The NFL runs on tight deadlines. Every kickoff and Super Bowl demands that millions of fans get flawless live video, stats, and fantasy features, whether they’re on iPhones, Xboxes, or connected TVs.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Mike Grabowski talks with Michael Blanchard (Director of Engineering at the NFL), about how React Native became the backbone of this high-pressure, multi-platform ecosystem.
Michael shares his journey from web engineer to leading NFL’s engineering teams across nfl.com, three mobile apps, a cross-platform video player, and a suite of connected TV apps. Together with Mike, he explores the NFL’s migration strategy, the transition from Haul/Webpack to Metro and Expo, and the cultural shifts that helped merge web and native engineers into one collaborative team.
You’ll learn:
➡️ Why the NFL went full Greenfield (twice)
➡️ How NFL+ shaped their second rewrite
➡️ Lessons from moving from Haul/Webpack to Metro
➡️ How Expo SDKs gradually replaced community libraries
➡️ How GitHub Actions + EAS Build reshaped their CI/CD pipeline
➡️ Strategies for handling 20–30 PRs daily in a monorepo
➡️ How React Native powers mobile, web, and multiple connected TVs
➡️ What cultural shifts enabled true cross-platform collaboration
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes 🎧 https://clstk.com/4gp8Cw5
Sign up for our newsletter ✉️ https://clstk.com/4mfmRof
Follow us on X 🐦 https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:35 Meet Michael Blanchard from NFL
03:03 NFL's digital presence and platforms
04:24 React Native in NFL's mobile apps
08:32 How React spread across all platforms
11:47 Collaboration between web and native teams
18:11 Technical decisions regarding different platforms
23:48 V2 of NFL's flagship app
25:14 Choosing migration strategy
30:10 Maintaining more product versions
34:33 Adopting Expo
42:10 Modernizing CI/CD
46:48 Team structure and workflow at NFL
53:29 Final thoughts
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The NFL runs on tight deadlines. Every kickoff and Super Bowl demands that millions of fans get flawless live video, stats, and fantasy features, whether they’re on iPhones, Xboxes, or connected TVs.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Mike Grabowski talks with Michael Blanchard (Director of Engineering at the NFL), about how React Native became the backbone of this high-pressure, multi-platform ecosystem.
Michael shares his journey from web engineer to leading NFL’s engineering teams across nfl.com, three mobile apps, a cross-platform video player, and a suite of connected TV apps. Together with Mike, he explores the NFL’s migration strategy, the transition from Haul/Webpack to Metro and Expo, and the cultural shifts that helped merge web and native engineers into one collaborative team.
You’ll learn:
➡️ Why the NFL went full Greenfield (twice)
➡️ How NFL+ shaped their second rewrite
➡️ Lessons from moving from Haul/Webpack to Metro
➡️ How Expo SDKs gradually replaced community libraries
➡️ How GitHub Actions + EAS Build reshaped their CI/CD pipeline
➡️ Strategies for handling 20–30 PRs daily in a monorepo
➡️ How React Native powers mobile, web, and multiple connected TVs
➡️ What cultural shifts enabled true cross-platform collaboration
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes 🎧 https://clstk.com/4gp8Cw5
Sign up for our newsletter ✉️ https://clstk.com/4mfmRof
Follow us on X 🐦 https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:35 Meet Michael Blanchard from NFL
03:03 NFL's digital presence and platforms
04:24 React Native in NFL's mobile apps
08:32 How React spread across all platforms
11:47 Collaboration between web and native teams
18:11 Technical decisions regarding different platforms
23:48 V2 of NFL's flagship app
25:14 Choosing migration strategy
30:10 Maintaining more product versions
34:33 Adopting Expo
42:10 Modernizing CI/CD
46:48 Team structure and workflow at NFL
53:29 Final thoughts
Superfast Nitro Modules with Marc Rousavy | React Universe On Air: Coffee Talk #22
React Universe On Air
1 hour 6 minutes 53 seconds
1 year ago
Superfast Nitro Modules with Marc Rousavy | React Universe On Air: Coffee Talk #22
Fasten your seatbelts, and get ready to learn about Nitro Modules straight from its creator, Marc Rousavy!
On September 13, Marc released Nitro Modules to the public. If you haven’t heard about it yet, it’s high time caught up, because it’s a framework for creating fast native modules that significantly outperform Turbo and Expo Modules, making your React Native app even faster!
Tune in to the episode to learn about:
💜 what led to the creation of Nitro Modules
💜 technical details and benefits of Nitro Modules
💜 performance comparison with Turbo Modules and Expo Modules
💜 behind the scened of Nitro Modules development
💜 starting a new project and migrating an old one to Nitro Modules
💜 developer experience and plans for the future
Share your feedback on this episode ✨ https://bit.ly/coffeetalk22feedback
Check out episode resources on our website 🧠 https://hubs.li/Q02Tps_l0
Check out other episodes of our podcast 🎧 https://hubs.li/Q02T28BP0
Sign up to receive curated content for tech leaders and developers ✉️ https://hubs.li/Q02T282n0
Follow us on Twitter 🐦 https://twitter.com/callstackio
React Universe On Air
The NFL runs on tight deadlines. Every kickoff and Super Bowl demands that millions of fans get flawless live video, stats, and fantasy features, whether they’re on iPhones, Xboxes, or connected TVs.
In this episode of React Universe On Air, Mike Grabowski talks with Michael Blanchard (Director of Engineering at the NFL), about how React Native became the backbone of this high-pressure, multi-platform ecosystem.
Michael shares his journey from web engineer to leading NFL’s engineering teams across nfl.com, three mobile apps, a cross-platform video player, and a suite of connected TV apps. Together with Mike, he explores the NFL’s migration strategy, the transition from Haul/Webpack to Metro and Expo, and the cultural shifts that helped merge web and native engineers into one collaborative team.
You’ll learn:
➡️ Why the NFL went full Greenfield (twice)
➡️ How NFL+ shaped their second rewrite
➡️ Lessons from moving from Haul/Webpack to Metro
➡️ How Expo SDKs gradually replaced community libraries
➡️ How GitHub Actions + EAS Build reshaped their CI/CD pipeline
➡️ Strategies for handling 20–30 PRs daily in a monorepo
➡️ How React Native powers mobile, web, and multiple connected TVs
➡️ What cultural shifts enabled true cross-platform collaboration
Catch more React Universe On Air episodes 🎧 https://clstk.com/4gp8Cw5
Sign up for our newsletter ✉️ https://clstk.com/4mfmRof
Follow us on X 🐦 https://x.com/callstackio
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome to the React Universe
01:35 Meet Michael Blanchard from NFL
03:03 NFL's digital presence and platforms
04:24 React Native in NFL's mobile apps
08:32 How React spread across all platforms
11:47 Collaboration between web and native teams
18:11 Technical decisions regarding different platforms
23:48 V2 of NFL's flagship app
25:14 Choosing migration strategy
30:10 Maintaining more product versions
34:33 Adopting Expo
42:10 Modernizing CI/CD
46:48 Team structure and workflow at NFL
53:29 Final thoughts
