Tag Archives: sports

Blogging the NFL Draft

Posted on by

The NFL Draft is under way and that’s a big deal in Green Bay, Wisconsin (home of the Packers). And all other NFL cities, for that matter. Bill Scott is the sports director for the Wisconsin Radio Network (one of Learfield’s state radio networks) and has been covering the the draft for 16 years. This year he’s blogging it.

In previous years we’ve put a live audio feed up on our satellite channel so Bill could do reports. And we’ve streamed the audio on WRN.com. But the physical setting and the timing just didn’t lend itself to this kind of coverage. Now Bill has his laptop and wifi so he’s blogging. I assume other media are doing the same.

I’ve posted on this subject countless times but still find myself a little amazed that blogging might be the best way to cover and event like this. Would live audio/video be better? Well, it would be good. But if you missed it, you missed it. The blog posts will be up there until we pull it down.

This is a first for Bill so it’ll be interesting to get his thoughts on this. Watch this space.

Who will own the podcasting rights?

Posted on by

From an article by Dan Migala in the Sports Business Journal (subscription required):

“The NHL’s Blackhawks have launched Hawk-Cast, which is the first podcast created by an NHL team. A new edition of Hawk- Cast, which is a 10- or 15-minute show, is available two to three times a week. The show is hosted and produced by Blackhawks Web producer Adam Kempenaar using only a computer with audio recording capability and Internet access. The HawkCast features updates from practices and interviews with players, coaches and team management. Postgame news conferences and player interviews are also available as podcasts at www.chicagoblackhawks.com.”

As an employee of a company that pays millions of dollars every year for the media rights to some of the top college teams in the country, this next little item caught my attention:

“Another plus for the Blackhawks is that, because the content is original and produced in-house, there are no conflicts with radio rights holders. The team is free to sell advertising and sponsorships for each podcast or program segment. Kempenaar said the club has not sold advertising yet, but plans to do so.”

I remember the first time we saw a reference to streaming rights in a college bid spec. You can bet we’ll be seeing references to podcasting rights in future rights deals.

Lance Armstrong to come out of retirement?

Posted on by

Lance Armstrong says he could come out of retirement to try for an eighth straight Tour de France victory.

“I’m thinking it’s the best way to piss [the French] off. I’m not willing to put a percentage on the chances but I will no longer rule it out.”

Armstrong believes he is the target of a “witch hunt” by the French media. French sports daily L’Equipe reported in August that urine samples taken from Armstrong during his first Tour victory in 1999 tested positive for the banned substance EPO.

Steve Spurrier Podcast

Posted on by

New South Carolina Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier has the highest SEC winning percentage in history. And he is –I am told by those that know– something of rock star among big-name football coaches. Our company produces the Gamecock football broadcasts and the weekly call-in show, featuring Spurrier and the the play-by-play guy. Tomorrow night is the first show and in addition to airing on a bunch of SC radio stations…and streaming at Yahoo! Broadcast… we’ve set up a podcast feed. There has been almost zero publicity on this but I’ve got a feeling fans will find this quickly. Thursday nights from 7:05 – 8:00 p.m. EDT

The wireless Super Bowl

Posted on by

“On the consumer side, the league sees big revenue potential in wireless. The league is moving content from its NFL Network cable channel and Sirius Satellite network to the Internet to bring more dimensions to stories. It’s the first year the Super Bowl is on satellite radio, and the league plans to make audio of the radio calls for the Pats and Eagles available for fans to download to their MP3 players for $10. And when someone calls their wireless phone, Eagles fans can hear defensive end Jevon Kearse tell them “This is Jevon Kearse. It’s time for you to pick up the phone.” [via RAIN]

BostonHerald.com