MS deal with NFL supposedly cost $400 Million


Recommended Posts

The NFL and Microsoft, through its next generation Xbox device, are combining to upgrade interactive TV viewing of pro football games in a multiyear agreement announced Tuesday. The next step after that, perhaps as early as 2014, will be bringing technology to the sidelines on tablets.

The deal is worth $400 million over five years for the NFL, according to a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details have not been made public.

"When you think about the sidelines, what is most important for us is how you make the game of football better, make what the coaches and players do better, using technology but preserving the competition," said Brian Rolapp, chief operating officer of NFL Media. "The challenge is how to bring technology to make it a better experience for them and for the fans.

"You can start with how we communicate with each other, whether it's game officials or coaches. Coaches can look at formations as they develop. We'll look at how do you do the still photos better, get more into real time? Is there a more efficient way to give replay officials a way of doing reviews better through technology?"

That's for the future, albeit the not-too-distant future.

Fans will get new television viewing innovations, including the ability to watch games, Skype video chat with other fans, view statistics, access highlights in real time and gather fantasy information about players and teams -- all on a single screen. For those who prefer multiple screens, fans can get an even deeper experience on mobile devices and tablets with SmartGlass technology.

Source: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000205083/article/nfl-microsoft-strike-deal-to-enhance-fans-tv-viewing-of-games

Sounds like a great value

a little demographics shows a lot of potential business:

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2010/06/Issue-185/The-Back-Of-The-Book/Fan-Demographics-Among-Major-North-American-Sports-Leagues.aspx

Don't the big players pay billions for lesser rights? it sounds like a pretty good mutual deal. Money on the tablet from Microsoft and the NFL can now get data about its viewers it only dreamed of.

If you don't live in the United States (I do), you simply cannot fathom how popular the NFL is.

Even though the NFL is really popular here, it's nothing compared to the worldwide popularity of soccer (football).

Certain countries literally live and die for it.

Even though the NFL is really popular here, it's nothing compared to the worldwide popularity of soccer (football).

Certain countries literally live and die for it.

Who says they're stopping with the NFL?

They already have ESPN, MLB and now UFC.. I fully expect them to keep on going.

Who says they're stopping with the NFL?

They already have ESPN, MLB and now UFC.. I fully expect them to keep on going.

I don't believe anybody said they are stopping with the NFL.

MS is an American company, so it's not really surprising they are first focusing on American sports.

But if they want to gain worldwide support for these new features, they are going to have to spend a lot of time developing for other popular sports.

Even though the NFL is really popular here, it's nothing compared to the worldwide popularity of soccer (football).

Certain countries literally live and die for it.

In terms of money though, the NFL is the most profitable sports league in the world I believe, and it also has the highest average per-team value of any league.

Microsoft blew errr spent $400,000,000 on a sports partnership and not on research and development to improve its products?

Microsoft blew errr spent $400,000,000 on a sports partnership and not on research and development to improve its products?

What are you talking about? Microsoft has spent billions on improving its products. HD is done, that was so 2005. Today its about interactive gaming and content. The ability for a game to run on the cloud and change dynamically as you play is probably going to be one of the best breakthrough features MS announced.

What are you talking about? Microsoft has spent billions on improving its products. HD is done, that was so 2005. Today its about interactive gaming and content. The ability for a game to run on the cloud and change dynamically as you play is probably going to be one of the best breakthrough features MS announced.

That was just an example. I am not a big fan of football, and think money could have been better spent elsewhere, not on sports. How about a partnership with Nasa or something that can have both educational and entertainment value.

And which is why I loathe it. :rolleyes:

gawd sports in the USA drive me nuts, especially when there is an NFL or hockey game on... go out somewhere all you get is "DUDE! WHERE IS YOUR JERSEY!!!!!!!!" um maybe I don't give a crap about who's playing? which then turns into you being a loser because you are "supporting your local team" blah blah blah....

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • (Topic to get the juices flowing this Sunday morning!...) Actually, the situation has almost nothing to do with "lack of skills", especially since assembly-line skills can be taught to anyone, including Americans, certainly. Rather, the inadequacy-to-impossibility of large-scale tech manufacturing in America today, and the reasons why America finds tech manufacturing completely onerous in the 21st century, has to do with politically driven laws amid a plethora of non-scientific, utterly politicized "science-fact" that is patently false, punitive business taxation at every turn, an array of judicial fines of unimaginable scope and complexity, and, last but not least, American unionization strictures that serve to actually slay job creation and hobble all such manufacturing endeavors in America before they can get off the ground. Globalism emerged, they tell us, as the needed answer to American hubris and an unholy American drive to excel. Unless one is buried under mounds of political propaganda, it's easy to see the absurdity of labeling the employees of SpaceX, for instance, as "unskilled labor"... Etc. ad infinitum. At one time in the recent past, American manufacturing prowess was the envy of the world in a wide variety of technical fields! The current federal and state government roadblocks against America becoming competitive globally in tech manufacturing are considerable, it's true, as anyone with a working brain knows. But remarkably, that is only half the story! The other half of the story is, of course, the corporations themselves... Chinese tech manufacturing is simply unassailable in terms of profits, because the Chinese government wants to see its tech manufacturing second-to-none globally so that no companies/nations can compete in terms of ROI, and China has completely succeeded in that goal. Let's tic-off a few things: *Chinese tariff policies are set according to what is considered best for Chinese business, Chinese employees, and the Chinese people. Huge difference with how things are done with tariffs in the US--as the US government (SCOTUS in this case, Congress in others) plainly feels that tariffs are "unfair" for the limited number of citizens who may pay them, whereas nothing is "unfair" when Congress considers the Personal Income Tax rates to be infinitely hike-able, along with infinitely enlarging annual budget deficits. *The Chinese government boldly subsidizes Chinese companies to artificially amplify their profits. *The Chinese government deliberately refuses to avidly demonize Chinese businesses and does not consider Chinese businesses "the enemy", so very unlike American (D)s these days. *Chinese labor laws and businesses are allowed to set their own labor policies according to what Chinese companies consider is best for companies and their employees... Simply put, American workers in tech manufacturing are not allowed to set their own labor policies! It is the height of hypocrisy for Americans to decry working conditions in China while simultaneously ensuring that American products are manufactured in China, not in the US, simply to maximize profits. There is nothing wrong with making a profit, of course, absolutely nothing. But there is plenty wrong with attempts to normalize hypocrisy of this kind! But rank hypocrisy and the (D) party in the US are longtime bedfellows... The current government in Washington is working overtime to see if it can toss out the horribly poor, failed economic policies of the past, while the (D)s still in Washington work very hard to bring back the stupidity whenever possible. With the right policies in place, America can be an infinitely competitive manufacturer.
    • eSound Music 3.0.0 by Razvan Serea eSound Music is a free music streaming app that gives you access to over 150 million tracks from all genres. It allows you to search and listen to your favorite songs, create personalized playlists, and explore trending music. With an intuitive interface and smart search, discovering new artists and hits is fast and easy. You can even stream music in the background while using other apps. One of eSound’s standout features is its offline mode, letting you download and listen without internet access. eSound is widely compatible, working seamlessly across Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, HarmonyOS, Amazon Fire devices, CarPlay, Android Auto, and more. eSound Music key features: Over 150 million tracks available Smart search for songs, artists, albums, and playlists Personalized song recommendations Continuous playback with auto-generated playlists Offline mode with song and playlist downloads Daily-updated trending charts and top songs Sleep timer to auto-stop playback High-quality audio support Customizable playlists and favorites Support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, HarmonyOS, Amazon Fire, and more Cross-device sync via account login Background playback while using other apps Download: eSound Music 64-bit | Portable | ~160.0 MB (Free, paid upgrade available) Download: ARM64 | 116.0 MB Links: eSound Music Website | Screenshot | Web Player | Other OSes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • All these CEOs got the biggest boners thinking about firing employees for AI. Turned out it was just a wet dream.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      508
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      198
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      152
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!