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Technology changing way fans see game
2006-12-17
The San Francisco Giants were in the thick of the pennant race in August 2002. And Blake Krikorian and his brother, Jason, were stuck at their office with no way to watch. Muzi.com News 10029433-0 (muzi.com)The afternoon game was being shown on a local TV station, but their office didn't have a TV feed. They signed up for an Internet service that showed games live -- only to discover local teams were blacked out. Muzi.com News 10029433-1 (muzi.com) "We thought, 'There's got to be a way we can watch and control our living room television,'" Blake Krikorian said. "Whether I'm in my backyard on my laptop, or sitting in an office on my desktop, or traveling in Shanghai with my mobile phone, it shouldn't really matter. All I want is my familiar, living room TV programming." Muzi.com News 10029433-2 (muzi.com) Thus, Slingbox was born. Muzi.com News 10029433-3 (muzi.com) The product, which lets people watch their home TV anywhere, anytime using an Internet-connected computer or handheld device, is one of the many ways the view of games we love are changing. Muzi.com News 10029433-4 (muzi.com) No matter how many channels on a cable system or state-of-the-art satellite dish, there isn't enough room for everything. The networks have little choice but to stick with the programming they know sells -- baseball, the NFL, NASCAR, NCAA basketball and football, plus the golf and tennis majors. Viewers have turned elsewhere for what they want and are using the latest in technology to get it on their terms. Muzi.com News 10029433-5 (muzi.com) "Television is still king of the hill," said David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, which launched IceNetwork.com this fall. "(But the Web) brings out great opportunities for further exposure, for marketing opportunities. ... There are no time or space limits. It's wide open. It's endless. It's as much as you want to put in there. Muzi.com News 10029433-6 (muzi.com) "And it's 24-7." Muzi.com News 10029433-7 (muzi.com) Teams and leagues are scrambling to adapt, turning the Web into an interactive playground to capitalize on that all-important "fan experience." Or better yet, the athletes' experience. NASCAR, for example, will take DirecTV customers behind the wheel next year, showing races from a driver's vantage point. Muzi.com News 10029433-8 (muzi.com) Sports that have been largely shut out of the mainstream media are using Webcasts to stake out their spot. The NHL even is putting full-length games on delay on Google Video in hopes of attracting new fans or luring back those turned off by the season-long lockout. It also has highlight packages on YouTube. Muzi.com News 10029433-9 (muzi.com) Not home to see the Super Bowl? Get it live on a mobile phone. Didn't get enough of this year's Michigan-Ohio State matchup? Download it to a video iPod. Want to see if Daisuke Matsuzaka is really worth all those millions the Red Sox are shelling out? A couple clicks of the mouse gets his career stats and clips of him pitching. A hardcore badminton fan? Pay a subscription fee and watch matches on the Internet. Muzi.com News 10029433-10 (muzi.com) "This is all about more and more choices," said Eddy Cue, vice president of Apple's iTunes. "Watching a game live on a 50-inch plasma TV is a tough thing to beat. But when you're not in that position, having other choices is going to be something that people want." Muzi.com News 10029433-11 (muzi.com) For fans, there's nothing better than seeing their favorite sport, team or athlete up close and in person. The next-best thing is watching the game from the comfort of their living room, preferably on a really big TV. Muzi.com News 10029433-12 (muzi.com) That's not always possible. As advances in technology have made everything more portable and more user-friendly, fans are expecting the same thing from their sports. The further technology goes, the more fans want. Muzi.com News 10029433-13 (muzi.com) Indeed, it's that combination of Web and wireless technology that's been such a boon for fans. Muzi.com News 10029433-14 (muzi.com) Even in its infancy, the Web gave sports an immediacy previously limited to ballparks and arenas. Instead of waiting for the next day's paper or even the next sportscast, fans got up-to-the-minute scores and could see how their favorite players were doing. Muzi.com News 10029433-15 (muzi.com) Fans' reach was expanded, too. Now, they easily tracked teams and athletes that would be mere blurbs in local newspapers. Muzi.com News 10029433-16 (muzi.com) As wireless technology improved, the Web went portable. Those same scores once found on office computers now were accessible on mobile phones. It wasn't long before fans were looking for ways to bring the games with them. Muzi.com News 10029433-17 (muzi.com) TiVo has come up with TiVoToGo, which can transfer recorded shows to PCs, iPods and some handheld devices, including mobile phones. iTunes offers highlight packages for the NFL, NBA, NASCAR and golf, as well as college football and basketball. The downloads include clips showing the progression of the game or race, as well as interviews with athletes and coaches. Muzi.com News 10029433-18 (muzi.com) To take advantage of the hype surrounding this year's Michigan-Ohio State game, iTunes put together a collector's edition type of package. For $5.99, customers got the full-length 1973, 1997 and 2002 games, as well as commercials touting the rivalry. After Ohio State beat Michigan, they got this year's matchup. Muzi.com News 10029433-19 (muzi.com) NASCAR's Internet "TrackPass" allows subscribers to customize video highlights and eavesdrop on in-race conversations between drivers and their crews. Muzi.com News 10029433-20 (muzi.com) "There's more and more opportunities in the future, giving people access to the game," Cue said. "The other piece is also access to new things, whether it's the press conference or the interview. Muzi.com News 10029433-21 (muzi.com) "You need to offer more as customers want more." Muzi.com News 10029433-22 (muzi.com) For some sports, the Web has become the only way to offer anything. Muzi.com News 10029433-23 (muzi.com) Before cable, networks occasionally would show lesser-known or fringe sports. ABC's "Wide World of Sports" gave viewers regular doses of sports such as cliff diving and ski jumping. Muzi.com News 10029433-24 (muzi.com) That's simply not possible anymore, said Rick Gentile, a former senior vice president of CBS Sports who is now a professor at Seton Hall. Muzi.com News 10029433-25 (muzi.com) "The networks have to pay such exorbitant rights fees for the staples, their sales forces have to charge advertisers big dollars to support those. And they really don't have the appetite to sell the little sports," Gentile said. Muzi.com News 10029433-26 (muzi.com) "Alpine skiing, you never see alpine skiing on television anymore." Muzi.com News 10029433-27 (muzi.com) Actually, you do. Just not that often. Muzi.com News 10029433-28 (muzi.com) You can, though, get your fill on the Web. Muzi.com News 10029433-29 (muzi.com) The World Championship Sports Network has acquired rights from 35 Olympic sports federations, allowing it to stream coverage of world championships and other major events on its WCSN.com Web site, co-founder Claude Ruibal said. For $4.95 a month or $49.95 a year, subscribers can watch everything from the Asian Games to the world gymnastics championships to table tennis' World Cup events. And, of course, skiing. Muzi.com News 10029433-30 (muzi.com) Other content on the site -- news, features, athlete blogs -- is free. Muzi.com News 10029433-31 (muzi.com) "(Getting attention) is a really big challenge," said Teodor Gheorghe, the executive director of USA Table Tennis, which has only 8,500 members even though nearly every American who's been to a family reunion has played the game. Muzi.com News 10029433-32 (muzi.com) "People don't have a clue what the sport means if they can't see it. If we can get this out, we will get more fans, more support." Muzi.com News 10029433-33 (muzi.com) Or capitalize on interest generated at a big event. Muzi.com News 10029433-34 (muzi.com) Ruibal said he was captivated during the Turin Olympics by the story of Lindsey Jacobellis, the American who hot-dogged her way out of a gold medal in snowboardcross. He wanted to see how she'd do in her first post-Olympics race -- but it wasn't going to be on TV. Muzi.com News 10029433-35 (muzi.com) "There wasn't a place to see that," said Ruibal, WCSN's chairman and CEO. "There is now. Muzi.com News 10029433-36 (muzi.com) "We really are trying to build more of a community online," he added. "You need to somehow be able to touch better those people who have a core passion for sport and grow from there. You need to somehow have the excitement the content gives you, the excitement that interacting with these athletes through photographs and blogs gives you." Muzi.com News 10029433-37 (muzi.com) Even glamour sports like figure skating are relying on the Web. Muzi.com News 10029433-38 (muzi.com) Figure skating is one of the few sports with a TV presence outside the Olympics, but ratings are nowhere near what they were in the aftermath of the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding debacle. It doesn't help that Michelle Kwan, the sport's biggest star for the last decade, has traded her skates for school books. Muzi.com News 10029433-39 (muzi.com)
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