Nothing makes more sense for second screen technology—using another device like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop while watching TV—than professional sports. Long before the term was even coined, Fantasy Football players would crowd around a TV on Sunday afternoons, frantically clicking refresh on their laptops to get the latest statistics from around the league.
Second screens allow sports fans to settle arguments over which pitcher had the all-time worst ERA. They let you keep checking the score of the Dodger’s game without having to miss a single pitch of the San Francisco Giants. And not even the hippest MTV show can match the social aspects of watching sports. At least half the fun is celebrating victories and commiserating losses with your friends and family—or just taunting your buddy from Boston.
As Bill Simmons wrote in a column for his Grantland blog, “Lurking underneath that surface [of sports], that’s where all the good stuff is — the memories, the connections, the love, the fans, the layers that make sports what they are.”
The whole Social TV phenomenon is one of the best things to ever happen to sports fans, even if many don’t realize they are a part of it. So in honor of the London Olympics kicking off this week, we’re rounding up the biggest stories coming from the second screen.
Sports Succeed With Social Media, and What it Means For Marketers
According to Bluefin Labs, sports regularly top the social TV charts. They reported that in the first half of 2012, 7 of the top 10 most-discussed events online were sporting events. Super Bowl XLVI drew a total of 12.2 million social media comments, while the NBA Finals drew 6.31 million. Mashable actually created a great Infographic that breaks down how important Twitter was in the NBA finals.
And it’s not just in America. Earlier this month, a study by Internet Advertising Bureau UK found that 98 percent of those polled said they watched at least one match during the Euro 2012 tournament. Of those people, 54 percent reported using a second screen whilst watching.
With social media becoming an increasingly important aspect of sports, the amount of people engaged with the live events is increasing exponentially around the entire world. To put that into perspective, Magnet Media worked with the Associated Press to create a video that highlights the opportunities present in this multi-billion dollar global boom, and how the London Olympics promises to be the biggest sporting event in history.
(AP: Olympics Brand Video from Magnet Media on Vimeo.)
Major League Baseball has completely run with the idea, and used social media as an opportunity to rebrand the struggling All Star Game. This year, fan voting via social media played a large roll in determining who made the starting lineups for the National and American League teams. The MLB encouraged fans to tweet using the #ASG hashtag, and even promised to have players from the game tweet when they weren’t on the field. The goal was to make the game, “one of the most social events in baseball history.”
It worked. The game drew 800,000 comments across social media platforms, according to Mashable. The first inning alone featured more conversation than the entire 2011 game. The MLB successfully got one-third of tweeting fans to use #ASG, which was on top of the worldwide trending chart for a few hours. During the voting, several players’ names were also trending topics.
My favorite statistic: the San Francisco Giants (my favorite team), accounted for the two most buzzed-about moments of the game. That’s right, go Giants!
The First Social Olympics
During the last Olympics, Facebook had yet to turn a positive cash flow, and Twitter, although growing quickly, was still the newcomer. This time, fans and athletes will all be heavily involved in what Forbes has dubbed the first “Socialympics.” The article runs down the 5 ways that will make this year’s Olympics more social than ever.
For starters, the International Olympic Committee has created the Olympic Athletes Hub for fans to communicate in real-time with athletes. There will also be Google+ hangouts, Twitter handles, and a Facebook page that already has 3 million likes. There are going to be mobile apps (more on that later) and a whole truckload of viral marketing. For the first time ever, complete coverage of the games will be streaming online via a partnership between NBC and YouTube.
But yesterday, Twitter crashed during the afternoon, leaving millions of users completely unable to communicate on the platform just one day before the opening ceremonies. It was the same day that NBC’s official Olympics Twitter page went live. With a record amount of people expected to participate tonight, the Daily Mail wonders if the social network is prepared to handle the amount of traffic.
We’ll find out tonight if the fail whale will be at the opening ceremony.
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In the world of apps, there are a whole bunch coming out for the Olympics. We’ve tracked the two official ones from NBC :
NBC Olympics App
Website
iTunes Store
Android Marketplace
Platforms: iOS and Android
Price: Free
Best Features:
- Get news, results, schedules, TV and online listings, and medal counts updated in real time.
- Highlights and featured videos
- Profiles, news, video, and photos of Team USA.
- Select your local NBC affiliate to get news, video, and photos about athletes from your hometown.
- Twitter Tracker shows what the athletes are saying and what topics are hot
Limitations:
- Not much info about non-USA teams.
- No search function
- Schedules don’t show individual games, just the name of the sport that’s on.
NBC Olympics Live Extra
Website
iTunes Store
Android Marketplace
Platforms: iOS and Android
Price: Free (but requires cable subscription).
Best Features:
- Watch every event of the London Olympics LIVE!
- Full event replays.
- The Gold Zone features live streaming of every gold medal event.
- Online coverage schedule
Limitations:
- Ads on the bottom, but they are not very intrusive.
- Requires a cable subscription.
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Whats your favorite sport to watch at the Olympics? Will you be using any of the second screen apps? Let us know in the comments and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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To learn how MAGNET MEDIA can help with your social media/interactive marketing or video solutions, contact info@magnetmediafilms.com, 646-486-7109, or visit magnetmediafilms.com/what-we-do
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Ryan W. Neal is a journalist from Sacramento, California. After earning a B.A. in English and philosophy at UC Santa Barbara, he interned with the Santa Barbara Independent and wrote freelance stories for the Sacramento News & Review, The Summit Daily News, and Virgin.com/music. He earned his M.S. in journalism from Columbia University, and now works as Assistant Editor at Magnet Media.
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