subscription costs too.
Facebook to stream first live match between Premier League teams
With more and more people heading to Facebook and Twitter to keep up with live events, the social networks are increasingly turning to sport to retain users. Twitter has already streamed Wimbledon coverage and signed a number of deals that will see it host NFL and college sports, but Facebook will mark a first tonight when it streams the first ever meeting of two Premier League football teams. Manchester United will play Everton tonight for Wayne Rooney's testimonial match.
Overwatch heroes are getting Olympic-themed makeovers
With the 2016 Olympics just days away, Blizzard is giving its popular multiplayer shooter an unofficial sporting makeover. To coincide with the events in Rio, every one of Overwatch's 22 heroes has been assigned a sport in the "Summer Games" and given a selection of new skins, sprays and other in-game emotes to play with. Reaper is a BMX rider and Winston is a keen volleyball player, but nothing beats Roadhog as a high diver.
TalkTalk TV to offer BT Sport channels
TalkTalk, like Virgin Media, doesn't hold the rights to any live sport in the UK. Instead, the company has to hash out deals with other broadcasters, such as Sky and BT, to offer its subscribers new channels and coverage. TalkTalk TV customers can already pay extra for Sky Sports, but today the company announced that a BT Sport package is also being added to the mix. The price of the bolt-on subscription is yet to be determined, but TalkTalk has confirmed that it will include BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Europe and BT Sport ESPN. Notably, there's no BT Sport Ultra HD.
BBC to retain Olympics coverage until at least 2024
The BBC has broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games for countless decades, but that legacy was put under threat last summer. While the BBC already had the 2016, 2018 and 2020 Olympics locked up, Discovery (which owns Eurosport) stumped up the best part of £1 billion to secure exclusive European rights up to and including the 2024 Summer Games. Both parties have just announced a mutually beneficial deal, however, that will see the BBC continue to provide free coverage across both the 2022 and 2024 Olympics.
Engadget giveaway: Win an Apple Watch Sport and Aim fitness tracker courtesy of Skulpt!
If you're serious about fitness (or want to be), stepping up your game beyond basic activity trackers couldn't hurt. Products like the Skulpt Aim let you quantify your workout beyond steps by directly measuring body fat and muscle quality. Used in tandem with a wearable like the Apple Watch Sport, you can ascertain detailed correlations between exercise regimens and physical results. To do this, the Aim uses Electrical Impedance Mypgraphy (EIM) to measure the resistive and capacitive properties of the tissue via electrodes. With the holiday season upon us, the struggle to stay fit in the face of seasonal snacks is challenging. Skulp has provided us with a Skulpt Aim and Apple Watch Sport this week to help one lucky Engadget reader get over that hump and start the new year healthier. It's also adding two Exhibitor Plus passes to the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in January. So, if you win and you're able to swing by Las Vegas, you'll be able to check out all the new upcoming gadgets. Just head down to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this fitness and technology combo.Winner: Congratulations to Roger M. of Santa Monica, CA!
Hawk-Eye to play judge and medic at this year's Rugby World Cup
Hawk-Eye is best known for being a virtual line judge in tennis, though it's used in many other sports including soccer, where it powers the goal-line technology the UK Premier League adopted a few years ago. And soon, it'll make its debut on the rugby pitch when this year's World Cup kicks off on September 18th, following successful trials of the system earlier this year. As rugby fans will know, a Television Match Official (TMO) is always on hand at big games to review broadcast footage when the on-pitch referee needs a hand with a tough decision. At the upcoming World Cup, TMOs won't have to rely solely on TV feeds any longer, with Hawk-Eye's SMART Replay tech offering multiple angles of the action and other benefits like zoom and slow-motion features.
Soul Electronics' new sport headphones double as a walkie talkie
App-based personal trainers are great, but they usually lack the yelling abilities of a real live human. Soul Electronics has a solution for that, and it allows you to keep your headphones on. The company is leveraging Kickstarter for its Combat+ Sync wireless headphones that not only keep you from getting tangled in a cord during your bench press sets, but they also pack in a walkie talkie feature. So when your pal needs a bit of extra motivation, you can do just that as the cans have a built-in microphone to capture your cues.
Best Buy will sell the Apple Watch on August 7th
Until now, if you wanted an Apple Watch, you had to buy it in one of three places: online, at the Apple Store or at your nearest high-end luxury goods boutique. If none of those places are convenient, then you'll be happy to learn that the wearable will also be available from Best Buy on August 7th. The store will be the first big national chain to stock the device, and in keeping with its mass-market appeal, won't be stocking the pricey Edition model. It will, however, have both the 38 and 42mm versions of both the Sport and Watch models in 16 different configurations -- not to mention a large supply of nightstands, screen protectors and third-party straps not approved by Apple.
BBC Sport widget delivers the news without annoying you
If you're a serious ports fan, keeping up with the latest results, injuries and transfers can feel like a full-time job. Plenty of apps offer all of this information in one place, but then you're often left with two options: continuously open the app, or set up push notifications and face an onslaught of vibrations in your pocket. Now, the BBC is trying to tackle the problem with a new "Top Stories" widget for its Sports app. On iOS, that means you can read the most popular headlines from the Notification Centre and jump through to the app if one grabs your interest. They work well enough, although some of the headlines are a little too short and ambiguous. On Android, however, the new home screen widget lets you choose from different sizes and sports. Neither addition is particularly earth-shattering, but they could prove useful if your smartphone is becoming a notification nightmare.
Parrot Zik Sport headphones do noise canceling, heart monitoring
Parrot's Zik 2.0 noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones may not be ideal for workouts, but fans may want to give the new Zik Sport a spin to get a similar experience. Granted, these are actually in-ears instead of the earcup type, but Parrot and Philippe Starck still managed to tuck in eight microphones -- six for noise-canceling, two for voice calls -- in addition to a heart rate sensor, pedometers and a five-hour battery (and this is with all the features turned on). That's a very impressive package given how much smaller these headphones are.
Rob Pardo argues that the Olympics should include e-sports
E-sports should totally be a part of the Olympics. Or so said former Blizzard CCO Rob Pardo in a BBC interview. "Video games are well positioned to be a spectator sport," Pardo said. "There's a very good argument for e-sports being in the Olympics. I think the way that you look at e-sports is that it's a very competitive skillset and you look at these professional gamers and the reflexes are lightning quick and they're having to make very quick decisions on the fly." Pardo conceded that championing e-sports in Olympics might come down to the age-old argument of whether a sport must include physical activity or simply skill-based competition.
Ofcom probe could lead to more live Premier League matches on TV
Less than half of all Premier League matches are broadcast live in the UK, and Virgin Media believes that simply isn't good enough. After filing a complaint in September, Ofcom has agreed to investigate whether the low number of televised fixtures is breaching competition law and leading to higher prices for customers and broadcasters. At the moment, the Premier League sells live TV rights for 154 games (out of 380 each season) through a handful of different match bundles. Sky used to dominate this bidding war, but in recent years BT has muscled in by spending big on a couple of the League's key packages.
Court rules that Sky must offer Sky Sports channels to BT YouView customers
Sky and BT may now be locked in a battle over sports broadcast rights for their own services, but for more than four years, the two have also been fighting over Sky Sports broadcasts. Today, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) finally brought things closer to a resolution, after it ruled that BT must be allowed to offer its rival's sports channels to YouView customers for the first time. Ofcom had previously ruled that Sky must offer Sky Sports 1 and 2 at a 23 percent wholesale discount, but the case dragged on through the courts while BT readied its own sports TV service. Sky says it will fight the interim ruling, noting that BT is now in a significantly stronger position than it was four years ago. It also hopes that the landscape will shift once again when Ofcom concludes a new review on how companies offer wholesale channels. BT says it "looks forward" to offering the channels to YouView customers "very shortly," allowing it to join Virgin Media in broadcasting all of the remaining live Premiership football matches this season.
Sky Sports News HQ app comes to Now TV boxes
Following Sky's big Sky Sports News rebrand, it was only a matter of time until the updated channel made its way to the broadcaster's Now TV set-top box via an app. Already delivering breaking news on smartphones and tablets, the new Sky Sports News HQ app comes to the £10 streamer today, offering 24/7 access to sports updates, breaking news and highlights. While access to the app isn't free, there are a couple of easy ways unlock it, as long as you subscribe to Sky's existing Now TV packages. One way is to buy a Sky Sports Day Pass or the new Sky Sports Week Pass, which will allow you to access the channel for up to 30 days after your current pass has expired. Sky's making it available to Entertainment or Sky Movies pass holders too, meaning that if you're already putting money down to catch up with the Lannisters or watch Sandra Bullock float around in space, you'll be able to follow all of the latest player movements come Transfer Deadline Day.
Jabra's pulse-tracking earbuds tout Bluetooth for fewer tangles
Heart rate-tracking in-ear headphones are starting to pop up on the regular it seems. A couple weeks ago, SMS Audio revealed its collaborative effort with Intel, and now Jabra's joining the fray, but without the tether. In an effort to limit cord tangles, the audio outfit's Sport Pulse wireless earbuds connect to your phone via Bluetooth for sorting tunes and tracking your pulse. Dolby sound handles the listening duties while an in-line remote wrangles those mid-run track changes. Inside, an optical, biometric heart rate monitor keeps tabs on your workout, beaming collected data to the Sport Life companion app and peppering your activity with personalized coaching for added motivation. And as you might expect, the software helps plan workouts and logs info from each session. The wireless set goes on sale October 1st for $200 (£200), but you can pre-order now if you're unable to contain the excitement.
Inside Sky Sports' plan to revolutionise sports news
Sky won't care to admit it, but for the first time in a number of years, the broadcaster is facing a major challenge to its sports broadcasting crown. Still a relatively new player, BT has claimed a large chunk of Premiership football coverage last season and sunk nearly £900 million to prize away exclusive Champions League rights from its rival in 2015. It's also slowly built up its roster of rugby, tennis, motorsport and UFC coverage, giving subscribers more than a few reasons look beyond Sky for access to major sporting events. While Sky has been forced to acquiesce, mostly due to anti-competitive measures put in place by regulators, it isn't prepared to let its rivals captialise on their extended coverage. In June, it dealt a blow to BT's European football expansion with the launch of Sky Sports 5, a new channel dedicated to, you guessed it, European football. It'll cover the Euro 2016 qualifiers, Champions League (for this season at least), La Liga, Eredivisie, Coppa Italia and Copa Del Rey. However, it's the rebranding of another channel, Sky Sports News, that could have a bigger impact on the company's sports coverage this year. Enter Sky Sports News HQ.
