You are here: Home / Archives for NBA

ESPN Gets its Social Media Game On: Twitter Deal, YouTube Channels and More

May 15, 2012 by

They’re called advertising upfronts but today’s announcements from ESPN show mainly that the worldwide leader in sports isn’t missing the bus when it comes to social media. Instead, it’s firmly behind the wheel and driving in the lead.

While there were many ground-breaking developments announced by ESPN today, the ones we think are really big news are the Twitter/ESPN branded ad campaigns, the new ESPN radio apps and some cool plans for the Bill Simmons/Grantland outlet that include a dedicated YouTube channel and a podcast channel. In all, what ESPN is basically saying is that it’s not going to be run over by social media like Twitter, as some astute observers predicted might happen. Instead, ESPN is using its content might to leverage social media’s appeal, marrying the best of what it has with the ongoing revolution of user-driven content consumption.

I’m not so sure how the branded ESPN/Twitter idea will pan out — it involves having fans send in their pictures to then be highlighted during an ESPN broadcast. Though I am sure we will all watch to see how silly people are willing to be, to me the power of Twitter is that it’s not directed or harnessed, but most amazing when it forms through happenstance and intuition. But acknowledging that Twitter is better at giving users an online identity than its own commenting system is a big leap for a big company like ESPN, and it shows that the network is ready and willing to embrace technology that it doesn’t necessarily control. Not an easy thing for a big company to do.

The new ESPN radio app may be the big sleeper announcement that intially gets overlooked and then becomes the thing everyone can’t live without. If the app’s announced ability to act as sort of a radio-broadcast DVR delivers as promised I could see a new wave of “sports radio” emerging where you don’t just tune in to what’s on the air but instead load your device with the latest SportsCenter and maybe a Simmons podcast for the drive to work. That’s a scary thought if you are a local radio talk show trying to compete against ESPN and its massive resources.

I also like the ideas spinning out of the Grantland property, which is interesting at times but is still (I think) trying to find its place and voice. Deeper content vehicles like YouTube, short films and podcasts may be where Grantland finally shines; the real question there may be whether Simmons has enough interest left to drive it toward new ground, instead of continually mining his old and successful but now somewhat tiresome models of mailbags, cousin Vinny episodes, etc. At the very least, ESPN’s doubling down shows it thinks Grantland has legs. Maybe social media will help it run faster.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, ESPN Radio, Sports Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Looking for NBA Games? BuddyTV wants to Guide You

May 4, 2012 by

One of the challenges to following sports playoffs is that the games are often carried on multiple channels, sometimes overlapping time slots and sometimes not- the question is where is the game? Well BuddyTV Guide is seeking to solve that question.

BuddyTV Guide is a free app that has been available for some time for Apple iOS and Android owners, but it has added a feature that targets fans of the current NBA playoffs and should enable them to more easily follow the various contests.

The app has added an “NBA Playoffs” feature that will enable users to find all of the games from now until the end of time, or rather until the NBA Championship end. It has automatic updates and is designed to use local airtime and channels so no worries about thinking a game starts in ET and it is not.

The nice thing about this feature in my mind is that as teams are eliminated and advance the listings automatically update themselves so that they are always current. This brings to 4 the number of curated lists at BuddyTV, the others are Most Popular, Watch List and Upcoming all of which update automatically each time a user logs in.

The NBA Guide brings to 4 the number of curated lists at BuddyTV, the others are Most Popular, Watch List and Upcoming all of which update automatically each time a user logs in.

At a basic level BuddyTV Guide is designed for a user to log in to their cable, sync it with the app and then program in your favorite shows and channels. You can have it not follow channels that you are not interested in as well. It will also make recommendations based on previous viewing history and favorites.

The smartphone can act as a remote control and is also compatible with a range of additional devices including AT&T U-verse receivers, DirecTV DVRs, Sony Internet TV with Google TV, Logitech Revue, TiVo Series 3, TiVo Premier, and any devices controlled by Google TV and Samsung Smart TVs.

There are other solutions to finding games such as NBC’s local channel finder for the NHL playoffs, but that is an online feature rather than a phone app, which is a bit more convenient.

I like this and hope it is a trend of the future. Some leagues, particularly the NFL are relatively easy to know when and at what time the games are played while others such as, well pretty much everybody else has a much more varied schedule that is more difficult to follow.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, BuddyTV Guide, NBA, NBA Game Time, NBC Sports, NFL, Startup Tagged With: , , ,

The Atlanta Hawks Social Hub- Where Fans Gather

April 18, 2012 by

With the NBA playoffs just around the corner here is wishing that your team is angling for a better seeding for the games rather than for the lottery. While looking around the league I was struck by how easy it was to use the Hawks Social Hub, a nice mixture of new and older technologies.

Right next to the banner headline of ‘Hawks Social Hub’ are six icons for popular news and social media feeds such as YouTube and Twitter, but really that is just a tease. Directly below are two large boxes, one with the latest Facebook posting and a link to Facebook, as well as a invite to join a contest to win 4 free tickets.

Across is a box with the Twitter feed, and you can follow the team at @atlanta_hawks and the site touts that you can follow all of the Hawks social media at one place, here at the Hub. Beneath this box are three slightly smaller boxes.

The first is a link that takes you to the teams YouTube channel for videos. The second is the teams official blog, with one of the current conversations discussing its playoff picture while the third box covers its Google + feed.

Below all of this are two buttons, one for users that wish to see additional video and the other is for those who like to comment on message boards. This is just the front page of the Hub. It has pages for fans looking to buy team merchandise, get stats, buy tickets, look at cheerleaders and more.

The sponsors for the page are quite clear as well, showing that the team understands how to partner with advertisers. The Georgia Lottery is the page’s sponsor and others can be found on the page, but not really to a point where they are obtrusive.

This is a great example of how a good page, incorporating all of the different forms of social media can really make it easier for fans to follow their teams. For any traveler that has been in a city far from home waiting patiently while the local sports channel or ESPN to finish scrolling through all of the games that you are not interested in to get to the one that you do care about, now there is a much more efficient method of catching up.

Team pages vary a great deal, which in one way is good, it enables them to highlight what they believe their fans are most interested in. On the other hand it can make finding the information of connection you want difficult to find. Just head over to a different teams page and try finding Google + or YouTube videos. On some they are not present and others very difficult to find.

Filed Under: Atlanta Hawks, Facebook, Google, NBA, Social Media, Social Media Data, Sports Social Media, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,

The Golden State Warriors Continue Focus on Reaching Fans

April 12, 2012 by

While some believe that the Warriors are tanking in order to move into a potentially better lottery position and so keep the pick, the team and its new owners are definitely still working to connect with fans with the latest effort a mobile app.

The team has launched an app, Golden State Warriors Mobile, now free at the iTunes store. The app pretty much does what you would expect by providing scores, schedules access to buying tickets, videos and the ability to connect to a variety of social media related to the team.

The team is not unique in this as a quick look through the iTunes store shows that several other teams have apps such as the New Your Knicks and the Utah Jazz and this is a good move because so many fans now use their smartphones and tablets, to increasingly access information on their teams online.

Not surprisingly for a franchise that has had a recent history of failure and uncaring owners, the Warriors can and do get beaten up online quite a bit. However that has not stopped it from using a variety of social media avenues to connect with its fans.

In other news it looks like the Warriors may join the exodus out of Oakland as the team has been reportedly seeking a site in San Francisco for a new arena. If the proposed site they are looking at works out it will have them joining the Giants on San Francisco’s waterfront.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Golden State Warriors, iPad, iPhone, NBA Tagged With: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Intel Launches Major Ultrabook Campaign

April 6, 2012 by


Intel is launching its biggest marketing campaign in over a decade with what it calls a multi-faceted global push for the “New Era of Computing”. The company will be on the television, in the print media and using a variety of social media driven efforts to get and hopefully hold consumer and corporate attention to these ultra-slim notebooks.

This is not surprising first after CEO Paul Otellini’s keynote at CES earlier this year had so much emphasis on the notebooks. Second, and this is something that seems to have to some degree gotten by (at least me) under the radar. There are already 26 models available for purchase worldwide including offerings from Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell with additional 10 models from Acer, Fujitsu, Gigabyte and Lenovo having been announced.

Next week is the start of corporate earning reports and I will be very interested to hear what Intel executives say about the sales of notebook computers as well as how its effort to establish itself in the tablet space are going.

Recently Apple talked about the death of the PC but really what are you going to use to write the apps for the iPhones and iPads? I kid, I think that the desktop PC may become a dinosaur but notebooks will have a strong demand from a large segment of the corporate and consumer market.


Is Tiger Woods the true #1?
Or at least so says Rory McIlroy, currently the #2 ranked golfer in the rankings. He said that if Woods is on his game he is the best golfer in the world, adding that you cannot judge a player on how they have performed in the last few weeks. If we go by that it really does not look too good for Tiger, but then this is a nice change from the usual trash talk that happens in sports. This weekend could also change his opinion.

iPhone to reach regional carriers later this month?
Apple Insider is reporting that five regional U.S. carriers are going to announce that they will begin selling Apple’s popular iPhone on April 20. The carriers are Alaskan Communications, Appalachian Wireless, GCI, Cellcom and nTelos.

The report also states that the carriers will for $50 less than the so-far subsidized price at other carriers, with phones starting at $150 for the 16GB model, $250 for 32GB, and $350 for 64GB. The older iPhone 4 will be available in an 8GB version for $50.

Samsung and Apple hurting HTC sales?
Smartphone developer HTC has reported a 70% drop in profits while revenue dropped 35% from the same quarter in the previous year. The company has recently expanded its offerings with four additional smartphones, all running the Android operating system.

At the same time Samsung has reported record quarterly profits of $5.15 billion, with very strong results pulled in by both its smartphone business and its Galaxy Note hybrid tablet/smartphone products.

Is Google really losing billions on Android?
A piece at Yahoo.com argues that the company is and that it is because of a number of reasons, however I found it rather unconvincing. With 300 million Android phones out on the market and 15 million tablets the company has a huge installed base and seems poised for huge additional growth.

NBA to sell ads on jerseys?
Over at HoopsHype the bet is that the NBA will very soon have ads on players game jerseys. It makes a persuasive argument about how, among otrher things. MLB is a business and it just does not make sense to leave money on the table.

Baseball has twice, to my knowledge, played a series with ads on its uniforms. Both were in Japan and so not seen by most American fans. It seems inevitable that ads do come to that space and as the article points out, the Dallas Mavericks came out with ads on their uniforms in 2009.

I think it will be interesting to see what types of rules the league, and others when they follow, will set for who is acceptable and who is not. Can Hooters advertise? Alcohol? I am pretty sure tobacco companies need not apply.

Joe Posnanski departs SI
While a bit late on this but for fans of Joe Posnanski, his work at this weekend’s Masters Tournament will be his last for Sports Illustrated as he is leaving to join the growing USA Today/MLB Advanced Media joint venture.

If you are not familiar with him, you should give him a try. I feel that he is one of the best sports writers around, offering solid information backed by facts, all with a good dash of humor. He was at SI for roughly three years and he will be hard to replace.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Google, HoopsHype, HTC, iPad, iPhone, Major League Baseball, NBA, Samsung, Smartphone, Sports Illustrated, The Big Lead Tagged With: , , , , ,

Warriors Fans Keep Booing — Online

March 21, 2012 by

After letting their displeasure be heard Monday night, fans of the Golden State Warriors are reverberating their booing online, filling up comments sections on the team’s Facebook page as well as on newspaper websites.

If you didn’t hear the news, Warriors fans disrupted a ceremony meant to honor former star Chris Mullin by booing loud and long when new owner Joe Lacob took over the microphone. Whether or not the fans were expressing anger over the Warriors’ recent trade of star player Monta Ellis, or over the team’s flirtation with moving to San Francisco, or with years of terrible front-office moves, is still open for debate. And that debate is healthy and ongoing, both on the Warriors’ Facebook page as well as on the San Francisco Chronicle website.

While some fans on both sites are expressing dismay for the negative outpour at Mullin’s jersey-retirement ceremony, many others are taking umbrage at Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins, whose column Wednesday was headlined “Fans’ faux pas might not be all about Ellis” and started off with a line that said “It was inexcusably rude for the Warriors’ fans to ruin Chris Mullin’s halftime ceremony with such relentless booing.”

As commenter Galacticmule said, “Bruce, if you’ve been abused as much as Warrior fans have been for the past 35 years, would you be courteous? Instead of being up in arms about booing, how about listening to the message behind the boos? This is the most fiercely loyal fan base in the league. And the only thing you can take away from fans, FINALLY, fighting back is that they are rude? Where have you been, man, where have you been?” As of 11 a.m. Pacific Time the post had 68 comments, with no signs of slowing down soon.

Over on the team’s Facebook page there is the usual you-suck type of comment battles but there is also some evidence of longtime fans continuing to vent their wrath at a new ownership that isn’t living up to its boastful promises. A post with Chris Mullin highlights has 233 comments and another post about Monday’s game has 402 comments, many of which are about the booing.

So far, the team doesn’t seem to be doing any editing or censoring of bad news or profane comments, but is instead letting its fans — who have filled Oracle Arena for years even though the team is a perennial dud — have their say. We’ve highlighted how the Warriors have used social media well to promote feel-good things like fan shootarounds and access to interviews with the players. Let’s see if Golden State can use social media to turn the tide of emotion now swelling against the ownership.

Filed Under: Facebook, NBA, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »