Boxeeing Out The Competition: Boxee/Roku Deals Turn Leagues Into Broadcasters
Posted by Jonathan in TELEVISION on 04-21-10 1 Comment
When it comes to new media, it’s looking like the leagues are making their own media hay.
Over the past couple of days, two interesting sports tech deals got done: Gadget maker Roku announced it will stream NBA content via its boxes. And interactive TV software maker Boxee said it struck similar deals with the NHL. Both announcements got a fair amount of media coverage, with the moves viewed mostly as sports leagues pioneering new revenue channels for their games.
But this spin missed a larger, darker trend: Sports is the leader now in new technology efforts across all media. And in many ways, the leagues are replacing the media companies that used to be their partners.
What’s makes the Boxee and Roku deals important is that they got done at all. Both Boxee and Roku have struggled do business with traditional media cable and satellite companies. These usual-suspect firms do not like to deal with outsiders, are slow to innovate and simply don’t have much money. That Boxee and Roku found suiters at all is news. But that they got not one, but two, sports leagues to take them seriously shows just how far off the innovation ball most traditional media firms have become. It’s no accident that Disney is not experimenting with alternative delivery of ESPN on Boxee.
Unless the major media firms step up and decide they want to be real media companies, and not just marketing fronts looking to discount their way to cheap product, I cannot see any reason why an NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB will want to, or have to, deal with them.
Particularly for new media, the leagues are cutting their own path to innovation. And the leagues will be the big winners.
One Comment on “Boxeeing Out The Competition: Boxee/Roku Deals Turn Leagues Into Broadcasters”
Leave a Comment
WEEKLY PODCASTS
New podcasts available every Wednesday!
Subscribe via iTunes
TSC is now on Stitcher!
Listen on your iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry
Episode 51: “The Pirates Really Are Broke!”
Seth breaks down the body mechanics for Strasburg’s Tommy John surgery. Yes, he’s effed. Blum takes a peak at the freshly leaked financial data for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, they’re broke. Dan does new technology at the USOpen. Yes, they’re new racquets. And Boise State is a BCS contender. Yes, Blum’s a stone cold idiot. (29.1 MB: [...]
Episode 50: “It really is a woman!”
Blum and Dan get into some sex … the sex of South African runner Caster Semanya, that is. Then Seth chimes in on the new NFL.com fantasy league, complete with in-game video clips. Blum breaks down FanPageList.com, the site that ranks the social networking power of athletes. And finally is oxygen during a mixed martial [...]
Episode 49: “Welker’s Not Cheating … He Really, Truly Is The Bionic Man”
Seth joins us for his take on the BlackBerry sports apps: 212 of em flat out suck. And Dan the Pats Fan only gets a touch defensive breaking down Wes Welker’s “remarkable” return from a torn ACL. While Blum digs into the cutting edge of TV sports technology from IBC2010 trade show. And everyone gets into [...]
Episode 48 — “Spain’s Putting HGH In The Water”
Dan makes it back from the beach alive, so we break down the cutting edge in NFL Preseason analysis: Old school print mags. Blum is agog at the Triple Crown winner in auto racing. Dan talks up the X-Games. And we wonder what drug is in the water in Span. They’re winning everything, everywhere. (24.1 MB. [...]
Episode 47 — “Lance is Gettin’ Screwed”
Dan takes a much needed vacation poolside so Blum flies solo this week. Seth The Technihilist calls in with the latest scoop on tech tools to keep his Pirates awful. Blum plays the Old Course, on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, that is. And we throw a techno-bone to Lance: There’s no way he doped [...]
Episode 46 – “Show Em Your Big Fly Stick”
Dan and Blum give it up to King George Steinbrenner. then Blum breaks down some big bats for big home runs. And Dan gives us the skinny on EA’s NCAA Football 11. And finally what a royal jerk Lebron really is. (7/15/2010. 29.1 minutes)
Episode 45 – “They’re All Takin’ Drugs”
Dan, Blum, and Seth wonder out loud what the world needs with Sirius’ new all fantasy sports channel. Dan gets sucked into the Back to the Future vibe and brings us sports technology in 2015. Blum sees an All-Star conspiracy in Kevin Youkilis not getting on the All-Star team. And with Floyd Landis spilling his [...]
Episode 44 – “The age of free stuff is over”
Can Sports Illustrated save themselves with a fancy iPad app? Plus: Why high school can’t afford to protect their football players with modern helmets, a look at what FIFA could do with goal-line technology, and Jonathan found some “interesting” items at the Outdoor Retailer Show. [7/1/2010, 30:29m]
Episode 43 – “This is the geek’s delight”
Seth, the tech nihlist, thinks 3D television is just going to be a rich guy’s thing and has a long way to go. Plus: Jonathan philosophizes on technology and the ever-changing sports medium, Dan got to play with the Xbox Kinect and wants to have its baby, and a little airplane tech from the Red [...]
Episode 42 – “We make the invisible visible”
TSC brings in Ron Imbriale from Flexxcoach to discuss their innovative software/video solution for regular athletes. Plus: The inflatable motorcycle crash suit, a discussion of Abby Sunderland’s failed around the world sailing trip, and we look at what ESPN on the Xbox really means for sports fans. [6/16/2010, 31:32m]
how much should i weigh
wow sweet info dude.
05-01-10 » 11:01 am »