| 20 January 2010
Sports programming has gotten pretty darn good in the past decade. We've seen increased in the number of sports sports, including separate networks for each major sport. High-definition television has allowed us to view all events in a whole different way. The sports that we're boring to watch are now exciting, or at least bearable, thanks to HD. We have the ability to basically watch any sports program around the world at anytime, as long as you want to pay for the specific packages to be able to do so. We have availability, we have lots of abundance, we have great visuals, but we're still no place near the ceiling of sports television. This where I think we're going.
I can't predict much. I don't know what's for dinner tonight, what time I'm going to sleep, or who's going to win the Lakers/Cavs game tomorrow, but I do know technology. I can predict technology. Everyone thinks that technology changes everyday, and it does, but what people don't understand is that technology is very predictable. If a new feature is instituted on some sort of electronic and it goes over well with the public then chances are it's going to be brought on to every other electronic available. That's the basis of technology; making life simpler. For some reason or another televisions haven't gone into the realm of upgrading software, but instead have focused on the hardware. Thinner TV's, brighter TV's, bigger TV's, larger contrast ratio, higher refresh rate; that's what we have to look forward to when picking a television. Televisions are starting to catchup. Enhancements are coming in terms of WiFi enabled televisions and 3D displays. Those two enhancements alone are where the fun starts when in comes to the future of sports television.
I'm sure we've all experienced 3D at some point in time. Well if you haven't, just know it's coming soon. ESPN has already stated they will air 85 live events in 3D starting in June and Discovery is having their own dedicated 3D station as well. Get used to it, 3D is here to stay. What's not here to stay are the 3D glasses. Televisions are being built that don't need the glasses to see the dimensions. Soon it will be the norm to have sports in 3D. Just like HD is now, it's almost un-American to watch a sports event in standard definition. The same will happen with 3D. What's more interesting is how the WiFi enabled televisions and the cable companies can help bring interactiveness to a new level. I think televisions are going to become much more app friendly and touch screen enabled. We will be able to watch sports and just tap the screen or a button and be able to view live box scores from the current game and other games. We will be able to chat with fellow viewers across the globe while we watch the game. We will be able to choose what audio we want to listen to from the local stations or the national station. Replays will give us a chance to rotate and zoom in on the situation ourselves. Online voting for questions will be instantaneous. There will be apps to travel through the inner parts of the stadium, basically allowing us to go on our own personal tour. Fantasy live stat trackers will be up on our big screen. We can having a scrolling bar with our fantasy teams in our leagues and have the updated scores run across. We will have different angles to watch the game from. Basically all these new improvements will give us more freedom and more flexibility to do whatever we want.
The possibilities are endless. It's basically whatever we come up with and want. The basic apps like Facebook and Twitter will be there as well. Netflix is a given and having our email available will be nice too. So if it seems like sports on television is great now then just wait for another five years or ten years; it's going to be crazy. We will finally have the opportunity to watch sports with our friends, families, or fellow fans and none of us will have to be in the same room.
