The 2009 SVG DSports Conference kicked off on Sept. 22 with an overview of the strategies of four professional sports leagues: Major League Baseball, NASCAR, NBA, and NHL. Top of mind for all? Using video and social networking to build a larger, more engaged fanbase. But just as important as the quality of audio and video is making the most of data and an abundance of other offerings.

EA Sports VP/CTO Rob Moore delivered the keynote address at SVG’s third-annual DSports Conference, focusing on digital sports production and operations, held Sept. 22 in New York City. As a self-proclaimed “videogame guy,” he likened his presence at the event to being the Joe following the pros, but, as he showed during his address, the virtual technology used in videogames has already invaded the broadcast world and is changing the way sports fans consume their content.

Ed Simeone has joined Linear Acoustic as vice president of U.S. sales. Simeone joins Linear Acoustic to lead sales and support nationwide across all domestic markets.

At the end of the 2008 season, the Arizona Cardinals’ video department began holding internal tryouts. Under the direction of Video Director Rob Brakel, the Cardinals’ staff introduced two Panasonic AJ-HPX2000 P2 HD camcorders to replace the tape-based digital cameras the team had been using for the past decade. This season, the Cardinals’ staff has made a full transition to the HPX2000, and the resulting image quality is so good, he says, that not only can he see the difference but other teams have commented as well.

The ongoing faceoff between broadcast television and TV-over-IP makes tech headlines, but radio isn’t being left out. The USTA has been beefing up its own streaming-audio proposition for more than a decade now, and this year’s edition was the most sophisticated yet.

Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium will use seven Ross Vision multidefinition production switchers from Ross Video, as well as several SoftMetal video servers, in the HD production-control rooms in Vancouver, British Columbia, for coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Orad Hi Tec System’s project with the Belgium public broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF) has won the IBC Innovation Awards 2009 Content Management category. The RTBF project was a combined effort of leading providers included contributions from Dalet, EVS, Avid, MediaGenix, Fairlight, Front Porch and FAB.

Opera Software’s browser has been a hit with Internet users, particularly those who use the company’s handheld device Web browser, and now Opera Software’s SDK 10 promises to allow network operators, set-top box and device manufacturers, and content creators to build interactive service applications once and deliver them to consumers on a wide range of devices. “Our goal is to offer a platform on devices that is open, flexible, and can be customized,” says Jean-Christophe Vuillot, Director, Product Management, Opera Devices.

Former Fox Sports and Sportvision executive Jerry Gepner has been named Divisional CEO of Vitec Services Division, the arm of U.K.-based technology conglomerate Vitec Group which provides rental services of cameras and wireless communications gear for major live productions and includes Burbank, Calif.-based Bexel.

Sports broadcasters looking for tighter long-distance collaboration on video assets will want to check out Avid Interplay 2.0, which now allows editors and producers to remotely search and work with media assets over wide area networks. The new feature, part of Interplay 2.0, fulfills the Interplay vision of enhanced workflows, according to Sam Bogoch, director of infrastructure solutions and product management for Avid. “Previous versions of Interplay,” he notes, “did not extend beyond the four walls of a facility.”

Harris Corporation has received an order from Meredith’s Local Media Group, owner of 12 television stations in the U.S., to supply a fully integrated Harris ONE solution for the broadcaster’s Atlanta centralcasting hub. The complete broadcast solution will allow Meredith to establish a centralized, file-based broadcast structure for its Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina, Michigan, and Connecticut stations — delivering a more sensible and efficient workflow for its entire eastern U.S. operation.

Applications built using Polar Mobile’s SMART content and advertising platform are now being used by more than 1 million people around the world. Media publishers are using the proprietary SMART push-publishing platform to launch custom-branded mobile applications so their readers can access content from their favorite brands much faster than browsing through traditional mobile Websites.

Avid announced that its audio and video solutions were used by the majority of Emmy Award winners in 33 Outstanding Picture Editing, Outstanding Sound Editing/Mixing, and Outstanding Program categories at the 61st Annual Emmy Awards, and more than 125 nominees in 33 categories used Avid systems.

The Sports Video Group is pleased to announce that Crawford Communications has renewed its platinum sponsorship. An Atlanta-based, privately-owned company, Crawford Communications is one of the largest broadcast facilities in the U.S. and a leader in the electronic media services industry.

The MLS Cup, the championship game for Major League Soccer, will air on ESPN Sunday, Nov. 22 at 8:30 p.m., going head-to-head with Sunday Night Football on NBC, John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal reports.

Interactive marketing agency Definition 6 acquired Creative Bubble, a New York-based video editorial, design, sound, and production company.

ESPN Radio? We’ve got an app for that. The ESPN Radio app launched Monday on the Apple iTunes App Store, offering live radio streams, shows, SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes, podcasts, play-by-play broadcasts, live scores, newsfeeds, and text-messaging and call-in capabilities directly to ESPN Radio and ESPN affiliate stations.

TBS says its Major League Baseball announcers will provide additional commentary and analysis throughout the postseason via Twitter, and the tweets will be featured on the TBS Hot Corner Twitter feed.

CBS is joining the New York Jets fan club, as the National Football League team is generating story lines that are boosting its ratings, writes Michael Hiestand of USA Today.

The United States Olympic Committee opened a 3,500-square-foot office at 521 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, reports Tripp Mickle of SportsBusiness Journal.

The New York Knicks will become the first National Basketball Association team to install courtside LED technology, reports John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wonders if CBS actually wants its viewers to stay tuned to its National Football League telecasts.

Golf Channel is heading to the Emerald Isle, as the network will debut Destination Golf: Ireland’s Wonderful West Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, reports Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News.

Advertisers are ready for some football, as Brian Steinberg of AdAge.com reports that sales executives at several networks said ad-sales activity for National Football League and college games is more robust than expected.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame reached a multimillion-dollar sponsorship agreement with Van Heusen and JC Penney, under which the fashion brand and retailer will host a microsite within the latter’s Website for fans to debate whether players are worthy of induction, Jeremy Mullman of AdAge.com reported.

The good news: Versus and DirecTV are back at the bargaining table. The bad news: There are still no signs of a carriage agreement between the sports cable network and the satellite-TV provider, Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News reports.

Canada—a country known planet-wide for its legendary rudeness and treachery—is denying foreign athletes access to Olympics sites in the run-up to the Vancouver Games, in order to protect their precious home-snow advantage. Oh....it is on, hosers.

Rogers Sportsnet announced the relaunch of Sportsnet.ca, touting a new, improved look and more opportunities for advertisers to promote their brands through takeover ads, TV-sized video pre-roll, and integrated multiplatform sponsorship opportunities.

President Barack Obama has written to International Olympic Committee members promising the United States would "welcome the world with open arms" if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Summer Games.

Here's a new rite of passage for an NFL rookie: getting chastised by the head coach and apologizing publicly for using Twitter to call booing fans "dim wits."

Today's idiotic Twitter war is brought to you by the Washington Redskins and their fans, who booed their own team during a less than inspiring 9-7 win over St. Louis, then were insulted by linebacker Robert Henson. Wait, who?

The NFL said that it will not relocate a "Monday Night Football" game to accommodate a potential American League Central tiebreaking game between the Twins and Tigers at the Metrodome.

The Detroit Lions may have failed Sunday in their bid to win their first National Football League game since the 2007 season, but the team succeeded in its bid to sell out its home opener and avoid having its game against the Minnesota Vikings blacked out in the Detroit market, Richard Sandomir of The New York Times reports.

Philadelphia NBC10 sportscaster Jade McCarthy is leaving the channel to serve as an anchor and specialty program host for New England Sports Network in Boston, John Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Former National Football League star Herschel Walker will try his luck in the octagon, signing a multifight mixed-martial-arts deal with Strikeforce, the New York Post reports.

Everybody’s talking about the National Football League’s New York Jets, which is probably making the NFL’s New York Giants very happy, writes Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News.

Spike TV will debut The Ultimate Fighter: The Aftermath Tuesday night, and the companion series to the men’s-targeted cable network’s The Ultimate Fighter reality-competition series will then air Mondays, reports R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News.

“All you fake half hearted Skins fan can . . . I won’t go there but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!”

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley expressed confidence that his city would prevail in its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and cited Rio de Janeiro as its primary competition, Dan P. Blake of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The United Football League announced its broadcasting team on cable network Versus: play-by-play announcer Dave Sims, color analyst Doug Flutie, reporter Kordell Stewart, and reporter Anita Marks, The Baltimore Sun reported.