MSG Networks Hires Sports Content Creator Jack Settleman to Host New Football Betting Series on YouTube

By Andrew Cohen

MSG Networks has hired sports content creator Jack Settleman to host Settle Your Bet, a new football betting series that will stream exclusively on the network’s YouTube channel every Thursday throughout the NFL season. The show will also be executive produced by Settleman, who is the CEO and founder of Snapback Sports, a sports-focused account on Snapchat that has surpassed 2.5 million followers and one billion views since its launch in 2017.

Settleman will discuss his top NFL betting picks and player props on Settle Your Bet, in addition to launching other digital and social media shows for MSG Networks throughout the year. He’ll also appear in branded content on the RSN’s linear programs, including MSG PM, The Bettor Half Hour and The Betting Exchange.

This upcoming NBA season will also see Settleman create content from inside Madison Square Garden during select Knicks game. He will also make appearances on BetCast, the alternate sports betting-focused simulcast for Knicks game that MSG Networks debuted last season on MSG+.

“Jack has an engaging and authentic personality that will help deepen MSG Networks’ connection with a younger, digital-first audience,” Talaya Gaines, MSG Networks’ VP of Content Strategy and Original Programming, said in a statement.

Settleman is also the co-founder of Snapback Agency, which launched in Dec. 2021 to represent digital influencers and content creators across sports and entertainment. According to his Twitter, Settleman also serves as the Head of Winning for the fantasy sports startup Underdog Fantasy.

Devin Booker to Auction Signed Nike Kobe 4 Protro Sneakers From 2021 NBA Playoffs on Shopify

By Tom Friend

Shopify, the cloud-based platform targeting small and medium-sized businesses, is powering an auction that will allow Phoenix all-star Devin Booker to auction the Nike Kobe 4 Protro sneakers he wore during the Suns’ 2021 playoff clincher against the Lakers.

Through Shopify, fans can bid for the signed sneakers —which Booker wore throughout the 2021 playoffs due to his close relationship with the late Kobe Bryant — on DevinBookeerAuction.com. The bidding will commence on Sept. 22nd and end on Sept. 29th.

In honor of Bryant, Booker’s inscription on the right sneaker says: “Be Legendary,” along with his autograph and a handwritten: “#1, Close Out vs. LAL, 47 pts 11r 3a” On the left sneaker, the handwritten messages include: #mambamentality.

Booker has previously interacted with fans through livestreams on his Twitch channel, playing games like “Call of Duty: Warzone” alongside other popular streamers in the Call of Duty community.

Shopify has previously teamed with former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch to create “BEASTMODE-A-Business,” a three-day seminar that gave students at Oakland Technical High School insights on how to start their own business through technology.

Hellebore Launches NFT-Powered Play-and-Earn Sports Prediction Game for NFL, NCAA Football, MLB, Soccer

By Tom Friend

Hellebore has launched a play-and-earn sports prediction game called Play Hellebore, which allows users to purchase NFTs and add to their digital tokens’ value through correct prognostications.

Debuting ahead of the NFL season, Play Hellebore enables fans to predict the winners of real-time pro football, college football, MLB and international soccer games for the purpose of unlocking physical and digital rewards such as merchandise from their favorite teams. Each successful prediction also increases a user’s odds of winning again in the future.

Led by Zappos founder and Golden State Warriors co-owner Nick Swinmurn, Play Hellebore’s NFTs —identified as Sibers—sell for roughly $50. Purchasers can become league managers and play against friends, relatives or the general public in “Pick ‘Em’’ style fantasy competitions.

Play Hellebore’s fantasy leagues can have up to 64 teams, with opportunities to make sport predictions 365 days a year. The more a user wins, their Siber rating rises, allowing them to alter a game’s point spread in their favor. Hellebore’s play-and-earn prediction games are compatible with Web3, with access possible on all devices with one click.

1/ST, New York Racing Association Sign 10-Year Deal to Expand North American Horse Racing Content to International Markets

By Joe Lemire

The content divisions of the New York Racing Association and the Stronach Group’s consumer-facing brand 1/ST have partnered to expand the distribution of North American horse racing media, data and odds to global markets.

The agreement was reached between NYRA’s Content Management Solutions (NCMS) subsidiary and 1/ST Content, which is the operating group of four media and content groups, including TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS). NCMS acquired a significant ownership stake in GWS through this partnership.

The NYRA and 1/ST operate two of the three Triple Crown horse races, as Belmont Park is part of the NYRA’s remit and Pimlico Race Course is part of 1/ST’s portfolio. The NYRA also oversees the famed Saratoga Race Course and New York City’s Aqueduct Racetrack. 1/ST’s racing division also manages Santa Anita Park and a half-dozen other tracks, and its parent company has implemented a wide range of tech-driven initiatives in everything from gaming to horse care.

MoneyLion Joins INFLCR to Improve Financial Education for College Student Athletes Pursuing NIL

By Andrew Cohen

Mobile banking app MoneyLion has signed a financial education deal with INFLCR, the NIL software and social media management platform that has more than 64,000 users across 4,000 college and professional teams. Student athletes will now be able to watch short-form financial literacy videos on INFLCR courtesy of MoneyLion.

The videos will cover topics such as money-saving hacks, investing and how to improve credit scores. As the official money app of INFLCR, MoneyLion will also launch an ambassador program in October for INFLCR’s student athletes that will give them access to VIP events and webinars led by professional athletes. The college athletes will promote MoneyLion at their respective schools. Opendorse and U.S. Bank also collaborated to form a financial literacy program for college athletes who are pursuing NIL.

Inaugural members of the MoneyLion Athletes Ambassador Program will be able to appear as guests on All the Smoke, the podcast produced by Showtime that’s hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. MoneyLion’s other sponsorships include its deal as the official bank and cryptocurrency platform of Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team.

Atlanta Falcons Using Drone Detection System to Monitor Unauthorized Drone Activity Near Mercedes-Benz Stadium

By Andrew Cohen

The Atlanta Falcons are among the NFL teams using a drone detection system to monitor the activity of unauthorized drones flying near their stadium. Last season, the NFL reportedly counted 1,400 cases of drones flying over or around stadiums during times of those air spaces being under flight restrictions.

“With the deployment of our drone detection for Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and around our campus, we’re very aware of the drone activity,” says Joe Coomer, VP of Security for AMB Sports + Entertainment. “It’s very top of mind at the NFL and our security leaders. Over the last five years, we’re starting to see drones become weaponized in some form or fashion.”

The Falcons share the retractable roofed Mercedes-Benz Stadium with MLS club Atlanta United, as both teams are owned by AMB Sports + Entertainment. Coomer says the organization is working with two technology providers, drone software company Aerial Armour and Dedrone, whose DroneDefender radio frequency-jamming device can be pointed to force aerial drones to land. The combined system from Aerial Armour includes RF detection, drone radar, and optical thermal cameras.

“If there’s temporary flight restrictions around the stadium for our events, our NFL games, college football games, when that TRF is in effect we can actually give some teeth to our law enforcement partners through our drone detection,” Coomer tells SportTechie. “Not only does it identify the drone, but also the source of the driver. And we can do a true interdiction on the driver to get that drone down.”

Earlier this summer, the NFL, MLB, NCAA and NASCAR sent a joint letter to congress that supported a Biden administration proposal for expanded drone flying regulations. Mercedes-Benz Stadium notably partnered with Lucid Drone Technologies in 2020 to use drones to aerially spray disinfectant across the stadium’s 71,000 seats as a cleaning measure against COVID-19.

GZ6G Technologies, Texas Rangers Enter Partnership to Integrate Wireless and Monetization Solutions at Choctaw Stadium

By Tom Friend

GZ6G Technologies, otherwise known as Green Zebra, will integrate its wireless and monetization solutions for the Texas Rangers at Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium.

When spectators log-in to the venue’s Wi-Fi network, Green Zebra’s technology will launch to give fans access to in-stadium messages, food and merch discounts and security updates. There will also be alerts of fan giveaways, through Green Zebra, either from push notifications or by scanning QR codes on digital displays.

Sponsorship opportunities will also be possible for brands and businesses, via Green Zebra’s smart enterprise solutions. Fans logging onto the Wi-Fi networks during Rangers games will see sponsors’ advertisements across Choctaw Stadium’s IPTV, as well as on their mobile devices.

The Rangers have a congruent partnership with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise-owned Aruba Networks, whose Edge Services Platform cloud network powers the stadium’s mobile ticketing, temperature control systems, a pair of Daktronics video boards and the venue’s retractable roof.

WSC Sports to Produce Automated Highlights for Conference USA Football

By Tom Friend

WSC Sports will create automated football highlights for Conference USA this season, using artificial intelligence to disseminate real-time game footage across the conference’s social and digital platforms.

WSC’s AI technology will produce instant highlights after the first, second and third quarters of each contest, followed by full-game highlights. WSC will also intermittently distribute footage of the best individual plays throughout every game to gain more visibility to the league’s 11 member schools: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and Western Kentucky.

Conference USA joins the Pac-12 as a WSC partner, as real-time highlights continue to permeate college football. WePlayed Sports’ machine learning, AI and computer vision similarly automates instant short-form game clips for top conferences such as the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big East and Ivy League. WePlayed, however, also has deals with 32 collegiate websites, producing individualized player highlights that are attached to a players’ name on the roster. The WePlayed clips also live forever on the company’s website, and its platform also generates real-time highlights for other NCAA sports such as basketball, baseball, volleyball and more.

WSC’s initiative with Conference USA also includes NIL opportunities for the league’s players. WSC Sports generates automated highlights for roughly 250 entities world-wide, including the NBA, NFL, NHL, NASCAR, ESPN, Warner Media and YouTubeTV, Bundesliga, FIBA, FanDuel and Extreme E Racing.

GridRival Finds Majority of Racing Fans Would Prefer Motorsports-Specific Betting Platform

By Andrew Cohen

Motorsports gaming startup GridRival has released new research that says 78% of sports bettors would prefer to use a motorsports-specific betting platform as opposed to current offerings from mainstream betting operators. The findings stem from GridRival’s userbase of 200,000 racing fans and come ahead of GridRival’s daily fantasy motorsports launch this summer.

GridRival is aiming to capitalize on the North American fantasy and betting market for racing leagues such as Formula 1 and MotoGP. The company’s survey also found that 73% of those who do not currently engage in sports betting said they would prefer a motorsports-specific platform were they start gaming, and that 32% of surveyed users have never bet on motorsports before but said they are likely to do so following GridRival’s real-money daily fantasy app launch.

“GridRival’s research backs up the consensus within the industry: motorsports fans are loyal, highly engaged, and keen to improve their viewing experience with gaming—but a suitable gaming platform is not yet in place,” Ross Fruin, CEO and Co-Founder of GridRival, said in a statement. “With the unique challenges that motorsport data represents and traders who are less familiar with how to price the action, motorsport remains seriously undervalued as a betting commodity.”

Investors in GridRival include Sharp Alpha Advisors and KB Partners. NASCAR’s managing director of sports betting Joe Solosky joined GridRival’s advisory board earlier this year. 

Riedel Communications Acquires SimplyLive, a Cloud-Based Remote Production Tool for Sports Broadcasts

By Joe Lemire

SimplyLive, a cloud-based remote production tool for sports broadcasts, has been acquired by Riedel Communications, a hardware-focused global media company based in Germany. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. 

Headquartered in Hong Kong with a US office in Easton, Pa., SimplyLive aids broadcasters in produced multi-camera feeds for live coverage with instant replay capability. Among its partners are ESPN, NBC Sports, SkySports, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, IMG and the Pac-12 Network. Riedel Communications also has a number of existing sports partners, such as the DFL (Bundesliga), SkySports and the International Swimming League.

“With this acquisition, we deliver on our strategy to move into the heart of live productions, offering new workflows, deployment types, and business models answering the fast-changing needs of our sports, media, and entertainment customers,” Rik Hoerée, CEO of Riedel Communications’ product division, said in a statement.

Verizon Partners With Wicket to Accelerate Deployment of Facial Recognition Ticketing Entry System at Sports Venues

By Andrew Cohen

Verizon has a new deal with Wicket to accelerate deployment of the company’s facial recognition ticket entry system in sports venues that run on Verizon’s network. The partnership’s announcement comes just ahead of the NFL season kickoff, in which Verizon is the league’s official 5G network partner and 5G provider in more than 25 NFL stadiums.

Verizon will now offer 5G Edge Accelerated Access to stadiums in partnership with Wicket, which includes opt-in facial authentication ticketing for fans entering a venue. The companies are not yet disclosing which specific stadiums will offer Wicket’s facial ticketing supported by Verizon, but Wicket’s opt-in system is already separately active at stadiums for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. More than 75 U.S. venues run on Verizon’s 5G, including dozens in the NBA and NHL.

The Browns also plan to roll-out Wicket’s sensors for opt-in facial age verification for fans purchasing alcohol at their stadium later this NFL season, with an in-stadium facial payment offering also in the pipeline. Other current pro teams using Wicket’s facial ticketing include MLB’s New York Mets and MLS’s Columbus Crew.

Teams also currently use Wicket for internal building access in which front office members can use their face instead of keys or a card to unlock a door. Wicket’s CEO and co-founder Sanjay Manandhar will speak on a panel about biometric and facial recognition ticket entry at sports venues at Sports Business Journal’s upcoming Sports Facilities & Franchises and Ticketing Symposium in Nashville from Sept. 13-15.