Originally published on Simulationfl.net here
SFL Communications
The Simulation Football League presented by APM Music is proud to announce the launch of SFL Interactive, the league’s new multimedia hub of original and exclusive content. In conjunction with FUEL and various other tech companies and innovations, the league has created a one-of-a-kind hub for league support, league content and live game interaction that takes SFL presentation to the next level. This launch encompasses Phase 1 of a three-phase roll-out of features.
“I am so thrilled to have achieved this massive undertaking heading into the opening weekend of our 13th season,” said Commissioner Cameron Irvine. “This has been one of the most ambitious projects I personally have ever undertaken. We partnered with FUEL in October of last year and over the last ten months have worked together to truly innovate the viewing experience for our social media followers, our community and our fans who have been waiting for more content. This is a proud moment in SFL history.”
“We are very excited with SFL Interactive’s Website and FUEL launch today,” said Angelina Hernandez, Implementation Project Manager at FUEL. “We look forward to see how SFL Interactive leverages FUEL’s industry-changing features and how it can create new digital revenue.”
SFL Interactive, accessible through sflinteractive.net or through simulationfl.net by clicking on the ‘Interactive’ tab features linear-on-demand programming, live games on Sunday nights, account setup, points purchasing, live lotteries to win points and ads in videos that directly support the SFL. SFL Interactive content is only available to those who have an account on the site, so its critical that people create their accounts in order to not miss a minute of the action this season.
The first Interactive Live game powered by FUEL will be Sunday July 7, when the Charleston Predators open up The Fort in front of all their new fans against the San Francisco Sharks. Cameron Irvine and Charles Dougherty will be on the call live and in-studio.
“The birth of SFL Interactive is a process that has been years in the making,” said Liam Crowter, League Webmaster. “Very shortly after the launch of the original PressStats powered website, I along with Cam and our Director of Player Personnel Andrew Rastelli envisioned a fully dynamic network of content that our fans, players and staff could engage with throughout the year. Our partnership with Bitcentral has given us the technology to be able to bring this to life, and we’re looking forward to building on this strong foundation over the years to come.”
In Phase 3, expected to be released in January 2020, the SFL community will actually be able to gain points simply by watching SFL content and the points system will completely replace bits and direct payments to PayPal as methods of payment for league goods and services, including Bits Give Back initiatives, player progression and more. Users get 10 points for registering their account. When points are awarded, they are displayed in the top right-hand corner of the site.
Points can be used as another way to purchase league items or player progression this season effective immediately. Bits and direct-to-paypal payments can also still be made.
FUEL gives the SFL the ability to mesh live and on-demand content into channels, provide a video editor through web browser to anyone with a reliable internet connection in order to generate more original, short-form content and transcribes every piece of SFL video, making it easy to identify players, touchdowns, turnovers and more. Gus Schultz heads the Multimedia team.
Player highlight videos for individual games, seasons or careers will be available to purchase later in 2020 once all three phases of SFL Interactive roll-out have concluded. Members of the multimedia team will get a percentage of those purchases to support their hard work.
If you are a content creator for your team, the team content channel is in the works. Please send all team-related video content and channel suggestions to Gus Schultz in order to be included, so everyone around the league can see the awesome work you do for your teams or around the league. Other channels in the works include a Season Preview channel, Top 10 Content and Game Highlights.
Current channels include Interviews, focusing on 1-on-1, on-camera interviews done at our annual conventions; 2 Minute Drama, featuring the most thrilling finishes of SFL games; B-Roll, which gives you new perspectives of some of the best moments from the conventions; Championship Games and On This Day, which features amazing moments from league history and celebrates their anniversaries.
You’ll be able to join live games from FUEL through social media highlight reels in the future, technology that does not exist anywhere else in social media.
“FUEL gives us a really unique opportunity in the digital space,” said Andy Hamilton, Social Media Director. “It allows us to take our content and chop it quickly into smaller bit sized pieces of content for Social Media, which is something that major leagues like the NFL and MLB can already do. For the SFL to have access to that type of technology is something that can really impact how people outside of our community view the community and create more opportunity for those within our community. Our Social game is taking a major step up because of FUEL”
Through the league’s unique partnership with the emerging company that has doubled in growth in the last year, the SFL has been instrumental in developing software and technology during FUEL’s roll-out.
Stay tuned for more announcements on SFL Interactive, create your account and get started on a new era of SFL media. #makeanimpact
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