What has technology done for my sport? Part 4 - June 2007  

Continuing its new feature on how technology has been utilised by sports rights owners, S&T asked Brian Rolapp (pictured right), VP of Media Strategy at the National Football League in the US what his response would be to the above question.

“When Roger Goodell became NFL Commissioner last year, one of the three main elements of his game plan for the NFL’s future was ‘innovation’. His definition of innovation included everything from improving the game on the field, to building state-of-the-art stadiums, to providing fans with the best football viewing experience possible.
Many of these innovative ideas revolve around the use of technology to allow the game of football to evolve and remain exciting for our fans. Technology has led to changes both on and off the football field.
Earlier this year, NFL owners used technological advances to make rule changes for the 2007 season. In one such change, the owners voted to adopt the current instant replay system on a permanent basis, opting to buy and refurbish replay equipment for all NFL stadiums and to convert replay into high definition.
The NFL has also embraced technology as a way to reach fans through television and the internet.
Prior to the 2007 season, we will be re-launching a new and improved NFL.com website, providing fans with up-to-the-minute news and statistics about their favourite players and teams, supplemented with game footage from NFL Films. Last season, the NFL partnered with Yahoo! to offer live game webcasts outside of the US for the first time. The partnership succeeded in providing NFL fans around the world with the chance to follow their teams, and we expect even greater success in the years ahead.
When it comes to television, we provide fans with access to the NFL 24/7 on NFL Network. And we continue to look for ways to enhance our television coverage, both on our own Network and through our television packages with CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC. Also, through a 2006 partnership with Apple, fans can now download NFL game highlights and NFL Network segments to their iPods.
Technology has also played a role in making Madden NFL Football by EA Sports one of the most popular video games in the world. We work with EA to update the game each year in order to make it feel as authentic as possible.
As technology continues to provide us with ways to reach our fans through different platforms, the NFL will continue to take advantage of these opportunities and will remain at the forefront of innovation in the world of sports and entertainment.”

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