Sports Authority Files for Bankruptcy; Online Shopping Cited
Fans coveting their favorite team’s jersey with the personal touch of their name on the back are flocking online, likely not to the sports store at their local mall. Consumer habits are evolving. That looks to be one of the developments behind the financial travails of retail chains like The Sports Authority Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday and plans to close or sell about a third of its 463 stores. The...
Virtual Reality, Driverless Cars To Grow in 2016
Virtual reality, connected cars, e-sports, the on-demand economy — all are becoming important elements in the economy, and all are poised for rapid growth in 2016 — along with some challenges. And then there’s Snapchat Inc., based in Venice, Calif., and one of the most highly valued companies currently competing in the latest venture-capital-juiced start-up cycle, which many believe is way overheated. Snapchat The popular disappearing...
Watching Sports on Virtual Reality: Not Ready for Big Time
I took a step into the virtual future of sports recently. I’m glad I got to look around, but it didn’t take long before I was ready to high-tail it back to the real world. The Golden State Warriors season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans became the first ever sporting event to be live streamed in virtual reality video to the public. In a small room in the bowels of Oracle Arena, some fellow journalists and I took turns using...
4 Ways Football Helps Make Americans Poor
The National Football League is one of the richest sports organizations on the planet. The league earns about $10 billion each year, and its leaders project that number to rise to $25 billion by 2027. Although lucrative licensing, advertising and media deals fuel the NFL money machine, in the end it’s the NFL’s legions of loyal fans who are responsible for the organization’s fortune. They fill the stadiums, host viewing parties and...
Fantasy Sports Firms Eye Breakout NFL Season
Boston — The daily fantasy sports industry is eyeing a breakout season as NFL games begin. And its two dominant companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, are touting lucrative opening week prizes to try to draw more customers as more competitors pop up. Major tech and media companies, including Yahoo and CBS, are entering the fray, signaling a potential sea change in the still-evolving market. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins says he doesn’t view...
