A study of sports audiences

  

  As we learn from Badenhausen, Ozanian and the Neilson report, sports is an industry that is growing fast. Sports has transcended cultures throughout history, and is firmly rooted in the nature of man. The reason for this is simple, competition and nationalism/pride are intrinsic to the way a human molds himself. What I am trying to say is that sports are means to unescapable ends (entertainment, trill and fandom)…they will always be around. Like the other parallel media systems politics &entertainment, sports’ appeal existed before TV and newspapers. My blog will set out to outline some properties of sports that allow it to thrive from a media point of view.

    “The dynamic of a particular market in which the audience is being bought and sold affects it’s value” (Napoli 97). Napoli is talking about audience values, and how it effects the success in this case of sport teams. Teams don’t just pop up in random spots, they normally come in one of two forms- big city teams like the New York Yankees and then niche teams like the Green Bay Packers or Oklahoma City Thunder. The big city teams are always worth more like the Lakers, Knicks and Bulls. (Badenhausen) This is because they have a larger, more valued audience.

Respondent prompt- Compare Niche sport teams with other niche media models. Come up with an example of how location plays a part in the reception of another niche product outside of sports. Check out and compare the successes of small market sport teams with other niche media products. 

    Nielson writes, “Sports fans, hungry for new content, have wholly embraced this newfound on-the-go convenience. And as rabid consumers of content, this group leverages the array of options to continue increasing the amount of time they spend with sports content year-over-year”. Though this quote is referring to digital media distribution, but certainly coincides with the production of alternate sports content.  Like other media systems there is a huge market for talk shows, newspaper articles and other satellite products that orbit the larger product. I will look at how the talk show thrives due to the built in regional/ gender based audiences.

    The most valued audience for a product depends on the product. For products whose most valued audience is the male demographic or regionally based, sports is probably the best venue for you to advertise. To demonstrate a point, I have done a small content analysis that you all will have to trust.  On WFAN, the Ticonderoga of sport radio stations, there are a few products that annually advertise with the station. Anthony’s Coal Fire Pizza a Tri-State area chain, is one that takes advantage of the regional audience provided by the station. On Valentine’s Day every year, companies like 1800 Flowers and Vermont Teddy Bear remind the men that they need to buy their spouse a gift. (Nielson 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNtf43-0yNQ

   When talking about advertising on the games actual program we notice the same audience qualities. “The MLB may no longer be the “national” past-time from a TV audience prospective, but it is, however, stronger than ever among local markets. 11 out of 30 teams claimed the title as the highest-rated, most-watched local programing during primetime for both broadcast and cable during the 2014 season”(Nielson 16 ).

   Respondent Prompt- The rise of 24/7 new cycle and constant need for gratification has created a market for alternative content. I have outlined why this is so. Give me an example of another media industry that has expanded its market to satellite products. Have the alternative products like talk radio, highlight news shows become so intrinsic to the field that it would be detrimental to the parent product if it weren’t there. Illustration- if sport talk and opinion wasn’t around, I wouldn’t like sports half as much. Apply this to another industry.

   The final trend that I will look at is the opposite of the trend I have been focusing on. The nationalizing of the sports industry. The Nielson report (16) touts the NBA as the most culturally diverse. Badenhausen tells us “With some help from Nike, Stern’s idea of marketing of individual star players—Jordan, Kobe, LeBron—created global celebrities and fueled interest in the game”. Instead of focusing on loyalty to a team and region, we see a focus on a national celebrity like Kobe or LeBron. This makes the NBA more appealing to big money corporations like McDonalds who are across the nation. As Nielson states NBA fans are more likely to have eaten at a fast food restaurant 10+ times this month.

Respondent Prompt- Do you think that the national or regional approach is more lucrative for sport companies. Is there a different way for different leagues? Compare the star system in sports to the star system in entertainment or politics, which might be more applicable due to politicians starting regionally.

"2014 Year in Sports Media Report." Nielsen.com. Accessed 29 March 2015. Web.

Badenhausen, Kurt. "As Stern Says Goodbye, Knicks, Lakers Set Records As NBA's Most Valuable Teams," Forbes 22 Jan. 2014. Web.

 Napoli, Philip M. Audience Economics: Media Institutions and the Audience Marketplace. New York: Columbia UP, 2003. Print.

"The Year in Sports: Digital Steps Up to the Plate." Nielsen.com. 5 Feb. 2015. Web.

NBA's Popularity

The National Basketball Association, which is known as the NBA is considered the most if not one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. The league is known to having some of the most popular athletes in the world (Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, and Shaquille O’Neil) Although these names are well known in United States and are responsible for bringing in a large amount of revenue for the NBA from their stardom, these names have been branding the popularity and image of the NBA in other countries as well. 

If you lived in the New England, New York, or better yet the east coast in 2012, you probably heard of Jeremy Lin.  Jeremey Lin, a Harvard University graduate and a current professional NBA player promoted the NBA’s brand when the “Linsanity” era emerged.  “Linsanity” not only electrified the state of New York but worldwide, particularly the market in Asia. At a time where the New York Knicks were playing their worst and Head Coach Mike D’Antoni had no other choice but to play Lin, Lin exploded averaging over 24 points per game, over 9 assist per game, and helped the team to a 9-3 record before the All-Star break. Bloomberg Business states

“But Lin is, of course, more than a second-year point guard. The Harvard-educated Asian American is an international phenomenon who briefly made the Knicks the center of the sports universe and drove shares of MSG (MSG) to record highs…Linsanity, one analyst told Bloomberg News that extra merchandise sales were a ‘single-digit millions’  gain for the Knicks and MSG. More important than merchandise, says Abrutyn, are television ratings. ‘He drove the resolution of a dispute they were having on the cable side to get Knicks games back on the air.” (BloombergBusiness)

Lin’s popularity explosion helped the NBA’s image which led to the rebirth of the NBA’s Global Games and various business deals and contracts with various countries. According to Forbes

“The league has built one of the largest social communities in the world, with more than 278 million likes and followers.  The official NBA, team and player pages combined across Twitter and Facebook have accumulated more than 226 million likes and followers.  In China, the NBA is the number-one sports league across social media with 52 million fans on the league’s official accounts.  The NBA has enjoyed over 883 million videos viewed on YouTube since 2005.  Much of the NBA’s social media success is driven by international fans, as nearly 50 percent of the league’s followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are international.” (Forbes)

With the NBA being the number-one sports league in China, the league has already began to reach out to its overseas market with major business ideas which will expand the association’s growth and worth drastically.  This year the NBA celebrated the Chinese New Year by creating special jerseys with Chinese characters for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, cities with the biggest Chinese populations in the country. Another step the NBA has made in expanding its popularity is its new partnership with Tencent. “The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Tencent Holdings highlighted a five-year expansion of their partnership that will create the league's largest international digital partnership…According to a release, as the Exclusive Official Digital Partner of the NBA in China, Tencent will feature a record number of live NBA games and deliver enhanced original NBA programming and highlights.” (Wireless News) With this new contract the NBA will be tapping into China’s population which consist well over a billion people. “If you're in any kind of business that wants international outreach, obviously China, with its emerging middle class, is going to be a huge growth area." (PRI)

Not only has the NBA outreached to China’s media market but the NBA is developing a130, 000 square-foot structure that cost roughly around 1.5 billion dollars that will include a restaurant, merchandise, store, fitness center, and multiple full-size basketball courts. By creating opportunities for younger generations to fall in love with basketball and follow the NBA, Mr. Levy, a representative that oversees the Jr. NBA program in Asia which gives underprivileged children the chance to play basketball says “We want more people to play basketball, because that will translate to more people following the NBA.” (Sin) 

In my opinion soccer still remains the most popular sport in the world but I think basketball is creeping up behind it. Because the NBA is beginning to reach out to markets across the world, I think the league will become the world’s number-one sport. The league has already begun to receive a tremendous amount of popularity from its ability to market some of its foreign players Andrew Wiggins (Canada), Ricky Rubio (Spain), Jeremy Lin (Asia), etc. Ben Boynton from University Wire states “This season, the NBA has five preseason games and two regular season games scheduled on foreign soil…Events like the FIBA World Cup and the basketball portion of the Olympics show basketball truly is a global game.” (Boynton) Do you think that the game of basketball will become the world’s most popular sport? What are your opinions on the NBA reaching out to different markets overseas, particularly China’s? What else do you think the NBA can do to become more popular?

 Works Cited

 Boudway, Ira. "What's Jeremy Lin Worth to the Knicks?" Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 16 July 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2015

Boynton, Ben. "NBA Capitalizing on Growing Worldwide Popularity through Global Games." University WireOct 15 2014. ProQuest.Web. 4 Apr. 2015 .

Campbell, Bradley. "Why the NBA Is Breaking out Special Uniforms for Chinese New Year." Public Radio International. PRI's The World, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.

"NBA and Tencent Forge Partnership to make Tencent the Exclusive Official Digital Partner in China." Wireless News(2015)ProQuest. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.

Sin, Ben. "The New York Times." N.B.A. Looks to Asia for Next Growth Spurt. The New York Times Company, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.

How the Media Affects Sports

Eddy Negrepont

How the Media Affects Sports

Sports have become a very big part of the society that we live in today. With the media becoming more and more popular every year, we have seen a direct link with the correlation of media popularity and sports popularity.   There have been many ways that social media has had a direct effect on the way we view sports today.  One example of this is how social media now allows you to observe what is going on in your favorite athletes’ everyday lives. This makes the fan feel much closer to that athlete and allows them to get personally involved in their lives.  In turn, the fan feels like they have a relationship and personal connection with the athlete.  Another example of how media has had impact on the sports world is the many different ways that the fans are able to watch and find out information about their favorite teams. You are now able to watch your favorite teams from all different devices.  According to the Year in Sports Media Report, “The growth in digital video viewing from 2013 to 2014 was nothing short of extraordinary, and not just among younger consumers. While the 18-34 set posted a 53% increase in digital viewing from Q2 2013 to Q2 2014, viewing grew an even more impressive 80% and 60% among Americans 35-49 and 50 – 64, respectively. Fans continue to increase consumption and engage with sports content in a variety of different ways across a multitude of devices.” (Neilson 1)These numbers show what kind of impact that the media has had on sports. It has become much easier then it has been in the past to be able to watch your favorite teams.

Another area that the media has had a tremendous impact on in the sports world is the emergence of fantasy sports.  Fantasy sports have become a multi billion dollar enterprise and have opened up a completely new way for fans to be more involved with the sport.  Fantasy also brings in a lot of money to professional sports in many ways. For example, if your favorite team is not doing well towards the end of the season, more than likely you are going to stop watching your team because they are playing so poorly.  However, because the fans play fantasy it makes them much more interested in with what is going on with the rest of the league to see how their players on their fantasy team are performing.  Most professional sports have fantasy but none have been more successful than football. Over the past decade the popularity of the NFL has exploded. According to NFL.com a Harris Poll last October said that “59 percent of Americans follow the NFL. This is up by more than 10 percentage points from the 47 percent who said they followed the NFL 10 years ago.”  This shows how fantasy football has helped transform the NFL and how many people are engaging in fantasy football. According to an article Eliot Caroom, “there are approximately 35 million fantasy sports player of which a significant number play fantasy football.”

Many media outlets have recognized this huge jump in popularity.  One company that used this to their advantage is Direct TV.  Direct TV is the only cable or satellite company that offers their customers the NFL Sunday Ticket.  This package allows you to be able to view every football game that is being televised not only in your area, but all across the country.   Big fantasy football fans buy this package just so they are able to watch how well everyone is playing on their team. According to Forbes, “Direct TV signed a new deal that is said to be worth $1.5 billion per year for a total of eight years.  The most key component of the Direct TV deal is the extension of NFL Sunday Ticket and the continued existence of the extremely popular Red Zone Channel.” The Red Zone Channel and Fantasy Zone have both emerged as fantasy football has grown. The Red Zone and Fantasy Zone channels provide you great ways to follow your fantasy team.  Furthermore, they allow you to breaking news and happenings around the league.   When Rodger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League, was asked about his thoughts on fantasy football’s impact on the league he stated, “It’s added so much to the game and the way the fans engage with the game. Even if your team isn't playing well, you're still following your fantasy league or you're following the Red Zone or your mobile device. So it has created more interest for a longer period of time."

Do you think that Fantasy will continue to grow and make sports more popular?

In future years, do you think we will start to see more cable companies try and get the NFL package and not just be broadcasted on Direct TV?

Works Cited

"2014 Year in Sports Media Report." Nielsen.com. Accessed 29 March 2015. Web.

"How DirecTV Is Capitalizing On Growth Of Fantasy Football." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 2 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2014/11/23/how-directv-is-capitalizing-on-growth-of-fantasy-football/>.

 "Official Blog of the National Football League." NFLcom Blogs RSS. 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://blogs.nfl.com/2012/08/23/roger-goodell-fantasy-football-has-added-so-much/>.

"Fantasy Sports Becoming a Booming Industry - Athletic Business." Fantasy Sports Becoming a Booming Industry - Athletic Business. 18 June 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.athleticbusiness.com/web-social/fantasy-sports-becoming-a-booming-industry.html>.

The Good and Bad of Athletes On Social Media

Jake Carleton

The advancements of technology has changed the way that people can communicate with athletes through one major vehicle, social media. Athletes now have the ability to put their thoughts out to the public through platforms such as Twitter, they can promote the products that they are spokespeople for through Instagram, and they can share photos from their private lives with their fans via Facebook. Coaches are even taking note of this as depicted in the article titled It’s Not Just What Athletes are Tweeting, but How Much They’re On Social Media, “they are also keeping an extremely close eye on how often their prospective athletes are tweeting, too, a concern which is emerging as just as pressing as what the athletes are focused on.” Athletes are now sharing more than ever with sports fans, and these interactions that they are creating between the two groups can have both positive, but also extremely negative reflections on a player’s image and that player’s marketability moving forward.

Just like a celebrity, or any famous person in the public’s eye, athletes can post some pretty bonehead things online, and it can come back to haunt them. Some athletes just do not think about what they are saying and how it can negatively affect them before they send out that tweet. In an article for Sporting News, by David Steele, Steele recalls, “Just this year, the Browns’ Tank Carder, the Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire and Minnesota Wild minor-league Justin Fontaine have been busted, all for anti-gay slurs sent on Twitter. Two athletes were kicked off their respective national Olympic teams last summer for racist tweets.” These are athletes who have worked their whole lives to make it to the big stage, and idiotic things that they are tweeting out are coming back to haunt them and possibly derail their careers, as they could be looked at as tarnished goods. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if professional organizations start to limit athlete’s social media use. An example of this happening occurred with New England Patriots defensive back Kyle Arrington was asked by the Patriots to refrain from tweeting after some back-and-forth on Twitter, but this leads someone to question, are these organizations breaking the First Amendment rights of these players? Or, as employees of the organizations, does the organization have a right to do this?

However, there is not all bad publicity that can come from social media for athletes. A prime example of this comes with a player like NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman. Edelman is an up-and-coming athlete in the NFL and has taken an interesting approach to social media, and has been utilizing it to increase his marketability. In an article titled How the Patriots Julian Edelman Scores Social Media Touchdowns, author Samantha Kelly discusses some of the things that Edelman does and how he becomes branded with things that will build his brand along with the brand of that business, she writes, “He's also among the growing list of sports stars turning to digital agencies to build his brand during the off season. Although it's common for brands to seek out social assistance from third-party providers, more athletes are doing the same. Boston-based Superdigital handles everything from his endorsement deals with PUMA to strategic partnerships with Burberry and, yes, Google Glass.” Here is a video of the interesting way that Edelman utilizes social media to promote the brands that he endorses, this is a look at him using Google Glass to field punts, something he is known for on the field:

Edelman also does a great job of creating fun platforms for his fans to see what he is like off the field as well. He created a YouTube series in which he makes hamburgers and concocts smoothies in a cooking show-like set and he often has other famous athletes on the set to cook with him and eat with him. Here is a video of him whipping up a batch of smoothies in the kitchen, but keep in mind the PUMA shoebox behind him, and other products he is endorsing throughout the video:

What Edelman is doing is a very interesting approach of how to utilize social media and the various platforms that people use in order to build your own personal brand. He has a great series of interactions with his fans on Twitter, he has a tremendous following on Facebook and Instagram, and found an innovative way to utilize YouTube to promote brands in a fun way. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if more athletes use digital companies to take over their social media profiles and have them come up with fun ways to promote the athletes brands. However, does Edelman having someone come up with these strategies take away from the social interaction that social media is supposed to be?

Social media is something that will remain a part of our lives for a long time moving forward. Leagues and professional organizations have become very aware of the use of social media. Due to this leagues have put in place rules against the use of social media for a time before a game, to during the game, to after the players have fulfilled the media obligations. An interesting publication by PR Week has a different take on these rules though, it is written that, “But the NFL is missing the whole point of social media. It is social -- you're not supposed to control it, you participate in it. The ban also misses out from leveraging the excitement of those who are most likely to be their best brand ambassadors because of their investment in the sport: its employees.” Yes, there are some bad things that can come from athletes utilizing social media platforms, but the leagues cannot go overboard in the future and take these abilities away from players, because these abilities promote positive interactions often between athletes and fans, which in turn provides positive interactions between the professional leagues and their fans.

Works Cited:

• ·         Steele, David. "Many Athletes Still Haven't Learned to Avoid Trouble on Twitter." Sporting News. 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012-12-19/twitter-gay-slur-noah-syndergaard-racial-bradley-patterson-obama>.
• ·         Kelly, Samantha. "How the Patriots' Julian Edelman Scores Social Media Touchdowns." Mashable. 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://mashable.com/2014/02/03/julian-edelman-patriots-social-media/>.
• ·         "NFL Social Media Ban Shortsighted." NFL Social Media Ban Shortsighted. PR Week, 4 Sept. 2009. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.prweek.com/article/1270348/nfl-social-media-ban-shortsighted>.
• ·         Smith, Cameron. “It’s Not Just What Athletes Are Tweeting, But How Much They’re on Social Media that Scares Off Coaches,” Prep Rally (Yahoo Sports Blog) 16 April 2013. Web.
• ·         "Smoothie Tyme II with Julian Edelman, Shane Vereen and Ryan Allen Using Nutri Ninja®." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
• ·         "FIRST EVER Google Glass Punt Return with Julian Edelman." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.