My colleague Rob Schaefer covers the latest innovation from NASCAR and Warner Brothers Discovery below, which will debut this week as the Cup Series starts with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray. I live in Winston-Salem, N.C., home of the historic quarter-mile oval, and can't convey how big this is for the city and the venue. Hope my hometown puts on a good show this weekend. - Ethan Joyce
In today's edition of Power Up:
- NASCAR introducing Driver Cam on WBD's Max
- NFL sees fewest recorded concussions since '15
- Boldyn Networks US secures $1.2 billion debt financing
NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray to feature Driver Cam point of view on WBD's Max
Beginning with this Sunday’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service will offer viewers alternate, in-car streams of NASCAR Cup Series races called “NASCAR Driver Cam.”
Driver Cam, which can be found in the B/R Sports module of Max, will feature individual 1080p video feeds (captured by cameras on a windshield mount) from each driver’s car; include synced audio that layers scanner team radios and background car noise; and display live stats and telemetry data.
“We’re going to make [NASCAR] great on TNT, but we’re always thinking about how we can push the envelope in terms of different experiences,” Hania Poole, WBD SVP/Digital & Product, Sports, told SBJ. “When [WBD EVP & Chief Content Officer] Craig [Barry] and [WBD Chairman and CEO] Luis [Silberwasser] went to [negotiate its media rights deal with NASCAR], this concept was already in their heads.”
Viewers of the Driver Cam streams will be able to pause, fast forward and rewind live action, toggle between two preset Multiview options, and watch replays in the Max app. Each of the preset Multiview options will include four windows; one will be programmed by B/R Racing’s staff, while the others will be curated based on weekly fan polling conducted on B/R Racing’s X (née Twitter) and Instagram pages.
The 2025 season is WBD’s first returning as a NASCAR media partner, during which it will broadcast five Cup Series races across TNT Sports networks, with simulcasts on Max. The Driver Cam streams will be exclusively available on Max for all 38 Cup Series races, NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, and the Cup Series playoffs. NASCAR’s other media partners will have access to the in-car video and audio feeds to weave throughout their broadcasts, as NASCAR is producing both, but WBD negotiated rights to the full-length Driver Cam streams into its agreement with NASCAR, which also includes highlight rights for Bleacher Report’s digital channels.
“It’s really putting all the power of Warner Bros. Discovery behind this partnership,” Poole said.
NASCAR has offered similar second-screen viewing experiences on its website and mobile app in the past, like “NASCAR Drive” starting in 2022. WBD, in fact, once spearheaded the launch of the “RaceBuddy” as a more limited, video-only element in the early 2000’s, when it was previously a NASCAR rightsholder (and operated NASCAR.com).
“Fast forward 20 years later, it only makes sense,” Poole said, “given that technology is becoming more commoditized.”
NFL says 2024 season saw fewest recorded concussions since 2015
The NFL recorded its lowest number of concussions in 2024 since the league began tracking them electronically in 2015, NFL EVP Jeff Miller said Thursday.
The milestone represented a 17% year-on-year decrease from 2023, according to Miller. He and NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills attributed the dip to several factors, including new equipment and rule changes introduced in 2024.
On the former front, Sills said 35% of players upgraded their helmets to “a helmet that we and our engineers would judge as safer,” in 2024, up from figures in the teens in 2022 and 2023. Half of those players, Sills added, upgraded to altogether new helmet models.
The 2024 season was also the NFL’s first allowing players to don Guardian Caps over the top of their helmets in games. (The league began requiring the soft-shell helmet covers for preseason practices in 2022 and has expanded that mandate in the years since.)
Sills said about 20% of players played with the covers and that the league found no “negative effects” of wearing them, but added the sample size was too small to take away firm conclusions on the benefits of the caps.
“The first order for us is making sure we didn’t see any negative effects, or anything that were unintended consequences,” Sills said. “We did not see any of that.”
As for rule changes, league executives said the evidence shows the “dynamic kickoff,” introduced this year, was successful in creating more active plays while decreasing injuries.
According to Miller, the raw number of kickoff returns rose by 332 (up 57%) year-over-year in 2024 and the league saw its most kickoff return touchdowns (7) since 2021. The number of player games missed because of injuries sustained on kickoffs (down 12%), as well as the rate of concussions (down 43%) and lower extremity strains (down 48%) on kickoff plays also decreased.
“The goal, as we modeled this play with the [NFL] Competition Committee, was to reduce some of those spaces – and, therefore, some of those speeds – with the expectation we would have fewer injuries as a result,” Miller said. “Importantly, too, we wanted to bring that play back into the game, increase the kicks returned.”
Other highlights:
- Miller said the dynamic kickoff data has already been shared with the competition committee and will be reviewed further. It would require approval from at least 24 teams to continue the change in 2025.
- Time lost to lower extremity strains decreased 14% in 2024, and Miller said there were “no significant changes to most other injury groups.” He added: “QB injuries were down a bit year-over-year, which is good news; and we did see an increase on shoulder injuries, which is something we’re going to spend some time diving into to try to better understand between now and the [NFL Draft] Combine.”
- The NFL found no difference in lower extremity injuries in 2024 that “could be attributed to surface,” Miller said – be them synthetic or natural grass.
- Miller on the NFL’s ban of “hip drop” tackles: “I think it was a good first year on the hip drop… There’s more to do there. We believe, we think, we hope that behavior change has started, but more to do in terms of enforcement of that. We’re still seeing injuries as a result of hip drop tackles, but hopefully we’ve begun improvement in that area.”
Boldyn Networks US secures $1.2 billion debt financing to expand U.S. business
Boldyn Networks US has announced a $1.2B debt financing via senior secured credit facilities and fixed rate notes. The network infrastructure developer said the capital injection will help its continued expansion into the U.S.
More than 70 sports stadiums and arenas worldwide -- which include venues associated with the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS -- have used Boldyn Networks for connectivity infrastructure. Some of the company’s current sports-related projects include Arrowhead Stadium and the KFC Yum! Center. Boldyn Networks was supported in the move by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Must-reads in tech
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- The Washington Post: Tech CEOs try to reassure Wall Street after DeepSeek shock