The new 2012 MLB season is in full swing. Along with the beginning of a new season, also starts the beginning of fantasy leagues. Just as in the NFL, ESPN also has its own fantasy baseball league. Fantasy leagues have gained wide popularity over the years and ESPN's fantasy league offers players many features that makes joining a fantasy league worthwhile. Firstly, its called FANTASY baseball, so you can customize your team your way, making all the decisions YOU want. You also get free live scoring of the games, auction drafts for the players you want, and many other highlights. Fantasy league is a form of social networking, it allows you to connect with friends and other users to share your victories, losses, and advice. Most importantly, all of this is FREE. Many other networks also offer their version of Fantasy Baseball as well. Over the years fantasy leagues have become a great way for users to enjoy and interact with a sport they love, in their own personalized way.
The Topps Company, the world leader in baseball card manufacturing, is introducing two new apps to the public in order to bring a once cherished hobby into the digital realm. The first app is called Topps Pennant, it is a data-based platform designed to intrigue the statistics enthusiasts. It offers detailed interactive graphics on every play from every major league game played since 1952, accompanied by a design of team logos and a baseball diamond. The second app is called Topps Bunt, it features rows of baseball cards with player's photos assembled like a board game. It rotates in a three-dimensional manner to reveal the player's biographical information. This app goes one step further than the tradition baseball card. It allows users to build their own teams, trade players and compete with other users, much to the way you would in fantasy baseball or football. The Topps Bunt app is free while the Topps Pennant app will cost $2.99 to download. Last year the Topps Company's main competitor Panini America, introduced video trading cards featuring NBA players that recreate the real thing.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Get A Social Media Makeover (Article)
By Britta Erickson
Even though my team did not make the playoffs this year, the changes to the advertising tactics of the NHL this post-season caught my interest. The NHL has not only kept up with their Facebook and Twitter account, but they are also dipping into other social media outlets in order to reach and please their fans. According to the Mashable article (linked above) "studies have shown hockey fans to be among pro sports’ most affluent, educated and tech-savvy, so the league’s heavy social push makes sense." Some of these new outlets are Instagram, Foursquare, and even DrawSomething. The NHL realizes how important social media and our gadgets are to us fans and they are trying to adapt. Whether it is having your Facebook profile pic sporting a classic playoff beard or having you attempt to draw a hat trick or a Zamboni in DrawSomething, the NHL is really branching out. What I like about this serge of social media utilization is that the NHL is not only thinking of itself and how to make a profit but they are also advertising in ways that interest and even benefit the fans. For example, a few weeks ago I went to an Anaheim Ducks game and because I had the Ducks (free) app on my phone I was able to get free WI-FI as well. Little touches like this should be noticed and duplicated by other sports and their organizations. I especially hope that MLB does this same sort of campaign during their playoffs because I think it would be very successful given the larger number of fans they have in comparison to the NHL. In this new age of social media, adaptability is key and the NHL is adapting nicely.
3 Million downloads for MLB.com Mobile App (Article)Written By: Marissa Green
With the 2012 baseball season getting into full swing it is obvious that the mobile apps that are offered are becoming baseball fanatics best picks to get up to date on their favorite teams. The most popular by far is the MLB.com At Bat 12 app which lets those die hard fans check scores, highlight updates and even stream their favorites teams games onto their mobile device. Since the season began there has been 3 million downloads just for this one app. Part of the success of the app has been the updated technology on the app, during the 2011 season the app didn't reach what it is now until four months into the season. Another reason that it has become successful is the pricing that comes along with it. The app includes "live stream out-of-market games to your phone or tablet — you need to also pay for MLB.com TV package which costs $110 or $125 per year."
For those die hard fans this is the best type of app that anyone could ever want. It is combining the speed of smart phones with in-demand content with a huge fan base that it is going to be supported by over the course of the season. With people being so busy these days, it is hard to watch a full baseball game within the comfort of your own home. With this app you can watch your game anywhere while on the go or even at work or in class depending on how crazy one might be about baseball. Its a new technology with phones that most people would never think possible, to stream a live game onto your mobile phone for an affordable price. It goes to show how much technology has grown and how much the world of smart phones and apps have really affected our sports driven lives.
The National Hockey League is working with TeliaSonera International, Europe’s premier broadcast network provider, to air more hockey games in Scandinavia. This move will be made possible using “cross-border fiber-based delivery” of the broadcasts. According to Erik Hallberg, President of TeliaSonera International Carrier, “ ‘Over the next five year it will enable Viasat to broadcast almost 6000 hockey games…” If this works out as planned, the NHL’s fan base will substantially increase and bring profits up.
World’s Only Flash Deals Site for Sports Tickets is Going Nationwide Article By: Jaclyn Ramos
Flash deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial have become extremely popular amongst consumers in the past two years, and the sports industry wants to target the massive market of sports fans who love going to sporting events. CrowdSeats.com is the first and only site dedicated exclusively to sporting event tickets. CrowdSeats.com began offering deals to sports fans in August in New York and Los Angeles and is not expanding to Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. The company’s biggest deal yet was selling 77 discounted tickets to the Army-Rutgers college football games at Yankee Stadium in November. CrowdSeats offers discounts of about 50% but price cuts can rise to a shocking 90%, according to Founder and CEO Justin Cener, a Rutgers grad. Cener says that most of the site’s outreach comes from social marketing on both Facebook and Twitter. CrowdSeats has thus-far only been run by a one-man operation using only street teams and pay-per-click advertising on Facebook. Cener is optimistic for CrowdSeats future success. After their current round of expansion, CrowdSeats plans to offer deals in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Cener’s long-term plan for CrowdSeats is to have a presence in 25 cities around the country. CrowdSeats.com will be selling discounted tickets to the following games over the next five days:
New York: Yankees vs. Twins, April 19. $48 for $96 ticket
Los Angeles: Clippers vs. Thunder, April 16. $30 for $53 ticket
San Francisco: Warriors vs. Spurs, April 16. $24 for $49 ticket
Boston: Celtics vs. Magic, April 18. $40 for $72 ticket
Chicago: Bulls vs. Wizards, April 16. $48 for $96 ticket
Apps Join Baseball Cards in Topps Lineup(Article)
By Matt LewisThe Topps Company, the world leader in baseball card manufacturing, is introducing two new apps to the public in order to bring a once cherished hobby into the digital realm. The first app is called Topps Pennant, it is a data-based platform designed to intrigue the statistics enthusiasts. It offers detailed interactive graphics on every play from every major league game played since 1952, accompanied by a design of team logos and a baseball diamond. The second app is called Topps Bunt, it features rows of baseball cards with player's photos assembled like a board game. It rotates in a three-dimensional manner to reveal the player's biographical information. This app goes one step further than the tradition baseball card. It allows users to build their own teams, trade players and compete with other users, much to the way you would in fantasy baseball or football. The Topps Bunt app is free while the Topps Pennant app will cost $2.99 to download. Last year the Topps Company's main competitor Panini America, introduced video trading cards featuring NBA players that recreate the real thing.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Get A Social Media Makeover (Article)
By Britta Erickson
Even though my team did not make the playoffs this year, the changes to the advertising tactics of the NHL this post-season caught my interest. The NHL has not only kept up with their Facebook and Twitter account, but they are also dipping into other social media outlets in order to reach and please their fans. According to the Mashable article (linked above) "studies have shown hockey fans to be among pro sports’ most affluent, educated and tech-savvy, so the league’s heavy social push makes sense." Some of these new outlets are Instagram, Foursquare, and even DrawSomething. The NHL realizes how important social media and our gadgets are to us fans and they are trying to adapt. Whether it is having your Facebook profile pic sporting a classic playoff beard or having you attempt to draw a hat trick or a Zamboni in DrawSomething, the NHL is really branching out.
What I like about this serge of social media utilization is that the NHL is not only thinking of itself and how to make a profit but they are also advertising in ways that interest and even benefit the fans. For example, a few weeks ago I went to an Anaheim Ducks game and because I had the Ducks (free) app on my phone I was able to get free WI-FI as well. Little touches like this should be noticed and duplicated by other sports and their organizations. I especially hope that MLB does this same sort of campaign during their playoffs because I think it would be very successful given the larger number of fans they have in comparison to the NHL. In this new age of social media, adaptability is key and the NHL is adapting nicely.
3 Million downloads for MLB.com Mobile App (Article)Written By: Marissa Green
With the 2012 baseball season getting into full swing it is obvious that the mobile apps that are offered are becoming baseball fanatics best picks to get up to date on their favorite teams. The most popular by far is the MLB.com At Bat 12 app which lets those die hard fans check scores, highlight updates and even stream their favorites teams games onto their mobile device. Since the season began there has been 3 million downloads just for this one app. Part of the success of the app has been the updated technology on the app, during the 2011 season the app didn't reach what it is now until four months into the season. Another reason that it has become successful is the pricing that comes along with it. The app includes "live stream out-of-market games to your phone or tablet — you need to also pay for MLB.com TV package which costs $110 or $125 per year."
For those die hard fans this is the best type of app that anyone could ever want. It is combining the speed of smart phones with in-demand content with a huge fan base that it is going to be supported by over the course of the season. With people being so busy these days, it is hard to watch a full baseball game within the comfort of your own home. With this app you can watch your game anywhere while on the go or even at work or in class depending on how crazy one might be about baseball. Its a new technology with phones that most people would never think possible, to stream a live game onto your mobile phone for an affordable price. It goes to show how much technology has grown and how much the world of smart phones and apps have really affected our sports driven lives.TeliaSonera International Carrier delivers games to Scandinavia Written By: David Castro
The National Hockey League is working with TeliaSonera International, Europe’s premier broadcast network provider, to air more hockey games in Scandinavia. This move will be made possible using “cross-border fiber-based delivery” of the broadcasts. According to Erik Hallberg, President of TeliaSonera International Carrier, “ ‘Over the next five year it will enable Viasat to broadcast almost 6000 hockey games…” If this works out as planned, the NHL’s fan base will substantially increase and bring profits up.
World’s Only Flash Deals Site for Sports Tickets is Going Nationwide Article
By: Jaclyn Ramos
Flash deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial have become extremely popular amongst consumers in the past two years, and the sports industry wants to target the massive market of sports fans who love going to sporting events. CrowdSeats.com is the first and only site dedicated exclusively to sporting event tickets. CrowdSeats.com began offering deals to sports fans in August in New York and Los Angeles and is not expanding to Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. The company’s biggest deal yet was selling 77 discounted tickets to the Army-Rutgers college football games at Yankee Stadium in November. CrowdSeats offers discounts of about 50% but price cuts can rise to a shocking 90%, according to Founder and CEO Justin Cener, a Rutgers grad. Cener says that most of the site’s outreach comes from social marketing on both Facebook and Twitter. CrowdSeats has thus-far only been run by a one-man operation using only street teams and pay-per-click advertising on Facebook. Cener is optimistic for CrowdSeats future success. After their current round of expansion, CrowdSeats plans to offer deals in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Cener’s long-term plan for CrowdSeats is to have a presence in 25 cities around the country. CrowdSeats.com will be selling discounted tickets to the following games over the next five days: