The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
From Albert Pujols to LeBron James – Are Top Athletes Overpaid?
“But what, exactly, is the assertion behind “overpaid?” Most who say it simply mean that “athletes make too much money,” an understandable opinion. Eight-and-nine-figure paydays for top athletes may be too much for some of our comfort, but as far as being paid more than they’re due … most aren’t.”
Let’s Start Paying College Athletes
“With Emmert’s backing, the N.C.A.A.’s board of directors, composed of college and university presidents agreed to make it permissible for Division I schools to pay their athletes a $2,000 stipend. When I saw Emmert in November, shortly after the new rule went into effect, I told him that the stipend struck me as a form of payment to the players. He visibly stiffened. “If we move toward a pay-for-play model — if we were to convert our student athletes to employees of the university — that would be the death of college athletics,” Emmert retorted. “Then they are subcontractors. Why would you even want them to be students? Why would you care about their graduation rates? Why would you care about their behavior?” No, he insisted, the extra $2,000 was an effort to increase the value of the scholarships, which some studies estimate falls on average about $3,500 short of the full cost of attending college annually.”
Sports Networking
Top 5 Women’s Sports Events of 2011
“2011 was an intense year for women in sports. While we’re looking forward to more excitement in 2012 (including the Olympics!), let’s also take a look back on this year’s top five most memorable moments in women’s athletics, good and bad.”
What LeBron James Can Teach Us About Personal Branding
“The NBA season tipped off on Christmas day, which meant a return to the spotlight for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. As you probably know, LeBron James generated controversy–not to mention numerous headlines–last season with his decision to publicly jilt the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of the Miami Heat. In the process, LeBron’s personal brand evolved substantially from a fan favorite, to a villain, to a gradually “rehabbed” image this off-season. There are a number of lessons that are relevant to business owners seeking to build a strong personal brand in 2012. Below are three of the most important.”
Sports Marketing
Loving the Online Era of Sports Marketing
“This week I have been telling you a little more about myself. Now comes the revelation of something that has been the cornerstone of many relationships throughout my life and has already been passed on to the next generation as well. I am a New York Giants fan. I bleed blue during the NFL season. And while I can’t be at the game I can live many things I could never experience during the years of the pre-social media era. I “like” the Giants on Facebook and I was given this picture today through an update which got me pretty excited.”
Ducks New Uniforms Steal From Disney’s Day
At the Happiest Place on Earth, several hundred Oregon football fans had more than one reason to cheer Tuesday. Early Tuesday morning, Nike unveiled the newest — and, according to the company, the best — set of uniforms for the trend-setting Ducks, who will wear dark ‘Pro Combat’ gear for the Rose Bowl.”
Sports Sponsorship
The Reason Why Sports Sponsorship and Marketing has Started to Become Popular in Asia
“Asia has no doubt now become a marketing and advertising playground for worldwide brands and businesses to grow their market over and above common reach. Many companies have acknowledged that sports provide an amazing possibility to be changed into an influential and profitable marketing strategy for virtually any brand’s growth plus it absolutely outshines classic merchandising efforts by reaching a mass which far outnumbers the ones from other channels. ”
AirAsia Extends Sponsorship Deal with 1Malaysia Racing Team
“AirAsia Bhd is maintaining its presence in the Formula One racing scene and this has seen it extending its sponsorship agreement with 1Malaysia Racing Team Sdn Bhd (Caterham F1) for another year, starting Jan 1, 2012.”
Sports Ticket Sales
News Flash: College Football is Run By Corporate America
“To fully understand the corporate greed of college football, just take a look at the names of the 35 bowl games that are currently being contested. Every single one of them has a corporate sponsor in its name. Even the self-described “Granddaddy of Them All,” the Rose Bowl, has a sponsor — The Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio. But that doesn’t even compare to some of the other corporations who will put their names on bowl games this holiday season.”
2,000 Students Expected at Music City Bowl
“Piling a bunch of people in a car and going to a famous destination is how a lot of great tales begin. For Mississippi State University students and recent graduates, bowl games represent the perfect excuse for that classic college road trip story. The Bulldogs program qualifying for back-to-back postseason berths has given college students two straight trips to experience another valuable memory of not only the finale of a college football season but also what is possibly the final trip of their academic careers.”
Sports Social Media
The 2011 Sports Social Media Superstars
“There’s no question that sports and social media are indelibly intertwined. Of course, you could say that for social media and just about anything in society these days. But while Facebook, Twitter and various other platforms have been around for a few years, 2011 seemed to be the tipping point. Beyond Twitter spats and among an ever-updating array of trending topics, social media has become a go-to source for breaking news as well as a forum where fans can celebrate, commiserate or connect with players and fellow and opposing fans. With all that in mind, @Page2 looks back at the biggest sports and social media moments of 2011.”
2011 Belonged to Twitter. So Does the Future of Sports Media
“Every morning starts the same way for me, I roll over and check Twitter on my iPhone. I check Twitter before I check my email, my text messages, or even get out of bed. My wife has even threatened to start her own Twitter account to remind me to take out the trash. I read all the news from the 170 or so people I follow and then I read every single thing y’all send my way. Put simply, I’m addicted to Twitter. Twitter is a media game-changer, the Cam Newton of Internet companies, and I’m going to tell you why”
Sports Media
Top Sports Media News Items of 2011
“It’s tradition that news organizations look at the top stories of the year as December winds down. Why should we be any different? Here are what we consider the top sports media news stories for 2011.”
Fox Sports Media Group EVP Doug Sellars Dies at 50
“Toronto native Sellars, who joined Fox Sports in 2000, was instrumental in the formation of Fox’s Speed (previously the Speed Channel). Since August, when he was promoted to his most recent position, Sellars had overseen studio and event production for Fox Sports Media Group’s numerous channels and entities, including Fox Sports, Speed, Fox Deportes, Fuel TV and FoxSports.com. He also served as an adviser to the Big Ten Network.”
Sports Technology
Mark Cuban is Dead Wrong About Smartphones at Sports Games
“A couple of days ago, Dallas Mavericks owner and all-around smart guy Mark Cuban blogged a passionate post about how he didn’t want smartphones at basketball games because he believes that every time you’re looking down at your device is a moment where he has failed to do his job of entertaining you. While I respect Cuban and this argument, I believe it is dead wrong and that smart teams will embrace mobile technology to enhance the sports-going experience in multiple ways.”
Game On: HD Streaming Site FilmOn Debuts NCAA Basketball, Football Channels
“FilmOn, the premium-content internet streaming site that met controversy earlier this year over lawsuits involving CBS, CNET, and copyright, is expanding its line up, adding two new sports channels for NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football. FilmOn says it will be offering the content in partnership with XOS Digital, a company that provides digital asset management services to college sports organizations.”
Sports Jobs
More Than 800 Unpaid Interns Hired at Arts and Sports Groups in Two Years
“Research by the Labour MP Luciana Berger shows that in the last two years 884 unpaid interns were employed by 34 organisations funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Some 467 were employed in 2010, dropping slightly to 417 in 2011.”
Jordan Juenemann Thrilled to Land Internship in Athletics
“Jordan Juenemann will be spending more time than usual in Allen Fieldhouse second semester.’I’ll be a working man — 8 (a.m.) to 3 (p.m.) until we practice, wearing a suit and tie,’ Juenemann, Kansas University’s 6-foot-3 senior walk-on basketball guard, said proudly. The exercise-science major, who minored in business the past four years at KU, has landed a 15-hour internship with KU’s Williams Fund to complete his undergraduate academic responsibilities.”
Sports Events
These 11 Figures Made Biggest NHL News in 2011
“There are dozens of headliners in the NHL every year, but many create stories that become big for a day, maybe two before they’re forgotten. There are those, however, that create headlines that are so big and newsworthy that their stories live on for days, weeks, months and in some cases even years. In 2011, there was no shortage of players, coaches, and executives that made news that shocked and rocked the hockey world. We’ve narrowed the list down to the 11 biggest newsmakers of the year.”
London 2012: Does Olympic Success Fill A Nation With Pride?
“As 2012 begins, the BBC has revealed the findings of a poll which asked people around the world about the influence of Olympic success on their national pride. Nearly half of those questioned in the UK said performance mattered ‘only a little’ whilst the majority of people in developing and middle-income countries said they got the greatest lift from Olympic achievement. BBC 2012 asked members of the public in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Dumfries, Wrexham and Belfast for their views.”
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