Now Playing on iPods
And on Google: Sports videos.
Sports Business Journal has two interesting articles on its front page this week about various sports leagues rushing into the new and very profitable online and iPod video market. The NBA has signed with Google to offer full-length, downloadable videos of every game this season, as well as some archival games, through its new video store. ESPN and ABC Sports are selling videos from Bowl games and ESPN programming through iTunes, which is also set to start distributing NHL and NASCAR video content. The NFL has no deal with either yet, but is in discussions.
Needless to say, there’s no mention of the NTRA or any other racing entity in either of the articles, which is a real shame. Imagine — the Breeders’ Cup or the Kentucky Derby on an iPod. Great races from years past on a laptop. Daily or weekly highlight shows from Del Mar or Saratoga wherever you go. The videos could be a promotional tool and a revenue stream. A new outlet for a sport that’s being squeezed out of others. Just the kind of thing “a new generation of fans familiar with electronic technology [need to see] in their face every time they log onto the Internet.”
From the archives: 21st Century Racing Fans
