The Top News In #Sportsbiz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Lead Writer – Mark Burns
Sports Business
50 Years Of Fantasy Football: The Story Of Andrew Mousalimas
With his grandson on one side and his son-in-law on the other, 87-year-old Andy Mousalimas chose Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy with the first pick of his 50th and final fantasy football league draft. And so began the beginning of the end of an era that started in 1963 in a rumpus room in a home in Oakland, where Mousalimas made the first — and possibly worst — pick in the history of fantasy football: George Blanda over Jim Brown.
Fifty years. Mousalimas has a lot tied up in this silly game. He still has the original hand-written draft list from 1963, with names like Blanda and Brown, Y.A. Tittle and Fran Tarkenton.
Read more: http://es.pn/QUsTLa
Fantasy Football Is A Boon To The Business Of The NFL
Maybe it should come with a warning label: Fantasy football is highly contagious, may lead to costly premium TV packages and countless hours spent scrolling through sports websites.
The wildly popular game lets fans pick a lineup of NFL players who get fantasy points for real-life touchdowns, yards and the like, helping their fantasy team beat other imaginary teams run by friends, family and co-workers.
Read more: http://bit.ly/TORo9C
Sports Networking
8 Things To Do At A Sports Networking Event
If you want to break into the sports industry (or advance your career in the industry), you must attend sports networking events where you can connect with others who already work in the field.
The sports industry is very tight-knit, and it’s estimated that over 70% of all jobs are filled behind the scenes through personal contacts and networking. Whether you are happily employed in the industry right now or looking to get your foot in the door, have a plan.
Read more: http://bit.ly/PZHO34
Why Radical Love For Your Profession Will Help You Break Into Sports
Do you love sports? Of course you do. But who cares? Employers in the sports business industry sure don’t. What sports employers really care about is how much love you have for your profession.
Imagine if you were so crazy in love with sports marketing that you consumed everything you could get your hands on about the subject. And as a result, you created a killer resource like Partnership Activation 2.0, an email newsletter published by Brian Gainor (@BrianGainor). Or, what if you loved the sports agent profession so much you devoured every morsel of agent content you could find. And as a result, you created a blog about athlete representation similar to what Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) has done.
Read more: http://bit.ly/OS0Skg
Sports Marketing
Madden ’13 Sells 900,000 Units In 24 Hours With Help Of YouTube Marketing
This past Tuesday’s (August 28) release of popular American football game, Madden NFL 13, is every retailers dream; selling over 900,000 units within 24 hours. Alongside record day-one sales, manufacturer EA Sports say the game is now achieving the best critical acclaim it’s seen in years.
David Jenyns, creator and Director of Melbourne Video Production, says “Accomplishing great stats like this may seem like a miracle, but anyone can achieve boosted sales with the help of social media and YouTube marketing.”
Read more: http://yhoo.it/NGJbHN
Papa John’s Digital Activation With The Seahawks, Titans
Papa John’s is very active in using sports sponsorships as part of their overall marketing strategy. They have league deals with the NFL and MLB to go along with many professional team and college athletics deals. I’m sure everyone remember’s their Super Bowl coin toss pizza giveaway promotion from last year.
One thing I really like about all their deals is that they have a clear call-to-action to drive purchases, which in turn should let them calculate a true ROI. And it seems like most of these deals include a digital component to help drive those purchases, making that revenue even more trackable.
Read more: http://bit.ly/OOZK2y
Sports Sponsorship
Sponsor UGG Puts Tom Brady On Building In NYC
New York Giants fans coming out of New York City’s Penn Station might do a double take.
That’s because on a building across from the train station that also houses Madison Square Garden is a humungous painting of their nemesis, Tom Brady. Commissioned by his sponsor UGG, the painting of the New England Patriots quarterback stands 88 feet wide by 225 feet high.
“We’re not doing it for the shock value,” Connie Rishwain, the president of the shoe and apparel brand told ESPN.com. “We’re doing it because New York is our biggest market.”
Read more: http://es.pn/S3jeDP
LivingSocial, Dallas Cowboys Kick Off One-of-A Kind Partnership
LivingSocial today (August 28) announced an exclusive partnership with the Dallas Cowboys and the renowned Cowboys Stadium. As a result, LivingSocial is providing members with unparalleled access to premium experiential and live event inventory that will help make football and entertainment fans dreams come true.
LivingSocial’s Cowboys offers will include unique, one-of-a-kind experiences such as VIP access at Cowboys training camp, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tryout experience, draft day with “war room” access, be in the official team picture, and more. Members will also have opportunities to partake in Cowboys rallies, tours, and clinics, as well as premier access to live events at Cowboys Stadium, such as college football games and concerts
Read more: http://yhoo.it/TbiXw4
Sports Sales
Ticket Sales Lagging In Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done just about everything they can to fill up the pirate ship. But still the club is in real danger of having a local television blackout for the season opener Sept. 9 at Raymond James Stadium against the Carolina Panthers. The team will need to sell about 9,000 non-premium seats before 1 p.m. Friday in order to have the game on television locally, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
The Bucs have cut ticket prices for this season and adopted a new policy that allows them to only have to sell 85 percent of the seats in order to have it on television. The club also broke out the checkbook and did some big spending in free agency.
Read more: http://yhoo.it/ORWYYJ
How The NFL Can Jump-Start Ticket Sales
The NFL has become a monster of its own doing. As popularity has soared and fans have become ever engrossed in fantasy football, HD TVs, and DirecTV game packages, attendance at games has actually dropped.
That’s right, while the sport continues to boom, fans are shying away from witnessing action firsthand.
Read more: http://bit.ly/OK4D9G
Sports Social Media
NFL Is Most Followed Sport On Mobile Devices (INFOGRAPHIC)
About 65% of sports fans that watch games on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are using them to follow football — far more than any other U.S. sport, according to new data.
With the start of the official 2012 NFL season right around the corner, a new infographic created by IMRE Sports — with data compiled by Harris Interactive — reveals just how popular mobile devices are among football fans watching games in real time, opening up a wider market for advertisers and teams to directly reach out to fans.
Read more: http://on.mash.to/PC2Cx0
Back To Football: NFL’s Cover Photo Generator On Facebook
We are only 6 days away from the kickoff of the 2012 NFL season! So excited to watch actual football and not some meaningless preseason “games”.
True to NFL form, the league has done it’s fair share of promoting the upcoming season, but their “Back to Football” campaign over Facebook is a game-changer. Fans can now create their own customized NFL branded cover photos.
Read more: http://bit.ly/PW05AH
Sports Media
Clinton Portis Pursuing Media Career Following Playing Days
Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley, who appeared in (and created) plenty of headlines during their mostly overlapping Redskins careers, had their formal departures from Ashburn within seven days of each other.
During their playing careers, both men had formal arrangements to appear on local sports-radio networks. Both could — at least in theory — continue to appear in headlines by joining the media. And while Cooley is still pursuing playing opportunities, Portis is officially a media free agent.
Read more: http://wapo.st/QFLISu
NFL Storylines To Watch For In 2012-13
It’s almost football season, something you rarely have to tell Patriots fans. New England is almost always in contention, but while things here have generally stayed the same, there are changes brewing around the league.
For example, the Bills, not the Jets, may be Bill Belichick’s biggest competition. Offense is up and hard hits are down. Peyton Manning may or may not be the answer in Denver. Check out these and other story lines as we near the opening of the 2012 NFL season.
Read more: http://bo.st/RvhSz1
Sports Technology
Patrick Willis Hits Hardest in Madden 2013
With “Madden NFL 13” hitting stores today, you’ll notice a few ratings changes when it comes to the game’s defense. That’s because thanks to a fan vote, EA Sports is making roster updates to upgrade players in the following categories so that they are the elite star at their position:
Tackling: Patrick Willis
Hit Power: Patrick Willis
Cover Ability: Darrelle Revis
Speed: Patrick Peterson
Read more: http://es.pn/PDiunc
7 Fantasy Football Apps For The Avid Fan
Fall is in the air and football season is upon us. But that doesn’t just mean epic clashes on the gridiron. It also means grueling hours with the computer, struggling with determined and wily tacticians intent on bringing you down piece by piece.
We’re talking, of course, about fantasy football — for some, the most exciting part of the season.
Mobile apps are one way to get a leg up on the competition. From prepping and executing the perfect draft to managing your squad in-season, the right app might just be the key to a championship season.
Read more: http://on.mash.to/Ow6bFG
Sports Jobs
2012-13 NFL Season Will Begin With Replacement Referees
The NFL will begin the regular season with replacement officials after failing to make any headway in negotiations with the NFL Referees Association.
The league made it official on Wednesday (August 29) by informing all 32 teams that the replacement officials would work all Week 1 games. The Giants and Cowboys open the regular season next Wednesday at MetLife Stadium.
Read more: http://bit.ly/Ow3bJk
If Strahan Lands ‘Live!’ Gig, He’ll Still Keep Fox Sports Job
If Michael Strahan lands the coveted gig sitting next to Kelly Ripa every morning permanently, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll give up his duties at Fox Sports.
Strahan is in the running for the job of co-host of the morning talk show “Live!” While it is a daily gig that requires getting up awfully early and being super perky, Strahan is expected to keep working at Fox as one of the hosts of its popular NFL pregame program “Fox NFL Sunday” should he land the job.
Read more: http://lat.ms/UfowJx
