Joining the NFL and ESPN is FOX Sports with plans to release exclusive shows on Facebook Watch, the social media company's video streaming platform. Under the collaboration between the two companies, FOX Sports will release what it calls interactive shows exclusively on Facebook Watch, including ones that involve sports wagering and football.
Blizzard is one of several companies to fall into the trap that is state-run media in the nation of China in the year 2019. Blizzard hosts gaming tournaments in China - it's big business, and has the potential for big growth. China and Hong Kong are in the midst of political upheaval via a protest in Hong Kong that's been in play since June of 2019. Because China wants to stop the protest, they're pressuring all media (including Blizzard) to do away with any form of public protest on their network, lest they remove said media from China altogether.
ESPN has announced a new deal with Facebook that will result in it bringing new content to the social network's Facebook Watch platform. Under this agreement, ESPN says it will offer some exclusive content and digital shows on the video platform, including exclusive versions of its Fantasy Focus Live and Countdown to GameDay.
FOX Sports is about to give its Thursday Night Football broadcasts a huge quality boost, offering them in 4K Ultra HD resolution for the first time starting with the upcoming football season. The broadcasts will offer improved quality over the Full HD broadcasts, bringing the option to fans who have compatible displays and either the FOX streaming apps or a pay-TV plan.
The NFL is continuing its partnership with Facebook, bringing select content to the Facebook Watch platform. This isn't the first time the NFL has made football content available on Facebook Watch; the two began working together in 2017 with a deal that, at the time, offered recaps from all regular-season games. Looking forward, the latest deal between the two will result in a variety of original video content, game clips, and more.
Following its soft launch earlier this summer, fuboTV has officially launched its ad-supported Fubo Sports Network. The official launch brings both original content and live programming to the channel, including live horse racing, NCAA basketball and football, and more. The company has partnered with Stadium, FanDuel, and TVG, among others, and it also plans to stream live sports movies and documentaries every week.
NBC Sports Gold, the company's live and on-demand sports streaming platform, has launched on Comcast Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex. Consumers who subscribe to either of these Comcast products will be able to directly access the NBC sports product, according to the company, including all fifteen of the subscription options available through NBC Sports Gold.
The National Football League (NFL) has launched an official TikTok account, giving fans a look behind the scenes, notable game highlights, and other clips. The account arrives just ahead of the 2019 football season, marking the League's latest expansion on social media. The NFL has previously embraced social and streaming platforms with things like its Twitter video deal.
Today Nike introduced the Nike Adapt Huarache, an update and re-thinking of the original 1991 Nike Huarache. This pair of shoes originally sported a neoprene bootie and an "exoskeletal" upper for an entirely unique sort of shoe experience. Now Nike's decided to use the fond memories sneakerheads have of that semi-retro piece of work to create a technologically-enhanced new set of shoes - the Nike Adapt Huarache.
You'd think that given the unrest surrounding loot boxes, most publishers would want to avoid drawing attention to them. Take-Two is not one of those publishers. One of the new trailers for NBA 2K20, which is out next week, is somehow all about microtransactions. We're not really sure who at 2K Games thought this trailer was a good idea considering the heat that companies like EA have received for their characterization of loot boxes, but it really comes off as a tone deaf celebration of the thing gamers seem despise most at the moment.
Just ahead of the 2019 NFL football season comes an update from Amazon. The company has announced that its Alexa personal assistant has received a knowledge update revolving around the popular American sport, enabling it to offer users more 'comprehensive, in-depth' stats related to NFL teams and players, according to the company. The personal assistant can now also offer details about college and high school football.
Sony's over-the-top TV service PlayStation Vue has added two new major networks for accessing football and hockey content, including live games. Starting today, subscribers located around the United States can access ESPN's newly launched ACC Network, a subscription-tier television channel that was first announced in July 2016 and will officially launch tomorrow, July 22.