Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 23 of Rerun, your weekly digest of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV curated by Axonista.
In our Top Pick this week we feature the story behind BAM, the baseball tech team building the future of TV. We also have a Rerun exclusive, an interview with Stephen McCormack, TV Producer and Co-Founder of MediaCon! Not to mention Buzzfeed TV, Facebook video, Magic Leap, Netflix Japan, hoverboards and more! Yes we said hoverboards!
#JonVoyage
Top Pick
How baseball’s tech team built the future of television
This is the story of BAM (short for MLBAM) (short for Major League Baseball Advanced Media) and how they've risen to become a streaming heavyweight, the struggles they've faced, the victories, the gambles, the payoffs. Such is their expertise that HBO called them in to build out the infrastructure for HBO Now, and they did it in just over three months. Earlier this week they settled a lucrative six-year streaming and content deal with the NHL.
So far BAM has managed to bridge the gap between television and the internet. And Bowman is bullish on the future. "The fact that you can now deliver games on demand 24/7 to 4 billion devices around the globe, you couldn’t write heaven for a sports fan better than that."
Features
Rerun Interview: Stephen McCormack, co-founder MediaCon
In the first of our Rerun Interview series, Claire McHugh sits down with Stephen McCormack, TV producer and co-founder of MediaCon to find out more about their inaugural Dublin TV tech event and where he thinks the future of TV is heading.
Future of TV
BuzzFeed TV? Maybe it's closer than you think
Digital media companies, the great disruptors of news and entertainment, are cozying up to television as they look to find cash to justify their lofty valuations.
Three of the biggest digital media empires, Buzzfeed, Huff Post and Vice, are moving upstream, eyeing up the lucrative TV market. Despite the ongoing trend towards cord cutting, TV still offers advertising revenue, affiliate fees and a long-term stability that’s, so far, hard to come by on the web.
Theft, lies, and Facebook video
In a heated accusatory piece, a dissatisfied content creator explains why Facebook video, in its current state, is disruptive to creators. Hank Green compares Youtube viewing data with Facebook and spells out his fears that there will be serious ramifications for content creators regarding copyright infringement through user's 'freebooting' of videos on Facebook.
The post features a good response from a product manager at Facebook, who answers many of the concerns, by pointing out Facebook's intentions for video and the content creators, including why they chose 3 seconds as the metric for a view.
The article was the most recommended article on Medium earlier this week.
Interactive Media
Magic Leap's patent application in pictures
For a company that has been backed by hundreds of millions of dollars, the elusive team at Magic Leap has remained very quiet. Ben Gilbert looks into the technology behind the mysterious cinematic reality headset, sharing the company’s patent application, which is rife with ridiculous, but amazing illustrations of what the magic headset might look like, including a hat/helmet with an attached display and our favourite - The Robert Scoble shower model!
Briefs
- Netflix coming to Japan on Sept 2nd, their first Asian launch
- Facebook launches Periscope-style video for celebrities only
- Periscope launches ‘couch mode'
- VR enthusiasts at Burning Man are making their own camp
Here's that Lexus Hoverboard finally in action
At last - a hoverboard that Marty McFly would be proud of ! Well, not quite... This video from Lexus shows their hoverboard gliding across land and water smoothly, but it's a little bit cheeky, as the skate park featured in the video is built over a layer of metal, which allows the built-in superconducters and magnets to levitate the board and rider. Still, it's a hoverboard in 2015, which is right on schedule for Back to Future enthusiasts.