Tag: NFL

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Empowering NFL clubs and fans with help from the Microsoft Playbook

At Microsoft, we’re honored to partner with the NFL to bring modern fan experiences to the game of football. Since 2013, the NFL has used Microsoft Surface to help manage all aspects of their business and gameday operations. Earlier this year, we expanded this deep technology partnership to include Microsoft Teams, enhancing communication and collaboration across the League, and enabling new digital experiences. In April, when the pandemic made us change our way of life, the League used both Surface devices and Teams to help power the first-ever virtual NFL Draft. And today we’re announcing new innovations – developed with the League and NFL Clubs – that reimagine gameday for players and fans and help keep operations safe during a season unlike any other.

“Microsoft technology has been an integral part of NFL operations for several years,” says Michelle McKenna, CIO, NFL.  “And with the new challenges ahead of us this season, Microsoft will be instrumental in helping us innovate the best possible experiences for our players, coaches, officials, and fans, through activation like the Fan Mosaic and the Bud Light Showtime cam.”

New gameday experiences

  • Crowd energy and engagement energizes players and connects fans to one another. With fans mostly unable to attend games live, the NFL turned to Microsoft to create rich, virtual experiences that bring fans into the game when they can’t be there in person.
  • Using Microsoft Teams technology, key games this season will feature a feed of virtual fans called a Fan Mosaic. The Fan Mosaic will be displayed in stadiums on LED screens, and on broadcast to create a richer viewing experience.
    • For each game, the home team will invite lucky fans to a virtual VIP experience in which they watch the game together via a Microsoft Teams meeting. These fans will see a dual screen display of the live game next to a Gallery View of fellow fans. Each fan video feed will be isolated and mixed into the Fan Mosaic display. Fan audio from the Teams meeting will be mixed with augmented crowd noise customized for each stadium.
  • We also wanted to help the NFL digitally reimagine touchdown celebrations. This season, it will debut the Bud Light Showtime cam in stadiums at key games to give players a new way to connect with fans after scoring touchdowns.
    • After a player scores a touchdown they will see fans from the Fan Mosaic appear on LED screens installed at each end zone, allowing them to connect and celebrate the moment.

New operations experiences

  • NFL Football Operations will reduce the number of representatives onsite at each game. It will use Microsoft Teams to virtually manage operations for all games every week, supporting communication to gameday staff before, during, and after the game, and helping with document collaboration, reporting, and adherence to League and gameday protocols.

Ongoing support with Surface

  • Along with these new Teams integrations, Surface devices continue to be a vital tool for the League, clubs, players, and coaches on and off the field, on game day and every day.
  • Game preparation: NFL Game Officials rely on Surface to prepare for games by analyzing game film and collaborating as an officiating crew and the League office in advance of game day. At the club level, players and coaches prepare for the game with video reviews and playbooks.
  • Gameday: For players and coaches, the Microsoft Surface Sideline Viewing System has become an integral part of the game as Microsoft technology helps power 269 NFL gameday events each year with more than 2,000 Surface devices and 170 Windows Servers deployed across 30 NFL stadiums.
  • Additionally, Surface is an important tool for tracking all elements in-game. For example, it is critical in monitoring key parts of the IT infrastructure during a game.

In a season of countless challenges, we are honored to deploy Microsoft’s powerful combination of hardware and software to help the NFL bring football to people everywhere. With new fan and player experiences and operations solutions that keep everyone safe, we have developed a deep and lasting partnership with the NFL, and we look forward to future collaboration in the days to come.

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Microsoft and the NFL expand partnership to accelerate digital transformation across the League

Vikings draft room

REDMOND, Wash. — March 3, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. and the National Football League on Tuesday announced an expansion of their deep technology partnership. The multiyear expansion aims to help the entire NFL, including its coaches and players, be more efficient through enhanced communication and collaboration via Microsoft Surface devices and Microsoft Teams, the hub for teamwork in Office 365.

“Since 2013, Microsoft has helped transform the NFL through technology around our game,” said Renie Anderson, chief revenue officer and executive vice president of NFL Partnerships. “Microsoft Surface has quickly become an authentic tool to the game of football and is vital during all NFL games for coaches, players and NFL Officials. And now by working together to integrate Microsoft Teams across the League, together we aim to improve on communications and collaboration in a modern way.”

Surface instant replay system

“We’re inspired to continue to help the NFL accelerate its digital transformation,” said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president, Modern Life, Search and Devices, Microsoft. “We’ve worked together to innovate the way the game is played with Surface devices to power Instant Replay and in-game play review for players and coaches on the sidelines. And by combining Surface and Microsoft Teams deeper into the fast-paced workflow of the League, we have an incredible opportunity to bring together the power of hardware and software to help everyone be more productive.”

As part of the partnership expansion, Microsoft and the NFL will now work together on modern collaboration technology to further empower the League using the new Microsoft Teams platform. Designed to work seamlessly across Windows, iOS and Android devices, Microsoft Teams brings together chat, calling, meetings, files, document collaboration and workflow into a single app. Rather than use separate apps for those experiences, NFL teams and the entire organization can collaborate and stay constantly and securely connected on Microsoft Teams.

Clubs across the NFL are already taking advantage of the Microsoft Teams platform. The New York Jets use Microsoft Teams to ensure key messages such as the teams’ draft selection are being transmitted accurately in real time. Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, use Microsoft Teams to coordinate travel schedules among the club’s on-the-road scouts. And the Miami Dolphins used Microsoft Teams to plan Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium.

“The Miami Dolphins rely on Teams for all cross-functional strategic projects. In Teams we can easily collaborate on files, manage shared calendars, host meetings, and use existing integrations. Teams made cooperation with the NFL possible throughout the regular season and with Super Bowl planning,” said Kim Rometo, vice president and chief information officer for the Miami Dolphins.

Vikings sideline viewing system

Microsoft continues to deliver exceptional performance to the NFL with the Microsoft Surface Sideline Viewing System (SVS), bringing near-real-time images and game data, such as down, distance and yard line information, to the players and coaches on the sidelines and to the coaches in the coach’s booth. In addition, Microsoft Surface Instant Replay (MSIR) brings mobile instant replay to the officials on the field, helping improve pace of play. With more than 2,000 Surface devices and 170 Windows Servers deployed across 35 global stadiums, Microsoft technology powers 333 events each year for the NFL on game day.

Beyond the sideline integration, Microsoft works with every NFL team and their partners to develop unique business and consumer-facing integrations to deliver real-world productivity solutions. Ranging from Surface devices serving as playbooks, to film reviews being conducted on the Surface family of devices, to in-stadium usage on gamedays, to business operations teams using Surface devices in their front office, it is clear that NFL teams have embraced Microsoft as a true technology partner.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, [email protected]

Alex Riethmiller, NFL, (310) 840-4681, [email protected]

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.