The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
“I immediately contacted Jim Gallagher, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at IMG Worldwide. Gallagher quickly put the rumor to bed. ”There aren’t ANY conversations going on with Lagardère, or any other company or individual for that matter, regarding a purchase of IMG,” said Gallagher.”
“Television contracts and the money generated from media rights fees have become a crucial factor in how baseball teams are run. Along with ticket sales, they are a team’s primary form of income, and in recent years the fees across sports have skyrocketed. The Lerners have never had a say on their arrangement with MASN. Until now.”
Sports Networking
“Participants will gain insight into careers in sports through presentations by successful sports executives, including GM’s, front office executives, Scouts, Sports Agents, player personnel, and well known media currently working in football. This event includes networking, information on breaking into the sports industry and advice on advancing your sports business career. College credit available for attending. ”
“Recently, Facebook introduced a few new features that will help someone who wants to use their personal profile for personal branding purposes. If you want to use the world’s most popular social network to promote what you do professionally, here are a few tips to get you started. ”
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The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
“Leigh Steinberg calls them ‘checkout days,’ when he would drink vodka from morning until night, often straight from the bottle. Divorced and living alone for the first time, he’d drink while sitting on his balcony overlooking Newport Bay or while in bed, sometimes half-conscious.”
“Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider was today named to the Class of 2012 of Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business, an award from the Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal recognizing the architects and builders of sports.”
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The Sportsbiz Weekly buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
“CRG Partners lists as its special talents financial advisory work, restructuring and reorganization, and turnaround management — polite descriptions of services needed by companies in distress. The firm’s Web site names a long list of clients, from Kmart to Popeyes Chicken to Sunbeam Products. As of this week, the firm’s client list formally includes the New York Mets.”
“This year’s only labor negotiation will be in the NHL, with the current CBA expiring on Sept. 15. There is way too much at stake for either side to even think about playing chicken, but a work stoppage is still a real possibility. With former MLBPA executive director Don Fehr now leading the NHLPA, owners won’t be able to dictate to the players as they did in the last negotiation.”
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The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
“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.”
“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
“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.”
“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.”
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The Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards
Sports Business
“Media moves as well as labor harmony (or the lack thereof) shake up our annual list of the executives who set the agenda for North American sports.”
“Come April, Jose Reyes will probably be the first home batter at the new Miami Marlins ballpark, ushering in a promising age for an up-and-coming team. But what of the team and borough he leaves behind?”
Sports Networking
“It is important for business owners to find something that makes them stand out in their market — to differentiate themselves from their competition. And that is where personal branding comes into play. Personal branding is a proven method by which business owners can separate themselves from the rest of their market. A strong personal brand positions the business owner as an expert in his or her field — allowing him to attract more business without slashing prices.”
“The 49ers organization hosted a Women in Sports Forum to encourage the growth of women in sports-related careers.”
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Photo courtesy of www.pitch.com
In the wake of seeing what a lockout can do to a league, Major League Baseball has decided to peacefully and quietly get their Collective Bargaining Agreement done and guarantee baseball to it’s fans through 2016. While some things in the agreement seem superficial, like a “no tobacco tin in the back pocket while on the field” rule (no offense Raul Ibanez), there are also some important things to come out of this CBA. One of those is a new MLB social media policy that will be subject to all players.
While the policy has not been released to the public, as is the standard for the MLB, there is a policy in place for managers and executives that was released earlier this year. After looking at that policy the Twitterverse can only hope the new one for the players contains more than six “donts”, as Wendy Thurm at SB Nation writes.
What the new MLB social media policy means going forward
While a simple list consisting of not displaying disparaging content or not using the nickname of any MLB entity as a Twitter handle may seem obvious at the surface, the new MLB social media policy should be considered very dangerous for Bud Selig and friends as a brand. Major League Baseball constantly fails in the social media world where the other big sport leagues succeed, mainly on YouTube and Twitter.
There is no better example than in this year’s World Series, widely considered one of the best in the last decade, when Joe Buck brought baseball fans a nostalgic moment by remembering his father, Jack. After David Freese’s dramatic game 6 walk-off home run Joe simply stated, “We will see you tomorrow night,” emulating his father after Kirby Puckett did the same in 1991 . How well did the MLB handle that? The mashup videos of Joe and Jack’s calls were taken down by the next morning for absolutely no one to enjoy. In contrast, the NBA has an official YouTube page where they post game clips, commercials and videos. They also let fans post what they have missed without the thought of taking it down 4 hours later.
MLB Social Media Policy – The Twitter Effect
An extension of the failure to communicate with fans by the MLB occurs on Twitter, where they have a million fewer followers than the NFL and 1.5 million fewer supporters than the NBA. This will certainly not be helped if they use the same policy in place now on the players and hinder the creative minds of players like Logan Morrison or the humanitarian efforts of players like Cole Hamels. Social media is quickly becoming the way to meet celebrities (the mention tweet is the the new autograph!) and if the MLB social media policy falls behind it’s big sport competitors it won’t belong before they find themselves behind in every other fan-following area as well.
What are your thoughts about the new MLB social media policy? Comment below to get the discussion started!
Steve is a recent graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Sports Journalism from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. He is currently working as a marketing and PR intern for Sports Networker.
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6 Inside Ticket Sales Managers walk into an Arena…
Ok, it sounds like the great start to a joke, but in essence this piece is more about how those managers got into their coveted sports jobs.
I often get asked how I got my foot in the door in professional sports and the answer is usually a bit longer than expected. Like many of those whom I’ve crossed paths with, the opportunity that helped launch my sports career was being a part of an Inside Sales Department with the Chicago White Sox. If you are looking for a book on the topic, check out Mark Washo’s Break Into Sports (or find him on Twitter @BreakintoSports). I’ve recommended this book to college grads looking to get into sports for a while.
As so many sports executives get their start in ticket sales, I figured I’d round up a few Inside Sales Managers around professional sports jobs and knock out a few simple questions to learn more about this revenue generating niche. The group has over thirty plus years of combined experience in professional sports and includes; Cody Haynes (Houston Rockets, NBA), Eric McKenzie (Cleveland Indians, MLB), Jude LaRose (Chicago Fire, MLS), Derek Iversen (Colorado Avalanche, NHL & Denver Nuggets, NBA), Travis Apple (Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB) and Jake Reynolds (Washington Capitals, NHL & Washington Wizards, NBA). [click to continue…]
Tyler Johnson is an innovative thinker inspired by the likes of Bill Veeck, Jon Spoelstra, Pat Williams & Brooks Boyer. Currently working for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a Group Sales Account Executive for the Denver Nuggets. Prior he worked as the New Business Development Executive with the Chicago White Sox. Tyler has also worked directly with the inventor and creator of Arena football and also for Mike Ditka’s former Chicago AFL franchise. As a former collegiate athlete and business sensed individual Tyler ventured to combine his passions to get into the business side of sports.
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On November 1, 2010 the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers and were subsequently crowned “World Champs” by the media and the online world. On June 17, 2010 the Los Angeles Lakers celebrated a game seven victory over the Boston Celtics, adding another “World Champions” banner to the Staples Center rafters. On February 6, 2011, along with being the most watched TV program in his
history, the NFL celebrated new Superbowl Champions: The Green Bay Packers. I immediately drove to Green Bay to find the headline of the Green Bay Gazette display: “World Champs”. However, following their win over the Philadelphia Flyers on June 9, 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks raised a banner that read: “2010 Stanley Cup Champions”.
I’ve lived in three different countries, visited 13 in total and have attended many professional sports games – Which got me wondering – when should your favorite team call themselves World Champs and when should they simply enjoy being named the Champs of their perspective league?
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Reuven is a fourth year student at Marquette University, earning degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He hopes to create sports marketing initiatives that drive value while focusing on charitable causes. Reuven lived in three countries and visited 13 total. He prides himself on being fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and English. People and idea lover. Connect with Reuven on Twitter @ReuvenFridmar
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Even for the modest fan, few sports teams that resonate in your mind stronger than the Chicago Cubs. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to know that the Cubs are an iconic brand (Trust me, I’m from Milwaukee).
I recently had the opportunity to listen to Wally Hayward, the Cubs’ Chief Sales and Marketing Executive who was brought on by new owner Tom Ricketts to solve this burning question: how can a historic team make changes that will respect the character of the ballpark while providing new growth opportunities?
The answer to that question is outlined in these three main goals of the Cubs:
1) Build a Championship Team
I found it interesting when Hayward said that the Cubs want all of their employees to be the best at their prospective jobs. Yes, that means they strive to have the best security desk personnel, office assistant, and janitor in all of sports. Why? Because being the best is part of the unique culture the new ownership has. “This job was lucrative to me because the family culture has the brand’s best interest in mind for the long run” said Hayward. [click to continue…]
Reuven is a fourth year student at Marquette University, earning degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He hopes to create sports marketing initiatives that drive value while focusing on charitable causes. Reuven lived in three countries and visited 13 total. He prides himself on being fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and English. People and idea lover. Connect with Reuven on Twitter @ReuvenFridmar
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The San Francisco Giants enjoyed a banner year in 2010: they won the World Series and embraced social media as a means of engaging diehard fans at AT&T Park and across the country. We sat down with Bryan Srabian, the Giants’ Director of Social Media, and asked him about the successes in 2010 and the future of social media in sports. [click to continue…]
Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.
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