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Tag: Under Armour

  • India’s first Lego store clicks into place with Ample’s Gurugram mega-launch

    India’s first Lego store clicks into place with Ample’s Gurugram mega-launch

    MUMBAI: The Lego dream just got bigger—and real. Ample group, the retail ace behind big-name brand tie-ups in India, has teamed up with the Lego group to launch the country’s first and South Asia’s largest Lego Certified Store at Ambience Mall in Gurugram.

    Spread across a sprawling 4,500+ sq. ft., this flagship retail paradise isn’t just another store—it’s a technicolour tribute to the power of play. Packed with interactive stations, digital experiences, iconic builds, and hands-on joy, it’s part toy box, part wonderland—and designed to hook everyone from toddlers to AFOLs (adult fans of Lego).

    Ample group founder & CEO Rajesh Narang said:  “At Ample, we have always believed in creating meaningful experiences for our customers by bringing some of the world’s most iconic brands closer to Indian customers, be it Apple, Bose, Under Armour, Asics, and now Lego group. With the launch of south Asia’s Largest Lego certified store, we are not just introducing a brand but offering families a space to imagine, play and create memories together. Our goal is to deliver experiences that go beyond shopping, where every visit feels special and interaction adds value.”

    This landmark opening comes as India’s economy is projected to grow by 6.3 per cent in 2025. With a surging middle class and rising appetite for premium experiences, Ample is betting big on immersive retail. It plans to open 30 Lego stores over the next five years, including the next one in Bengaluru’s Orion Mall.

    “Today is not just about opening a store—it marks a pivotal moment in Lego’s India’s journey, one that celebrates the power of play in its truest form,” said Lego India country manager Bhavana Mandon,. “We’re thrilled to finally bring the Lego brand experience to India in close partnership with the Ample Group. We’re laying the foundation for a strong retail presence and aim to help more Indians connect with the joy of play through multiple stores over the next two years. The energy, creativity, and passion we’ve witnessed today show that India’s Lego moment has truly arrived. As we enter this exciting phase of growth, we look forward to building spaces where people of all ages can build together.”

    Beyond retail buzz, the new store aims to cut screen time and boost cognitive skills with good old-fashioned hands-on play. From AI-powered displays to custom minifigs, it’s a bold mix of nostalgia and next-gen engagement.

    Established in 1996, Ample group has built a reputation for rolling out premium brand experiences, operating 100+ stores across the country and charming over a million customers. With a target CAGR of over 30 per cent over the next five years, the company shows no signs of slowing.

    Looks like Lego’s Indian adventure has finally clicked into gear—and it’s anything but child’s play.

  • Neeraj Chopra’s ‘ZIDD FOR MORE’ inspires Under Armour’s brand campaign

    Neeraj Chopra’s ‘ZIDD FOR MORE’ inspires Under Armour’s brand campaign

    Mumbai: Under Armour’s campaign is inspired by Neeraj Chopra’s grit, resilience, determination and stubbornness. The ‘ZIDD FOR MORE’ campaign delves deep into the Olympic and World Champion’s ziddi mindset to never give up on his goal of bringing greater glory to the nation.

    The content for this awe-inspiring campaign was created by shooting hours and hours of Chopra’s intense training sessions over several days. The film opens with the line ‘Har Taiyaari Se Badkar Hai Ziddari’, a personal belief that Chopra lives by and demonstrates – battling exhaustion, injuries, and loneliness in foreign lands while relentlessly going about his gruelling regimen.

    “We are proud of our long partnership with Neeraj, one of India’s greatest athletes and an icon of today’s generation, who embodies the brand’s core values: grit, resilience, and determination. Through this campaign we endeavour to inspire all athletes and strengthen Under Armour’s position as India’s most loved athletic performance brand,” said Underdog Athletics’s MD and Under Armour exclusive India distributor and licensee Tushar Goculdas.

    “It’s great to have Under Armour supporting me, not just with the high-performance gear that enhances my performance during my training and competition, but also in sharing my journey to inspire the next generation of Indian athletes. This campaign resonates deeply with me because it carries a message I firmly believe in: stay focused, work hard, and pursue your dreams relentlessly,” said Neeraj Chopra.

    Neeraj is the first Asian to win Olympic Gold and a World Championship title in the Men’s Javelin Throw event, and one of only two Indians to win an individual Olympic gold. The 26 year old is one of the most consistent athletes in the world, achieving a podium finish in his last 26 competitive event since 2018.

    “We’re excited to see Under Armour’s ZIDD FOR MORE campaign come to life with Neeraj, our marquee athlete and Under Armour’s first Brand Ambassador in India. Neeraj has significantly inspired the next generation of Indian athletes and contributed to the growth of athletics in India. His success has unlocked the marketing potential of Olympic sports in the country. At JSW Sports, we see our talent roster elevating Indian sports and sponsorships, and campaigns like this from Under Armour play a crucial role in achieving that,” said JSW Sports COO Divyanshu Singh. JSW Sports has exclusively managed Neeraj since 2017.

    Under Armour’s ZIDD FOR MORE campaign not only celebrates Chopra’s journey but also encourages the entire nation to participate by sharing their own stories of perseverance using the hashtag #ZIDDFORMORE. This collective narrative of determination aims to create a community of inspiration, motivating individuals to push beyond their limits and achieve their personal best.

  • Ritu Phogat joins Under Armour’s list of elite athletes

    Ritu Phogat joins Under Armour’s list of elite athletes

    Mumbai: American sports equipment company Under Armour has partnered with Indian mixed martial arts athlete Ritu Phogat. The brand said it aims to further its mission of engaging, empowering, and inspiring athletes everywhere.

    Phogat, who is popularly known as the Indian Tigress in the MMA fraternity, joins the brand’s exclusive list of athletes that includes Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Anthony Joshua, Jordan Spieth, Michael Phelps, and Dwayne Johnson among others.

    Talking about the partnership, Under Armour India’s MD, Tushar Goculdas, said, “From everyday athletes to the world’s best, Under Armour’s equips focused performers to strive and push their limits. Ritu Phogat has excelled in the international arena with her resilience, grit, and determination. We are privileged to contribute in her constant pursuit of performing better with our finest sports gear.”

    Phogat said, “I am delighted and honored to join the list of elite athletes who have taken Under Armour’s values and principles to a new generation of athletes. Under Armour’s aim of helping athletes around the globe to put in the work to achieve their goals resonates with the mindset I carried with myself when I entered the ring for the first time. Every product by Under Armour is a quest to build authentic and innovative solutions that enable athletes like me to perform better. I am sure with this association, I would be able to rediscover and expand my limits.”

  • Social media most significant for snackable content: NBA India MD

    Social media most significant for snackable content: NBA India MD

    MUMBAI: Cricket being the most watched and followed sport in the country, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has started the journey to make basketball the number two sport in India. With several sports gaining popularity, the NBA is aware that the goal is not going to be a cakewalk as the investment required is huge.

    The NBA has had steady growth over the past couple of years in India. The partnership with Sony Pictures Network India has been a good boost to the game and also helped in reaching to different regions in the country. It has also set up training centres in schools and recently started its fantasy league for fans. 

    According to the data provided by NBA India, the southern market contributed to 60 per cent of the viewership for the association in the country followed by the western region with 17 per cent market share in the previous season of 2016-17 (CS 2+). The northern and eastern regions contributed to 10 per cent and 13 per cent viewership, respectively.

    NBA India’s managing director Yannick Colaco, in an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, said that the core target remains youth and young adults and that the association believes that introducing boys and girls to the game of basketball at a young age will help in instilling in them positive values of the game.  

    Here are the excerpts:

    What, from your analysis, is the level of popularity of basketball in India?

    Basketball is one of the fastest growing sports in India. There has been incredible growth on popularity with respect to participation and consumption across multiple platforms. The game itself is simple to play and infrastructure light; all you need is a flat surface, a hoop and a ball.

    We have been extremely focused on growing the game from bottom-up and are thrilled at the response we have seen across the country in both participation of the programmes and adoption of the sport.

    How do you measure the success of basketball in India?

    We measure success in participation, especially among young boys and girls, and consumption. Basketball has to be grown the right way, from the bottom up, and its why we’ve invested significantly in grassroots. Our large scale in-school programmes such as the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA has reached more than six million youth and trained over 5,000 coaches. We anticipate that programmes like this and many others will continue to fuel the growth of the game in the years to come. We also continue to provide greater access of the NBA to our fan base, inspiring more kids to play and increasing opportunities for our fans to engage with us.

    With our partners Sony Six, we bring 14 live games a week to fans in India and we’ve consistently clocked high double-digit percentage viewership growth year on year

    Is there more viewership on digital? 

    We are committed to providing greater access of the NBA to reach the largest number of audiences and keeping that in mind, we ensure our partner platforms work in synergy; they’re complementary rather than cannibalistic.

    Last season, we reached a record number of 125 million fans for NBA programming across India. While television is our largest distribution for live games, social media is by far the most significant distribution platform for us for what we call ‘snackable’ content such as dunks of the day, bloopers, NBA fashion, quick tips and so on. Just on Facebook, NBA India has reached more than 900 million impressions this season, engaging over 600,000 unique fans weekly and amassed more than 155.6 million video views over the course of the 2016-17 season. We also have this subscription network called League Pass, which is now more accessible to our fans than before.

    How much time does an average viewer spend on the NBA digitally?

    We are very successful in engaging our audience on digitally owned platforms. Be it through social media pages, the NBA destination, our mobile app or Sony LIV. The average time each user spends on the mobile app per week is 1 hour 12 minutes.

    How will the Fantasy Basketball league function?

    The NBA Fantasy game allows its users to create their own virtual team choosing their players and perform the role of a manager and accumulate points based on their selected players’ statistics in real life. The free-to-play game will offer a variety of prizes as rewards, including NBAStore.in gift cards, NBA merchandise and the opportunity to win a trip to the US to attend the 2018 NBA Finals.

    The NBA, globally, has tremendously successful fantasy partnerships across multiple players. We are thrilled to be partnering with Dream11, India’s largest fantasy gaming company, to launch a free-to-play daily fantasy basketball game.

    We have over seven million fans across social media in India and a high percentage of them are actively connected with us. With the NBA’s highly aspirational appeal, and an abundance of marketing assets locally (TV, digital, social, events and athlete tours), we expect a large number of NBA fans to contribute to the online fantasy game.

    Which are the top two teams based on their fan following?

    Success, in sports worldwide, drives a lot of fan affinity and the NBA in India is no exception. The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs received tremendous support and fandom last season.

    Are you planning commentary in languages other than English?

    We ran a pilot project last season in introducing Hindi in-game commentary for the 2016-17 Conference Finals and NBA Finals and the response was tremendous. This season, we are offering close to 100 NBA games with Hindi commentary on Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD.

    With the growing popularity of the NBA across the country, this move aims to engage a wider set of fans and enthusiasts with Hindi as their primary language.

    We are also extremely fortunate to have youth influencers fans such as actor and VJ Rannvijay Singh and popular culture stand-up comedian Gursimran Khamba who contribute as guest commentators on a regular basis.

    Do you see merchandising as a big play here?

    Certainly, we have witnessed a consistent growth in demand and purchases for NBA apparel and licensed product. NBA products are available in over 700 outlets across the country. We are committed to growing the culture of basketball along with the game and merchandising plays a huge role in bringing about that change.

    The NBA has several active global licensing partners in India such as Nike, Under Armour, 2K, EA, Tissot and Spalding. Our local licensing partners include Jabong, Jack & Jones, Iskcon Apparel and Dream11. 

    Also Read :

    Mairu Gupta and the art of building the NBA in India

    NBA and Dream11 to bring fantasy basketball to India 

    Sony Six: NBA preparing for Hindi commentary in three months

  • Innovation at CES 2017 transcends industries and spurs emerging markets

    Innovation at CES 2017 transcends industries and spurs emerging markets

    LAS VEGAS: The latest emerging innovation across every major industry takes center stage this week at CES® 2017, with product launches that propel global markets from automotive, sports and fitness, software, healthcare, entertainment and more. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, CES 2017, the world’s largest innovation event, runs through tomorrow, January 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Keynotes and Headline Speakers

    During Friday morning’s keynote, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf introduced the 5G future, a new kind of network with unprecedented scale, speed and complexity. “5G will be the tipping point that builds on LTE and finally enables IoT,” said Mollenkopf. During the keynote, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 835, the first 10 nanometer mobile processor that can deliver extended battery life, built-in security, eye-based authentication, secure audio, on-device machine learning and immersive experiences.

    Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank took the keynote stage Friday afternoon and emphasized the importance of branding saying that “the key to any brand is to have personality and point of view.” Under Armour is innovating by putting technology front and center, investing $1 billion in health and fitness tech. Plank unveiled three new models of the company’s Record Equipped shoes, which give performance feedback based on workouts. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all-time, joined Plank onstage to demo the shoes and talk about UA Healthbox, powered by UA Record, the world’s first connected fitness system. The keynote wrapped with the unveiling of a new line of sleep apparel, dubbed Rest Win Repeat, in collaboration with Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady, designed to rebuild the body while it rests through infrared technology.

    Top industry executives and influencers joined global government officials at the annual Leaders in Technology Dinner on Friday evening. Ford President and CEO Mark Fields shared the company’s vision for how the future of mobility will be transformed by connectivity. “Imagine what could happen when the way you get around looks completely different. Cities will change. The way we work and play and socialize will transform. And it will all be enabled by connectivity,” said Fields. He announced that Ford Sync is expanding to deliver cloud-based services and that soon all Ford vehicles will be controlled remotely with the FordPass app. He also recapped Ford’s recent partnership with Toyota to form the SmartDeviceLink Consortium to establish industry-driven standards for in-vehicle apps.

    Conferences

    Day two and three of CES 2017 featured SuperSessions and conference tracks focused on technology trends and policy issues, as well as C Space Storytellers and the Sports Business Innovation Track.

    Friday’s SuperSession Powering the Sharing Economy to Transform Lives featured panelists from Grab, the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore and Lyft. Panelists discussed the potential of the sharing economy to democratize transportation and make travel an enjoyment, not a burden. Annabel Chang, director of public policy, Lyft, explained that among her company’s customer base, “Most people do not live within a quarter mile of a transit stop. A significant percentage of our riders take Lyft to a transportation hub, then take public transportation on their final leg.”

    The Self-Driving Cars: New Rules of the Road SuperSession moderated by USA Today’s tech reporter, Mike Snider, discussed with top executives from Blackberry, Intel and Mobileye how a collaborative approach between automakers, hardware and software developers is driving the rapid pace of self-driving innovations. The panelists agreed that in order to reach the expected goal of having self-driving cars on the road by 2020, the industry needs to fully solve the convergence of IoT and artificial intelligence.

    Friday’s SuperSession The Power of Hidden Figures, sponsored by IBM, focused on illuminating the story of women and minorities in traditionally non-cinematic roles: advancing the math and science fields. Moderated by journalist Soledad O’Brien, panelists included actress Octavia Spencer and representatives from IBM, New York City Department of Education, 20th Century Fox and Girls Who Code. IBM highlighted its organic commitment to diversity and inclusion over the past century.

    The Opportunities for the Global Innovation Economy SuperSession, moderated by Time Inc.’s Alan Murray, examined with CEOs from Flex, Ford and Intel how consumer technology companies are leveraging their power to build global brands and advance innovation in a rapidly changing world. The panelists – Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company; Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel Corp and Mike McNamara, CEO, Flex – discussed how globalization and digitalization have been the two great trends in innovation over the last 50 years and what we can expect moving forward.

    C Space Storytellers

    During the Turner session, Otto Bell, vice president and group creative director of Courageous, Turner’s first-ever brand studio, announced the beginning of the “Post-Text Era” where images and video do all the talking. Courageous is developing new ways to utilize technology to reach viewers from 360 cameras to VR.

    At the Facebook session, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, VP of ads & business platforms, Facebook sat down for a fireside chat with Sony’s Josh Greenstein, president of worldwide marketing & distribution. Bosworth and Greenstein discussed how mobile and social media platforms are shaping Sony’s marketing campaigns to reach targeted audiences. Bosworth noted Facebook provides a myriad of platforms for marketing customization and distribution to targeted audiences.

    Executive producer of BBC Earth Productions, Charlotte Jones, provided a deep dive into the opportunities of storytelling through VR and AR during BBC’s Storytellers session on Friday. Collaborating with Oculus VR, BBC Earth Productions is creating interactive movies and games to be experienced by consumers using Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.

    Twitter CMO Leslie Berland opened the company’s Storytellers session Friday afternoon with a look back on 2016 using Tweets. Twitter has positioned itself as more than a social media platform. By changing the rules of storytelling, Twitter is able to capture news and real-time moments through its users.

    Sports Business Innovation

    Technology spans all industries including sports. The Sports Business Innovation track, presented by Turner Sports ran a series of jam-packed sessions that featured Gary Bettman, Commissioner NHL, Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer, Scott Blackmun, CEO, U.S. Olympic Committee, Brian France, Chairman and CEO, Nascar, Dan Gilbert, Majority Owner, Cleveland Cavaliers and Alejandro Agag, CEO, Formula E.

    These big names from professional sports leagues and partners took a deep-dive into the future of sports tech. The series focused on topics including: how to extend the fan experience, what the future of arena technology looks like and how virtual and augmented reality can become part of the experience, generational differences in content consumption and viewing patterns, and how data analytics effect personnel management and player performance.

    Innovation Policy Track

    Friday’s panel The Trolls and Tech: How to Fix Patents was moderated by CTA’s Michael Patrick Hayes and featured Tyler Grimm, legislature director for Rep. Darrell Issa; Athenahealth’s Colin Anawaty; Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels and InterDigital’s Rob Stein. The panelists discussed the harm and damage patent trolls can do to businesses, as well as how Congress can find a reasonable solution for patent reform. US Patent and Trade Office director Michelle Lee gave the panel’s opening statement surrounding the agency’s recent efforts, reform and projects to combat the problem. US Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) made a surprise appearance, delivering closing comments and explaining how patent trolls can devastate small companies.

    Saturday’s panel New President, New Congress? What’s Next included Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH); Rep. Eric Swalwell, (D-CA); Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), with moderator Tiffany M. Moore, VP, congressional affairs, CTA. The session showed bipartisan agreement about many policies needed to promote innovation and support technological leadership, including high skilled immigration reform, endorsing strong encryption, flexibility for emerging sharing economy business models and making more spectrum available for commercial and public use. Attending his 35th CES, Rep. Issa emphasized that high skilled immigration reform would be one of his priorities, saying, “We need to make sure the companies who want to expand get the resources they need, including talent.”

    Friday also featured the Stars of CES Awards, presented by What Hi-Fi recognizing the top 10 audio and video products launched at this year’s show. The complete list of winners can be found at WhatHiFi.com.

    Saturday’s always popular Last Gadget Standing, presented by Living in Digital Times, featured the top products unveiled at CES 2017. Hosted by David Pogue from Yahoo! Tech, the innovations showcased included cutting-edge wearables, smart home technologies and connected networks. The Matrix Powerwatch, which never needs charging or battery replacement and displays how much electric power your body is generating and accurately measures calories burned was crowned the winner.

  • Innovation at CES 2017 transcends industries and spurs emerging markets

    Innovation at CES 2017 transcends industries and spurs emerging markets

    LAS VEGAS: The latest emerging innovation across every major industry takes center stage this week at CES® 2017, with product launches that propel global markets from automotive, sports and fitness, software, healthcare, entertainment and more. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, CES 2017, the world’s largest innovation event, runs through tomorrow, January 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Keynotes and Headline Speakers

    During Friday morning’s keynote, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf introduced the 5G future, a new kind of network with unprecedented scale, speed and complexity. “5G will be the tipping point that builds on LTE and finally enables IoT,” said Mollenkopf. During the keynote, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 835, the first 10 nanometer mobile processor that can deliver extended battery life, built-in security, eye-based authentication, secure audio, on-device machine learning and immersive experiences.

    Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank took the keynote stage Friday afternoon and emphasized the importance of branding saying that “the key to any brand is to have personality and point of view.” Under Armour is innovating by putting technology front and center, investing $1 billion in health and fitness tech. Plank unveiled three new models of the company’s Record Equipped shoes, which give performance feedback based on workouts. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all-time, joined Plank onstage to demo the shoes and talk about UA Healthbox, powered by UA Record, the world’s first connected fitness system. The keynote wrapped with the unveiling of a new line of sleep apparel, dubbed Rest Win Repeat, in collaboration with Patriot’s quarterback Tom Brady, designed to rebuild the body while it rests through infrared technology.

    Top industry executives and influencers joined global government officials at the annual Leaders in Technology Dinner on Friday evening. Ford President and CEO Mark Fields shared the company’s vision for how the future of mobility will be transformed by connectivity. “Imagine what could happen when the way you get around looks completely different. Cities will change. The way we work and play and socialize will transform. And it will all be enabled by connectivity,” said Fields. He announced that Ford Sync is expanding to deliver cloud-based services and that soon all Ford vehicles will be controlled remotely with the FordPass app. He also recapped Ford’s recent partnership with Toyota to form the SmartDeviceLink Consortium to establish industry-driven standards for in-vehicle apps.

    Conferences

    Day two and three of CES 2017 featured SuperSessions and conference tracks focused on technology trends and policy issues, as well as C Space Storytellers and the Sports Business Innovation Track.

    Friday’s SuperSession Powering the Sharing Economy to Transform Lives featured panelists from Grab, the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore and Lyft. Panelists discussed the potential of the sharing economy to democratize transportation and make travel an enjoyment, not a burden. Annabel Chang, director of public policy, Lyft, explained that among her company’s customer base, “Most people do not live within a quarter mile of a transit stop. A significant percentage of our riders take Lyft to a transportation hub, then take public transportation on their final leg.”

    The Self-Driving Cars: New Rules of the Road SuperSession moderated by USA Today’s tech reporter, Mike Snider, discussed with top executives from Blackberry, Intel and Mobileye how a collaborative approach between automakers, hardware and software developers is driving the rapid pace of self-driving innovations. The panelists agreed that in order to reach the expected goal of having self-driving cars on the road by 2020, the industry needs to fully solve the convergence of IoT and artificial intelligence.

    Friday’s SuperSession The Power of Hidden Figures, sponsored by IBM, focused on illuminating the story of women and minorities in traditionally non-cinematic roles: advancing the math and science fields. Moderated by journalist Soledad O’Brien, panelists included actress Octavia Spencer and representatives from IBM, New York City Department of Education, 20th Century Fox and Girls Who Code. IBM highlighted its organic commitment to diversity and inclusion over the past century.

    The Opportunities for the Global Innovation Economy SuperSession, moderated by Time Inc.’s Alan Murray, examined with CEOs from Flex, Ford and Intel how consumer technology companies are leveraging their power to build global brands and advance innovation in a rapidly changing world. The panelists – Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company; Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel Corp and Mike McNamara, CEO, Flex – discussed how globalization and digitalization have been the two great trends in innovation over the last 50 years and what we can expect moving forward.

    C Space Storytellers

    During the Turner session, Otto Bell, vice president and group creative director of Courageous, Turner’s first-ever brand studio, announced the beginning of the “Post-Text Era” where images and video do all the talking. Courageous is developing new ways to utilize technology to reach viewers from 360 cameras to VR.

    At the Facebook session, Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, VP of ads & business platforms, Facebook sat down for a fireside chat with Sony’s Josh Greenstein, president of worldwide marketing & distribution. Bosworth and Greenstein discussed how mobile and social media platforms are shaping Sony’s marketing campaigns to reach targeted audiences. Bosworth noted Facebook provides a myriad of platforms for marketing customization and distribution to targeted audiences.

    Executive producer of BBC Earth Productions, Charlotte Jones, provided a deep dive into the opportunities of storytelling through VR and AR during BBC’s Storytellers session on Friday. Collaborating with Oculus VR, BBC Earth Productions is creating interactive movies and games to be experienced by consumers using Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR.

    Twitter CMO Leslie Berland opened the company’s Storytellers session Friday afternoon with a look back on 2016 using Tweets. Twitter has positioned itself as more than a social media platform. By changing the rules of storytelling, Twitter is able to capture news and real-time moments through its users.

    Sports Business Innovation

    Technology spans all industries including sports. The Sports Business Innovation track, presented by Turner Sports ran a series of jam-packed sessions that featured Gary Bettman, Commissioner NHL, Don Garber, Commissioner, Major League Soccer, Scott Blackmun, CEO, U.S. Olympic Committee, Brian France, Chairman and CEO, Nascar, Dan Gilbert, Majority Owner, Cleveland Cavaliers and Alejandro Agag, CEO, Formula E.

    These big names from professional sports leagues and partners took a deep-dive into the future of sports tech. The series focused on topics including: how to extend the fan experience, what the future of arena technology looks like and how virtual and augmented reality can become part of the experience, generational differences in content consumption and viewing patterns, and how data analytics effect personnel management and player performance.

    Innovation Policy Track

    Friday’s panel The Trolls and Tech: How to Fix Patents was moderated by CTA’s Michael Patrick Hayes and featured Tyler Grimm, legislature director for Rep. Darrell Issa; Athenahealth’s Colin Anawaty; Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels and InterDigital’s Rob Stein. The panelists discussed the harm and damage patent trolls can do to businesses, as well as how Congress can find a reasonable solution for patent reform. US Patent and Trade Office director Michelle Lee gave the panel’s opening statement surrounding the agency’s recent efforts, reform and projects to combat the problem. US Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) made a surprise appearance, delivering closing comments and explaining how patent trolls can devastate small companies.

    Saturday’s panel New President, New Congress? What’s Next included Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH); Rep. Eric Swalwell, (D-CA); Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), with moderator Tiffany M. Moore, VP, congressional affairs, CTA. The session showed bipartisan agreement about many policies needed to promote innovation and support technological leadership, including high skilled immigration reform, endorsing strong encryption, flexibility for emerging sharing economy business models and making more spectrum available for commercial and public use. Attending his 35th CES, Rep. Issa emphasized that high skilled immigration reform would be one of his priorities, saying, “We need to make sure the companies who want to expand get the resources they need, including talent.”

    Friday also featured the Stars of CES Awards, presented by What Hi-Fi recognizing the top 10 audio and video products launched at this year’s show. The complete list of winners can be found at WhatHiFi.com.

    Saturday’s always popular Last Gadget Standing, presented by Living in Digital Times, featured the top products unveiled at CES 2017. Hosted by David Pogue from Yahoo! Tech, the innovations showcased included cutting-edge wearables, smart home technologies and connected networks. The Matrix Powerwatch, which never needs charging or battery replacement and displays how much electric power your body is generating and accurately measures calories burned was crowned the winner.