Recently I wrote about the use of new camera angles in rugby with ‘Ref Cam‘.  This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how platforms and brands are encouraging the use of video within their strategies.

If you are a basketball fan, or been keeping an eye on digital sport trends, you will have noticed the coverage that March Madness has been gaining.  It is a massive event in the US and sees Twitter light up with new content, hashtags, promoted tweets and updates from the games.

This year they have taken it to another level by releasing game highlights in 15 seconds snippets as close to real-time as they can manage. This means that fans who dont have access to watching the game and are predominately on their smartphones can not only keep up with scores but also watch the action.

Allowing fans to watch video within Twitter isn’t anything new and many have done so with YouTube embeds and phone videos.  But the capabilities have been constantly pushed by the platform developers.  Last year I travelled to New York to put into action an idea that was developed only a few weeks earlier.  The plan was to Livestream a press conference directly through Twitter but using a pinned Tweet for fans to follow the announcement as it happened.  It helped turn a B2B presentation into something different and it  gained extra traction because of it.

The idea for March Madness is different.  Turner Broadcasting, who own the TV rights, teamed up with Twitter and Snappy TV on this occasion.  Their joint aim was to give fans quick highlights that they can access where it had not been possible before.  The added benefit is that the clip is easily shared and many more people will get to see it than may have otherwise.

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

So what does the future hold?  Twitter is rapidly moving into this space with the launch of Vine and now this partnership.  For other sports it offers some amazing possibilities.  Imagine if SkySports tweeted out goals as they happen from important games, or the BBC show a wicket going down in the Ashes this summer??

Fans like to have access to key moments as quickly as they can.  We’ve seen from the success of the ESPN Goals app that it is all about speed and relevance.  It is most certainly one of my favourite apps and has almost made Match of the Day redundant to me.  I get to watch all the goals by 5.15pm and saves me having to listen to Lineker, Hanson and company (dull).  Not to mention no longer having to worry about recording it or getting home for 10.30pm and staying up until midnight.  We, the fans, now gets to control what we watch and when we watch it.  And this is only the start.

How broadcasters react to the constant changes in technology and the development of platforms such as Twitter is now key.  Will they see it as a threat putting this content out there for all to view (though you can still geo-block the video content so rights issues won’t be affected) or will they embrace it and give the fans what they want?

This opens up so many new doors but who will be brave enough to step through them?!

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has had its troubles recently (!) with Mr Armstrong and the constant battle the sport faces with drugs.  To lighten the mood and show that they are looking towards the future and not just the past they produced some interesting news.  This week they announced that, for the first time, it will provide free, live broadcasts of the Cyclo-cross World Championships on its YouTube channel. The World Championships will be held on 2-3 February in Louisville, USA.

The UCI channel will then proceed to provide live coverage of World Championships in the Road, Track, BMX and Cyclo-cross disciplines, as well as the World Cup events in Cyclo-cross, Track and BMX. Mountain Bike and Trials will also be live, with the outlet announced shortly.

The UCI’s live broadcasts will be available all around the world with the exception of those countries in which TV channels already offer the option to view the UCI events live. This new video coverage means that a passion for cycling can be spread to countries that have never before enjoyed such coverage, over all five continents.

It will also provide highlights during the live coverage, offering freeze-frame images of the most spectacular action and most skilled performers. These highlights will be accessible to all Internet users, free of charge and without restriction on location.

You can see more about the event here…

It is a progression in sport that we are seeing more of.  The platform is keen to encourage more unique content, whether that be pre-recorded programmes or live events.  We have already seen the power of big live events – think Red Bull Space Jump – and this can be utilised for more niche events.  The rights haven’t been sold and tend not to be very valuable.  So why not put them up for all to see?

If you draw a decent enough audience in then the future production quality can be enhanced and there are advertising and sponsorship opportunities around it.  With rumours of YouTube introducing a paid subscription model to certain areas then it would make even more sense.  Pay 69p for the ability to watch a tournament for a day…why not?!

Further signs that this is the way the industry is moving, we heard today about SkySports being made available on a pay as you watch service.  This gives fans without a subscription the opportunity to pay £9.99 and watch a full day of sport on all the SkySports channels.  For a Super Sunday or Ryder Cup final day it could pay dividends for the channel.

Anyway, you can catch the action on www.youtube.com/ucichannel
Schedule of live coverage of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships

- Saturday 2 February: GMT16:00 – 17:00 Junior Men – Live
- Saturday 2 February: GMT 19:30 – 20:30 Under 23 Men – Live
- Sunday 3 February: GMT 16:00 – 17:00 Elite Women – Live
- Sunday 3 February: GMT 19:30 – 20:45 Elite Men – Live
(CET is GMT +1)

talkSPORT’s global soccer service talkSPORT Live has joined with Twitter to bring free, live commentary of the world’s best soccer league, the Barclays Premier League, to Twitter users. For the first time, from this weekend (20^th October), live streaming of Barclays Premier League English language play-by-play will be available through talkSPORT Live’s audio player embedded in an enhanced Twitter profile page at twitter.com/talkSPORTLive to fans outside the European Economic Area, and is also available in Spanish and Mandarin via twitter.com/talkSPORTLiveEs and twitter.com/ talkSPORTLive8.

These profiles will feature streaming of live commentary of leading Barclays Premier League fixtures, which users will be able to retweet to share with their followers and feature in their own Twitter timeline. The player is optimised for Twitter’s new mobile interface on iPhone, Android and iPad. The player has been developed by talkSPORT’s fellow UTV Media plc group companies Tibus and Simply Zesty in close cooperation with Twitter.

talkSPORT Live was launched by talkSPORT at www.talkSPORT.com in August 2012 to give fans across the world access to live and on-demand play-by-play of every Barclays Premier League match in English, Spanish and Mandarin . The station forms part of a wider international strategy which saw talkSPORT agree  a deal with the Premier League for the exclusive package of international audio broadcasting rights for the next four soccer seasons (2012/13 – 2015/16) earlier this year. talkSPORT Live also has broadcast partners across five continents including SiriusXM in the USA and Canada, TSN and TEAM stations in Canada, Brila FM in Nigeria, Citi FM in Ghana, SBS in Australia, Radio Sport in New Zealand and Astro stations in Malaysia who all broadcast the station’s Barclays Premier League commentary.

Launched in 2000, talkSPORT is the world’s biggest sports radio station with an audience of 3 million adults in the UK alone and was named Sony Radio Academy Station of the Year in 2011.

Scott Taunton, Chief Executive, talkSPORT, said: “talkSPORT Live is a unique offering for soccer fans around the globe and this integration with Twitter builds on the service’s success by adding an exciting way for listeners to keep up with their favourite team. Sport and social media has proved to be a winning combination, with Twitter as the perfect tool for fans to share their passion. This is the first of what I hope will be some great digital partnerships for talkSPORT Live.”

Next month sees a first for the UK when a new digital conference comes to the capital city.  After 4 years of successful events in the US, founder of Coyle Media and Sports Marketing 2.0 is making his first venture into Europe.

It promises a great day with a great line up of speakers that include;

Dan Markham – VP International Media Distribution, NBA

Jez Jowett - Global Social Media Director, Havas Sports & Entertainment

Maz Nadjm – Director of Social Media, TSL Education

Russell Stopford – Head of Digital, Manchester City

Matt Owen – Community Manager, Liverpool

Jae Chalfin – Founder, Sports New Media

……and many more (including me!)

Ahead of this event I had a chance to sit down with the host of the event and owner of Coyle Media, Pat Coyle, to talk about the event in some more detail;

Hi Pat, we’re looking forward to your ‘Fanographie’ event here in London next month.  You’ve been hosting successful digital events over in the US for a while now.  How did they first come about? and where did the name ‘Fanographie’ come from?

I held my first Sports Marketing 2.0 event in New York back in 2008, shortly after I left my job at the Indianapolis Colts and formed Coyle Media. I ran 3 or 4 sports 2.0 events annually up until last year, when I changed the name to “Digital Fan Marketing Summits.” I made this change in order to broaden the scope of our conversation and potential attendees. We still focus on sports and digital, but now we also include all forms of digital entertainment (i.e. music, TV, games, movies) in our scope. I changed the name from DFM to Fanographie this year. I needed a word that represented the “science” of digital fan marketing, so I made one up. It’s a bit more fun, don’ t you think?

Now you’ve decided to run your first one outside of the US.  What was it about London that made you run it here?

I chose London for several reasons. First,  much of the UK’s media and sport is centered there. Also, I see some amazing innovation in the digital entertainment realm coming out of London, and I want to get over there and see what’s happening first hand. Finally, I felt my professional network had grown strong enough there that I could get the support (from guys like you) needed to put on a quality event.

You’ve attracted some great speakers.  What do you hope people who come along will be able to take from the day?

Fanographie is about content and about relationships. If attendees can come away with even one solid idea, and one new relationship, then the investment of their time will be well worth it. Happily, most attendees get much more than this. We challenge our speakers to bring case studies. We want to learn from their experiences, both successes fan failures; and we want our attendees and friends to spend time getting to know each other. That’s why we take 15 minute breaks every hour, and that’s why we hold a reception at the end…so that we can break bread and build relationships. We work in a rapidly changing marketplace. When you need to find answers, it’s often fastest to call someone you know in the space. Attending Fanographie increases the chances you’ll know the right people when the time comes to solve a problem.

In a previous article here on UKSN you talked about the year ahead in social and how more personalized forms of advertising, digital ticket marketing and social TV are the things to watch out for.  Do you think these are areas in which the UK is ready and UK sport especially?

It’s hard for me to say with certainty what the UK is ready for since I don’t live there and have no direct experience with the market. I can say that shows like X Factor and Idol are groundbreaking, and I’m excited that we’ve got Clare Tavernier from Fremantle delivering a keynote that will include content about those shows and more. We’ve also got Ticketmaster U.K. on tap. As you know that company is really making wonderful progress selling tickets via the social graph. So yes. It seems the UK is definitely ready.

We’re often said to be behind the US in terms of social media.  What is perception of our efforts from across the pond?

I suppose it depends on how you look at it. In some areas the UK is ahead, and in others perhaps it’s behind the U.S. on the digital adoption curve. Anyway, that’s partly why I’m coming over, so that we can share information and see who’s ahead and who’s behind…not because this is a contest, but because we want to borrow ideas from each other. We don’t compete. I believe the industry is only as strong as its weakest link. We can help each other reach goals faster by sharing information. I hope Fanographie will be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue among any / all digital sports and entertainment specialists in the UK and across Europe and the world.

Its only a few weeks now until your London event.  What are your hopes for it and are you planning more events in the future?

I hope we can pack the house and send everyone home excited to go to work the next day to implement things they’ve learned. And yes I do hope to come back again, perhaps we can make this an annual event. That would be fantastic. As a consultant, I also hope to find properties who might like to engage my services. I’d welcome a chance to come over and live in Europe for a while.

You can find out more about the event and get tickets for it at www.fanographie.com

At the end of this month I’m lucky enough to be heading over to Paris to cover an event that will include some of the best minds in digital and football.

The event is the inaugural ‘Football Production Summit‘ which will take place in the iconic French national stadium, Stade de Paris, on 29th February.

What interests me most about the conference is that it will be first chance to hear (and hopefully meet up with) the new Head of Digital at Manchester City, Russell Stopford.  He has taken over from the interim boss of the last year Richard Ayers, who is working for City still from his London base.

The panel session that Russell will be taking part in is on ‘Football Club Perspectives’ and also includes Guiliano Giogetti (Head of New Wed & New Media at AC Milan), Kieron Kilbride (Director of Biz Development at Football League) and Warren Perk (MD, Northern Europe at Perform).

The panel is being moderated by an old aquaintance in Cas Knight, formerly the MD of Chelsea Digital and now SVP at Wasserman Media Group.  If nothing else it is worth heading along to hear these people give their thoughts and, hopefully, get to meet them too.

To help set our expectations here is what the panel session is about;

“Clubs have more ways of engaging with their fans than ever, with a spectrum of possibilities that run from social networking initiatives all the way up to running their own TV channels. What are the perils and pitfalls of joining the broadcasting business? How much does the equipment cost? What is the minimum technical spec that should be considered? And how do clubs monetise one of the most precious assets that they have; their archive?”

There is more to this show than the one panel, though that is where most of my interest is going to lie.

There is also a EURO 2012 overview from the Head of TV Production at EUFA.  A panel session on broadcast technologies with FIFA, STATS, Opta and deltatre.  Finishing off with a panel session on next-generate technologies (3D, 4k, etc).

Its an awesome line up for what promises to be a really interesting event.  If you fancy hopping onto the Eurostar to Paris then head to http://svgeurope.org/football-production/ first to book your place.

Hopefully see you there!

A Guest Post by Simon Hoskins from Earnest Agency (www.earnest-agency.com)

A sprinkling of skill…

Sports stars tend to exert all the tendencies of super humans when placed in front of a camera and told by those milling around the shoot that what they’re making is a viral! And remarkably the more demanding and difficult the skill, the more relaxed and confident these men and women become when performing it. Federer, Beckham, Kobe Bryant and the like perform skills and stunts that are wild extensions of what they are required to do on the sports field or court every day.

A pinch of curiosity…

Their skills are turned up to 11 to blow everyone’s expectations of what they thought they could achieve. They are each revered in their particular sport – this gives their performance a certain edge of legitimacy that makes people question what certainly would be labelled as fake if performed by a lesser athlete. Their celebrity endorses their flamboyance far more than if Joe Public attempted the stunt.

A slice of brand awareness…

Sports stars are recognised as brands in their own right. A viral concept can hang on this brand framework by creating an interest from the viewer that develops from their feeling of familiarity with that person. Although Federer represents Gillette, Braylon Edwards the NFL and Ronaldinho, Nike, viewers believe they are watching an advert for that athlete’s skills – not for a specific brand. The Hi-Tec ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ viral is an anomaly here because it doesn’t employ the use of famous stars as brand ambassadors to drive its interest. The theme of athletes fitting themselves with Hi-Tec trainers before running a few paces across water is the hook which creates the buzz about the stunt. It highlights that without a famous face most virals need a supremely extraordinary feat to give them the edge and to compete in popularity with the likes of the All Blacks and Cristiano Ronaldo.

All Blacks training

The viral was used to promote the Rugby Channel in New Zealand and created huge chatter about their extraordinary feats. All Blacks Piri Weepu and Cory Jane can get away with passing these skills off as easy and matter-of-fact. Being synonymous with the world’s best rugby team allows viewers to partially suspend their disbelief, especially as their nonchalant manner and easy-going training ground routine makes their skills seem second–nature. The same can be said for the Pepsi viral featuring David Beckham in which his famous long passes have allowed him to feature in a viral set on a Californian beach kicking footballs into plastic rubbish cans from 60 yards. These approaches make the All Blacks viral and the concept feel under-produced and raw and henceforth more natural and appealing to the viewer. Such was their success they produced a follow-up.

Hi-Tec: Liquid Mountaineering

The aim of ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ was to capture the spirit of the brand and to have fun – providing a way to get to know Hi-Tec through the telling of a story and the supposed arrival of a new sport. The viral shares a similar story arc and structure with that of surfing videos. Whereas surfers are chasing the perfect wave and getting involved through their surf gear, these guys are after the thrill of pushing a new adrenaline sport. Amid the false science claims and impossible physics of it all, the one truth is the hydrophobic nature of the Hi-Tec shoes and their ability to repel water. This is the one shred of accuracy that allows the falsities to hang from it.

Roger Federer: William Tell

Federer seems to take a couple of minutes out from shooting a Gillette ad to perform a modern day re-telling of the Swiss legend of William Tell. In what appears to be a break from a studio shoot the footage seems to present a natural extension of Roger’s affable persona. Getting one of the production team to balance an empty can of balls on this head, Federer appears to serve and smash the can off his head with pinpoint accuracy. Cue a stunned production team. He then does it again. It’s clever because the first shot is almost off camera and would provide immediate ammunition for scepticism, but the second is shown far more clearly and serves(…!) to cast a bit of head-scratching. Arguably he is the greatest tennis player of all time…could he do this? It doesn’t seem to be THAT much of a leap of faith to suggest he could…

NFL Pick Me Reebok Campaign

This campaign is all about big names, big feats and big ambitions. They want YOU to pick THEM for your fantasy team…they want to impress and the viral suits as a platform in which to perform some truly awesome stunts on and off the football field. Accuracy levels needed in most stunts are almost impossibly high and with most players the ball disappears off screen and becomes barely visible in the distance. However, for invention and sheer entertainment, this is the real stand-out. Unlike the All Blacks training viral it feels far more produced and far more commercial, although they really notch it up a gear!

Nike basketball: LeBron Rise

LeBron James, when he made this Nike viral, was a basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. This viral wasn’t about what LeBron James had or hadn’t done – it was about the difference between the expectations others may have had of him versus the expectations he had of himself. What has made this a stand-out viral is the version that the Cleveland fans produced that reflected the questions LeBron James was asking himself in the original. Opening himself up for Nike about people’s expectations of him at Cleveland left him open to some wide criticism when he left the club for sunnier and more successful climbs.

This is the Cleveland fans’ reply:

Last week (29th June) I had the pleasure of appearing on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss ‘Social Media & Sport’ with Matt Dawson (ex-England Rugby International) and Paul Kelso (Daily Telegraph Chief Sports Writer).  The show also included pre-recorded interviews with footballers Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Savage, two of our biggest exponents of Twitter in the UK, and a chat over the phone with ECB Media Manager, James Avery.

The discussion was primarily around Twitter and its use by sports stars with some discussions on what Social media is, what ‘trending’ is and which sports people are using Twitter well/badly.  It was a fairly basic overview aimed at people listening into the show who may not use twitter or see its benefits.

As is always the case you plan out what you want to say but the time went by so fast and your answers change as you do it live.  It was an interesting programme and one that I hope the people who tuned in enjoyed.

Here is the programme in full, click on the picture below which will take you to iPlayer.  The Social Media & Sport part of the programme starts at just past the 1 hour mark…..

  Read the full story

Will Carling famously referred to the game in England as being run by ’57 old farts’ back in 1995 when he was national captain. However, English rugby (union) has come a long way since then. Admittedly results haven’t been entirely awe inspiring following the 2003 World Cup triumph – but in commercial terms the future looks rosy.

According to SportsPro magazine, in 2009 “games at Twickenham generated £29.2 million for the RFU, accounting for a quarter of their £118 million turnover. The union’s gate receipts have actually increased by £4.1 million since the 2006-2007 season.” Last season in the 6 nations “England could have sold out its 82,000 capacity Twickenham stadium twice over for each of its two home games”.  Additionally, “England received the largest economic boost from the tournament, with a total of US $132.82 million spent by fans on match tickets, transport, food and beverage sales, accommodation, merchandising, and at city attractions, and by sponsors on marketing”.

Hospitality and marketing have been important aspects of the increased commercialisation of rugby in the country where Webb Ellis first picked up the ball. In terms of sponsorship, England’s involvement with O2, its principal sponsor since 1995 when it was known as BT Cellnet, has been both beneficial and lucrative for rugby. England’s mixed broadcasting package, unique to the home unions, with both Sky and the BBC ensures strong annual TV revenue. The BBC covers home games in the 6 nations while Sky covers the autumn internationals and much more – from U20 internationals to the Army and Navy game. Looking to the future, England will also host the 8^th Rugby World Cup in 2015. The Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event after the football world cup and the Olympics. When staged in France, in 2007, it delivered “a total economic impact estimated at up to £2.1 billion” for the host nation.

Domestically the picture looks bright too. Aviva, the fifth largest insurer in the world, has recently replaced Guinness as the official title sponsor of England’s premier club rugby competition. In a 4 year deal, Aviva will pump £20 million into the renamed Aviva Premiership. In another exciting move, JP Morgan Asset Management earlier this year launched a Sevens tournament for the 12 premiership clubs. This is a bold move which aims to build on the momentum that entry into the 2016 Olympics has given the shortened version of the rugby game.

There are, however, some small dark clouds for rugby in England. The so-called ‘Bloodgate’ scandal has left a bad taste in the mouth (quite literally). The affair has tarnished the image and reputation of both Harlequins (one of the oldest clubs in the game) and the sport in general. It would certainly have been scrutinised by sponsors even though Etihad Airways has signed a one year extension to its sponsorship with the Harlequins club.

The relationship between the Premiership clubs and the national squad is not always a comfortable one. Like in football, there are arguably too many overseas stars in the domestic game. If selection of these players curtails the long-term playing development of home grown talent the results of the national side may suffer in years to come. Some players in the national side are also plying their trade overseas and this has led to friction between their respective clubs and Martin Johnson’s national squad. This was notably the case when the French club Toulon refused to release Jonny Wilkinson for a recent England squad summer camp. To keep revenues coming in, the RFU needs to carefully manage these issues to ensure that its strongest side runs out at Twickenham in order to attract sponsors, broadcasters and keep fans streaming through the turnstiles.

The upcoming season promises to be an exciting one as the rugby community looks forward to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Whether Martin Johnson and his England team will get their hands on the Webb Ellis Trophy again remains to be seen.

One thing we do know for sure – on the commercial front English rugby is in great health.

Earlier this week the New York Times had an interesting article on sports broadcasting as viewed through the recent YouTube – IPL Season 3 experiment. While the financial winners and losers of the arrangement are not known, we do know that it was a win for many fans, including myself, who viewed matches and highlights. In fact, according to the article:

“About 50 million viewers tuned in to YouTube’s I.P.L. channel, 25 percent more than Google executives said they expected when they signed the deal in January. Approximately 40 percent of those viewers were outside India.”

Yesterday I wrote about Google’s Chrome ads and how there were more than just about speed. I think the Google has made another shrewd move with the [Google-owned] YouTube – IPL tie-up. Just as they are challenging Apple in the ‘creative’ space (again, see the Chrome ads), they are also positioning themselves to challenge the likes of ESPN (via their ESPN3 online sports channel).

By partnering with the IPL, YouTube not only has a direct plug in to the burgeoning Indian market, but also to the high end sponsors that come along with a property as massively popular as the IPL. Again from the NY Times article:

“Google signed on seven advertisers in India, including Coca-Cola and Hewlett-Packard, two in Britain and one in the United States, where YouTube showed matches 15 minutes after they finished.”

Now it doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to see a vision of the future where fans from around the world are watching live sporting events via YouTube on their Nexus One Google phones. That really can’t be more than a couple years away at most. Just as Rupert Murdoch grabbed rights to English Premier League football to legitimize Sky Sports (and to some degree NFL rights to legitimize FOX in the U.S.), Google could tie up exclusive mobile rights as a trojan horse for the Nexus One.

Perhaps the biggest problem Google will face is that both the properties themselves as well as the current broadcast rights holders are organized or technologically savvy enough to make this work. They’re stuck in an out-dated system that often bundles mobile and television rights to the same outlets, regardless of their abilities to maximize the digital opportunities.

Ultimately Google, if they are indeed headed in this direction, may need to pay over the top for mobile or online rights. I’d reckon that’s a gamble worth taking, especially for a sport such as cricket which is on a global upswing right now

It has been a novel feeling this last couple of weeks with the UKSN site being seen as a viable press source with an invite to the Puma Media Launch last Tuesday and this week seems me attend the SportBusiness Group Sport & New Media Conference in Manchester.

It is great that sport is starting to wake up to the possibilities and with a showing of over 150 attendees on Wednesday it shows that there is a great yearning to learn more.  At the moment the UK has few examples of success stories of teams, leagues, businesses or athletes who have made that leap into great fan engagement and commercial success with Social Media.

Many teams, as we have reported on this site, have set up Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter accounts with varying amounts of success.  But as with all things in life and business there is a great saying that ‘to fail to plan is to plan to fail’.  Without a strategy in place you won’t succeed.  Opening an account for free is not enough if not taken into account with the rest of the marketing and PR strategy.

 “The search is now on for new ways to not only reach customers and fans, but to understand them, to activate sponsorships in fresh and exciting ways, encourage participation, grow fan bases and protect your reputation online.” (Sport & New Media website)

We shall see a number of topics touched on during the day rather than anything studied in great depth.  New media as a whole is a vast field made up of so much it would be impossible to cover every topic in one day.

My interest is drawn to the afternoon session that looks at sports associations utilising the web 2.0 possibilities.  British Universities & Colleges Sport will be talking about their use of Facebook which has over 6,000 fans and includes competitions, flash landing page, photos and videos. It will be interesting to find out the thoughts and strategies behind their move in social media.

One panel session looks like it could stir some debate with the title ‘Social Media: New opportunity – new threats?’. It has been highlighted by organisations I have spoken to in sport that there is a fear factor.  Yes it is a whole new world of opportunity but also one of threats, just look at Nestle to see what can happen when social media is handled badly.  The questions will be coming thick and fast from the delegates on this particular session I feel.

The speaker line up is very impressive with representatives from Google, IMG, Chelsea Digital, BBC, Eurosport, IFNA, comScore, Fudge, Pilot Media and Braben Sport.  It would have been great to hear from Manchester City and Liverpool who doing some great work in the North West though.  Maybe they are being saved for the next conference.

An added bonus for delegates is that the new comScore report titled ‘The State of Digital Sport’ will be given to every delegate as take away.  As I said at the top of this article, it is a exciting time for sport with the new didigtal possibilities that are open to all.  The PR, Marketing, fan engagement and commercial landscapes are changing forever……. are you ready for it? 

You can follow the official conference tweets on twitter.com/SBGEVENTS and the hashtag #sportandnewmedia which will be worth keeping an eye on.  I’ll be tweeting at twitter.com/danielmclaren

More info on the event is at www.sportandnewmedia.com