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Archive for the ‘Web’ Category

01 Feb 2012

Blake Griffin – Dunk that stopped the Internet

Wow first LeBron jumped over John Lucas, but Blake Griffen topped that with this!

Tweets around the Sports world

Best mashup award?

Dirk providing the color commentary

Also did Kendrick Perkins delete his Twitter account after the dunk?

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Posted in Web | 2 Comments »
20 Sep 2011

ScottPendlebury.com launched

We are pleased to see the launch of ScottPendlebury.com yesterday as Scott was awarded with his second All-Australian selection.

Some of the new features include:

We look forward to the ScottPendlebury.com engaging fans fans as Scott builds his profile online.

Scott Pendlebury's new website built by Sports Geek

Featured on Tout

Thanks to the guys behind Tout who are doing a great job & have added Pendles to the Featured Users (the only non-US athlete profiled).

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19 Apr 2010

Digital & TV rights – What to do?

Sports are entering a new world of media rights with the web/digital platforms becoming available becoming more viable as a serious broadcast platform. No longer are digital rights just the “steak knives” in the sports television rights deal.

What are digital rights?

Digital rights are many different things with various options, let me name the forms:

  • Live Web Video – Game TV broadcast available streaming becoming more viable as broadband capacity increases.
  • Live Web Audio – Live game coverage streaming, with many radio stations now streaming some sports are putting a price on these rights.
  • Web Hosting – Web development & advertising outsourced for sports in return for a web site & cash
  • Mobile – new developing area that can include video & audio as above as well as “official” apps for smartphones like iPhone, Blackberry & Android.

One example that we discussed on @SportzfanRadio was where digital rights clashed with TV rights was at The Masters.  The Masters enjoyed terrific TV & web coverage with the return of Tiger Woods.  However, The Masters iPhone application video features were locked outside of the USA.  I don’t think people would choose to watch The Masters on the small screen of an iPhone when HD coverage is provided via TV partners it is just an example of “old media rules” falling behind the technology.

At V21 it was interesting to hear at Sam Walch, who looks after all rights at the AFL, to talk about two types of consumers.  One who is “on the couch” who is served primarily by the television and the other who is “on the move” without access to a TV.  It is the “on the move” fan that sports are now looking to serve via the web & mobile platforms.  The next question sports face is then, “Who Pays?”

@_SportsGeek_ #v21 Being discussed. Content is King but who pays? With #AFL, #MySpace & Fremantle Media… Advertisers, Media or Consumers? 10:33 PM Apr 14th via Tweetie

The overwhelming response from fans is definitely not them but it is up to leagues like the AFL, NFL, NBA & MLB to come up with revenue models that work with the digital & mobile platforms.

How should digital rights deals be structured?
What do you think?

Looking forward to hearing more about digital rights at Sport Research Group Conferences in July 2010
Contact Sports Geek for more info on SSMI and ways to develop your sports brand

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05 Mar 2010

Fantasy sports – The first wave of social media?

Recently my inbox was bombarded with emails concerning NBA fantasy trades in my local NBA fantasy competition.  It got me thinking that if social media is defined as connected discussion then the boom of fantasy sports online could be seen as a pioneer in social media.

Like social media, fantasy sports connects people bringing them together over a common interest.  It stimulates off-line meetups like we see on Twitter with tweetups.  Our NBA fantasy competition regularly holds our draft night each year in company board rooms or stadium corporate suites.  Do you meet with your fantasy sports friends IRL (in real life) if so let us know how?

We keep hearing the statistics on how much time people are spending on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.  Fantasy sports is a huge driver of web site traffic as the guys at SuperFooty can attest with SuperCoach.  Not only is there a huge spike in traffic when the teams are announced each Thursday, fans flock to the site for the final match of the round on Sunday to check the progress of their weekly matchup.

On that note there are still spots available in the SuperCoach Twitter League Code 404204 please join in the fun.

What do you think?
Can fantasy sports be regarded as social media?

Why do you play fantasy sports?

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
 Contact Sports Geek about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

Technorati verification code UD58U2TC86BD

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08 Feb 2010

Working with League brands

One of the biggest challenges many teams face is differentiating themselves whilst adhering league brand guidelines.  It was a common theme with the teams I met with on #sportsgeektrip.

Many leagues across the globe follow a similar digital model.  League web sites are developed and team web sites are created under the league umbrella.

MLB.com, NBA.com,  NHL.com, AFL.com.au are some examples of these Leagues that follow this “Umbrella model”.
(*edit thanks for comment: Essendon stand alone as an exception running independently of the AFL very successfully with EssendonFC.com.au)

If you take a look at team websites e.g. LA Dodgers Vs New York Yankees or Collingwood Vs Hawthorn you’ll see some team customization but they are locked into a League framework.  The NBA follows a similar model but teams are using custom landing pages (or splash pages like the Mavs do) to offer fans special deals.

Other leagues like the NFL.com & PremierLeague.com have decoupled the League’s web deal from the teams.

What’s better?

The “Umbrella model” makes administration of League branding much easier and sometimes can lead to a better sponsorship deal as it is league-wide.  However, it can be restrictive both creatively and financially to the teams who want to push the Web 2.0 envelope.  From a technical prospective a league wide CMS (content management system) does reduce the need for in-house web staff for teams but many people who use these systems find them too restrictive.  Leagues that abandon the “Umbrella model” face the problem of a potentially creating a tech gap between the have and have-nots.  Some teams like those run by MSG (Knicks, Rangers, Liberty) help promote their teams outside the standard team’s sites through the stadium (TheGarden.com), then again with so many sports properties MSG is a unique business.

What are your thoughts?

  • Does the ability for league’s to secure deals outweigh a team’s desire to innovate?
  • Would teams do a better job if they could go it alone?
  • Would small-market teams struggle maintaining own website?

Ask Sports Geek a question on FormSpring.
Contact Sports Geek if you want web advice to keep your fans coming back

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Posted in Sports Marketing, Web | No Comments »
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