Articles
Sample Articles from Bob Wallace.
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Tackling Tech: How the NFL, NBA & More Use Social Media to Expand Brands Overseas
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- Published on 19 January 2017
Where once expansion meant building stadiums, adding teams and landing broadcast TV contracts, the NFL, NBA, and others have turned to social media to reach fan followings in foreign countries.
The NFL teamed with Twitter to live stream 10 games this season worldwide for free (after testing the approach with Yahoo for one game a year earlier.
And when it sought to stream games in the burgeoning Chinese market in which Twitter is blocked, they turned to social media service Weibo.
Tackling Tech: Tom Brady, Smart Clothes and the Pursuit of Peak Performance
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- Published on 13 January 2017
The Under Armour -TB12 launch of sleep recovery pajamas could serve as a wakeup call for athletes and trainers looking to find ways beyond limited wristbands to acquire and analyze biometric data for improved performance.
Connected wear is part of the emergence of a category of apparel called smart clothing that has been used for more than a few years by NFL scouts, some players, and training firms to get an inside look at what makes athletes tick, on and off the playing field.
Tackling Tech: A Blackout Survival Guide for NFL Fans
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- Published on 05 January 2017
I raised my glass to toast the New Year, and a moment later, the TV channel showing the Times Square celebration went dark.
Happy New Year? Not with continuing channel blackouts that have driven viewer and fan frustration to epic levels again. Consumers are stuck in the middle, feeling like an afterthought by large corporations battling over mega-bucks.
Tackling Tech: Rise of the Machines: Activshot Brings Automated Broadcasting to Sports
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- Published on 29 December 2016
What do you get when you mix drones, automated cameras, unmanned vehicles, AI and video streaming?
It sounds like something from a Terminator sequel with Arnold saving the day or an advanced system for exploring distant planets. But this collection of video capture and processing systems makes up a service that can eventually cover countless competitive sports events - from golf to high school football - for which coverage is typically too tough to justify.
Tackling Tech: Will Video Take the NFL Field in 2017?
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- Published on 22 December 2016
Though the playoffs and Super Bowl will take top billing, whether the NFL can maintain balance between innovation and tradition in the league with video will be a topic of heated discussion this winter.
Sideline video was assailed and shot down (tabled) thanks to several coaches earlier this season, a proposal to use video to speed instant replay seems to be missing in action and a pitch to install perimeter cameras on all NFL fields was tabled with radio silence since.
Tackling Tech: The NFL Forges Ahead with Online Inventory Amid TV Ratings Noise
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- Published on 15 December 2016
Drowned out by endless discussion of lower NFL TV ratings is the league's effort to identify and create new online inventory, which is providing hope that they can cut the cable TV cord, while "cord-nevers" get more broadband game viewing options.
The undertakings are powered in part by NFL broadcast partners such as CBS and promise to build a larger online audience - and fan base - among millennials and youngsters that want the NFL, but delivered via the web, not via their parents' cable TV bundles.