NBC SPORTS DIGITAL “BYTES”
February 22, 2017 – Vol. 102
NBC Sports Digital “Bytes” is a collection of highlights, information and metrics for NBC Sports Digital properties. Previous editions can be found on NBCSportsGroupPressbox.com.
Playmaker Media Selected by NASCAR to Power New NASCAR TrackPass
Playmaker Media, NBC Sports Digital’s technology service providing end-to-end support for companies in need of best-in-class live streaming and VOD solutions, has been selected by NASCAR to power its new NASCAR TrackPass, the sport’s first digital subscription product developed specifically for the international market.
Announced today by NASCAR, NASCAR TrackPass will offer live racing action to more NASCAR® fans than ever before. Fans around the world can watch all 38 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ and 33 NASCAR XFINITY Series™ events either through NASCAR’s local television partner or by subscribing to NASCAR TrackPass. The product will be available in 120 countries and territories at launch, with plans to continue expanding the NASCAR TrackPass footprint throughout 2017.
“We are thrilled that NASCAR has selected Playmaker Media to fuel its new NASCAR TrackPass product to racing fans across the globe,” said Eric Black, CTO, NBC Sports Digital and Playmaker Media. “By providing end-to-end solutions such as payment processing, CRM, website and app development, and live video and VOD services, Playmaker is now servicing its numerous clients in more than 120 countries and territories.”
Playmaker Media launched in May 2016, and has since streamed tens of thousands of events that air across NBC, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Telemundo, NBCUniverso and six NBC Sports Regional Networks, including the record-setting Rio Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) signed on as Playmaker Media’s first client, with Playmaker providing live streaming video support for the IOC’s Olympic Channel, a global digital initiative which launched following the Rio Olympics. NBC News, regional sports network SNY, and Spanish-language broadcast network Telemundo are also clients.
Earlier this year, Playmaker Media and iStreamPlanet, owned by Turner, announced the creation of a long-term partnership to deliver OTT live streaming and video-on-demand solutions for major sports leagues, professional team franchises, emerging leagues, regional and national sports broadcasting networks, the Olympics organization and other premium rights holders of live-event content.
Yahoo Sports – NBC Sports Network is Tops for Affluent Audience; Second Among Sports Site In Total Minutes and Average Minute Audience in Janaury
The Yahoo Sports – NBC Sports Network continues to draw the most affluent audience among digital sports sites, ranking No. 1 ($97,620) in January, the 11th consecutive month that the alliance has ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the category.
Continuing NHL and Premier League coverage contributed to the Yahoo Sports – NBC Sports Network delivering 234 million minutes and an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 52,600 in January, ranking No. 2 across sports sites in both metrics. The digital alliance has ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the advertiser-coveted minutes category for 18 consecutive months. Total minutes were up 53% and AMA was up 49% vs. the third-place company.
NBC Sports Group reached several additional milestones for its properties in January:
- The Pittsburgh Steelers’ down-to-the-wire 18-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoff on Jan. 15 totaled 52 million live streaming minutes for NBC Sports Digital – NBC’s best ever for a Sunday NFL game, excluding Super Bowls. The 52 million live streaming minutes is up 48% from last year’s primetime NBC Divisional Playoff (35.1 million for Packers-Cardinals). In addition, NBC Sports Digital reached 1.1 million unique users for Steelers-Chiefs, up 44% from last year’s Divisional Playoff (759,000). The Average Minute Audience for the Steelers-Chiefs live stream via the NBC Sports app, NBCSports.com, NBC.com ‘TV Everywhere,’ and NFL Mobile from Verizon was 260,000 viewers.
- The live stream of the Lions-Seahawks NFL Wild Card game on Jan. 7 finished with 1 million unique devices and 34 million live minutes across NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App, and Verizon Mobile, to rank as NBC Sports Digital’s most-streamed NFL Wild Card game ever in both metrics.
- NBC Sports Digital’s live stream of the Tottenham v. Chelsea match on Jan. 4 finished with 202,000 unique devices and 7.5 million live minutes across all platforms to rank as the No. 2 most-streamed Premier League match ever in unique devices and No. 4 most-streamed in live minutes.
CSN New England’s Digital Coverage Continues Post-Super Bowl Momentum
CSN New England’s digital coverage continues to attract New England Patriots fans even weeks after the Patriots’ unforgettable Super Bowl title. The network’s “Quick Slants” podcast with Tom Curran, Phil Perry, and Adam Hart saw almost 100,000 listeners for its last episode. Additionally, CSN New England’s unique mashup video highlighting a variety of Boston sports Championship Parade highlights since 2001 generated 3 million Facebook impressions and saw a 5,000% increase in video views vs. the prior week’s average. CSNNE.com continues its in-depth coverage of the Patriots and the NFL right through the off-season and into next season’s training camp with continued podcasts, up-to-date news, video content, real-time coverage and more.
CSN Chicago Launches New Online Bracket Tournament To Determine Illinois’ Most Enthusiastic High School Student Section
CSN Chicago, the home of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships, recently launched a new online tournament entitled “Battle of the Fans,” which enables fans to determine the state’s most wildly-enthusiastic and creative high school student section. Resembling the popular 64-team bracket format, which was also utilized during the network’s popular “Mascot Madness” contest last year, fans can cast their vote now by visiting the network’s dedicated “Battle of the Fans” page -- CSNChicago.com/Battle. The first round poll closes on Thursday, February 23 at 4 p.m. CT.
For the remaining four weeks, as the brackets shrink to 32, 16 and 8, fans are urged to start voting each Monday at Noon CT, and the weekly polls close at 4 p.m. CT on each Thursday. Viewers can check out the weekly results every Friday night on CSN’s weekly high school sports highlights show, High School Lites, or by simply visiting CSNChicago.com/Battle. The four regional champions will be unveiled on CSN’s official preps Twitter handle (@CSNPreps) on Thursday, March 16 at 4 p.m. CT. CSN will also present a special award to each of the four champion schools shortly after the conclusion of the “Battle of the Fans” contest.
--NBC SPORTS DIGITAL--
