http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=11000CHIHH18&page=1
Microsoft Corp thought it had scored a touchdown when it struck a multiyear
deal with the NFL that would allow teams to use the company's Surface
tablets during games.Too bad television announcers keep referring to the
devices as iPads.
The tablet computers, covered in bright blue protective cases, have become a
familiar sight on the sidelines this season as coaches and players turn to
them to study opponents' moves, review previous possessions and strategize.
They're replacing the pages of black-and-white photographs that had long been
printed out using fax machines and printers and delivered in binders to teams
dozens of times during a game.
The confusion over the Surface tablets began during Week One of the season,
when Fox commentator John Lynch told viewers that New Orleans Saints
quarterback Drew Brees was "not watching movies on his iPad" during a game.
Lynch made things more awkward when he then said players had "iPad-like
tools."
A similar slip-up occurred on "Monday Night Football" last week when ESPN's
Trent Dilfer wondered how long it took Cardinals assistant head coach Tom
Moore "to learn how to use the iPad."
And at Sunday's game between the San Diego Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks,
a local television announcer balked when told the teams were using Surface
devices.
"What? I thought it was an iPad," he said.
Microsoft, which reportedly paid $400 million to be the "official sideline
technology sponsor of the NFL," is understandably miffed at the free
publicity being bestowed upon Apple Inc., one of its biggest rivals.
"Despite the majority of our friends in the booth correctly identifying the
Surface on NFL sidelines, we're working with the league to coach up a select
few," a Microsoft spokesman said.
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Analysts say Microsoft has been aggressively trying to change its image as a
stodgy, business-driven company. Led by new Chief Executive Satya Nadella,
the tech giant has been focused on opening more Microsoft-branded retail
stores, revamping products to make them more consumer-friendly and pushing
for big partnerships such as the one with the NFL.
"Our goal with this NFL partnership was to leverage our technology to make
the game more efficient, productive and competitive. Streamlining the photo
viewing process is our first step toward that goal," Microsoft said in a blog
post last month.
As part of the deal, Microsoft provided the NFL with hundreds of Surface Pro
2 tablets, which the league distributes to teams before each game. To ensure
a level playing field, each team is given 13 tablets to use on the sideline
and 12 to use in the coaches' booth; the teams can only view still photos,
not videos, on the tablets, which aren't connected to the Internet.
The tablets are collected at the end of the game and stored by the NFL for
safekeeping and to prevent tampering.
By and large, football players and coaches have welcomed the Surface,
although many admitted there's been a learning curve. Over the summer, teams
were trained by Microsoft representatives on how to use the tablets and were
allowed to use the devices during practice to become familiar with them.
"It's been interesting," Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton said. "Tom Moore,
the second-oldest coach on our staff, is just getting used to operating it.
So it gives him fits. Sometimes I have to show him how to do stuff.... He's
sitting there trying to zoom in and tapping his finger repeatedly on the
screen."
By signing the deal with the NFL last year, Microsoft expected prominent
brand exposure. The thinking was, if Microsoft is good enough for the NFL, it
must be good enough for viewers too.
"Like everything else, it's a good marketing tool for the NFL and for
Microsoft, because [fans] get to see the guys over there looking at
everything," Stanton said.
The partnership is rolling out in stages. Last year, teams began by hanging
Microsoft ads around their stadiums as well as on the hoods of instant replay
booths and communication carts near the field. Things ramped up this season
with in-game team usage of Surface tablets on the sidelines, the first time
that tablets have been allowed by the league during games.
Microsoft also has an individual team relationship with the Seahawks, who
play near the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters.
During training camp, the Seahawks wore logos for Bing