With Peacock's launch date quickly approaching, NBCUniversal continues to trickle release information about the streaming service. Today, NBC announced that Peacock will be home to a lot of NBC Sports Premier League coverage when it launches on July 15th. This seems to be a one-day-only promo meant to give those exploring the service a taste of NBC Sports' soccer coverage.
This week the folks at Hulu announced they'd be releasing an update for platforms from Roku to tvOS (Apple TV, that is). This update will be rolled out to all systems eventually over the next few months, but it'll start with some of the most-used systems. Navigating collections is the most important change, as it follows with rumors of Google's next-generation update to Android TV, with more focus on content, rather than the overarching services that serve said content.
Strava, the fitness app made specifically for cyclists and runners, has rolled out a big change to its business. While anyone can still download and use the app without paying on iOS and Android, certain popular features are now locked behind a paywall. Users who want access to the segment leaderboards and analysis will need to sign up for the new subscription, which is a way of ensuring the app can stick around in the future.
The THPS (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater) 1+2 release for 2020 is in-effect this week with pre-order bonuses and a bundle with a real skate deck. Assuming you've played the original game and/or THPS 2, you've more than likely seen the Birdhouse Falcon 2. Whether you know the name or not, you'll recognize the image. The design is iconic, and with this release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, the deck's been re-issued with a bit of THPS flare, as the Limited Edition Full Size Birdhouse Falcon 2.
WWE is a sports franchise that sees yearly game releases, but it looks like that schedule might be upended this year. WWE has apparently decided that this year's WWE 2K game, which would presumably be WWE 2K21, has been cancelled. Of course, if the WWE has decided to go in a different direction with this year's game, it wouldn't be surprising given the state that WWE 2K20 launched in.
As with other leagues and organizations around the world, England's Premier League is the latest to turn to esports as a replacement for canceled real-life tournaments. Under this event, the League says that athletes will compete with each other in the EA Sports FIFA 20 game in a series of matches from April 21 to April 24.
As the major sports of summer are effectively cancelled and the world sits at home, quarantined from their fellow citizens, one wonders... will televised sports ever return? According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), it's entirely possible - with a key disclaimer. Speaking with Peter Hamby, host of Good Luck America, Dr. Fauci suggested that team sports, televised sports, and the like, could return without fans.
Major League Baseball is the latest to announce a virtual gaming event that will involve real-life sports stars and live broadcasts. As with NASCAR and the NFL before it, MLB will use virtual games to make up for the lack of a proper gaming season, which has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. A total of 30 players will participate in the online league, which will run for a total of 29 games.
In an announcement today, ESPN revealed that its ESPN2 network will host a 12-hour esports marathon on Sunday, April 5, with multiple popular games in the lineup. The company is calling this 'ESPN Esports Day,' explaining that it will broadcast competitive gameplay, game recaps, live (virtual) sports, and more. This will be the first time Rocket League will appear on ESPN TV.
Last week, it was revealed that NASCAR would hold an esports event in place of the actual races it had to cancel because of the coronavirus outbreaks in the US. In an announcement on Saturday, Fox Sports revealed that the NFL is similarly embracing esports during this time with its upcoming Madden NFL Invitational. This event will air on Fox Sports today, March 29, on behalf of the CDC Foundation.
On Thursday, March 26, Major League Baseball was scheduled to officially kick off its 2020 season, ushering in a new round of games and more. For fans who are stuck at home, SiriusXM is offering a special treat: classic game broadcasts that will be available to stream starting tomorrow. These game broadcasts will include commentary from hosts, interviews with the opening day stars who participated in them, and more.
As more and more businesses and events are shutting down because of the COVID-19 outbreak, one major question mark has been the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. A lot of planning and money goes into hosting the Olympics - whether its the summer or winter Olympics - so we expected the International Olympic Committee to take its time in making a decision. It seems that such a decision is right around the corner, if one IOC member has it right.