The Oscars. The Grammys. The ESPYs. These awards shows reward and are synonymous with excellence in their respective fields. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have celebrated movies for 85 years. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences have showcased music for 55 years. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network have presented […]
A man who brought the skills of one sport to the world of another, and created a global phenomenon from 5 YouTube videos: Ken Block and Gymkhana.
Ken Block began his professional driving career in 2005 as a rally driver for Vermont SportsCar. To skip ahead: he did well, but wasn’t winning every race or taking home every championship. He did, however, get publicity as rookie of the year and had sponsorships from DC shoes as well as Subaru and Monster Energy. Despite getting better and better in his sport, what brought Ken Block out of the WRC (World Rally Championships) spotlight and into the broader spotlight of the world? Gymkhana, YouTube, social media, and GoPro.
Recently, LockerDome partnered with their first professional sports team in the St. Louis Blues. Since the last time we covered LockerDome, they have increased their monthly unique visits from four million to 11 million currently. Along with their increase in traffic, they are being recognized by Forbes and partnered with USA Today to increase their brand awareness.
The NFL Draft has grown in to one of the largest non-game sport spectacles of the calendar year. And like every other sports event, social media has become an integral part of the proceedings. However, this year ESPN and NFL Networks agreed to not tweet the draft picks before Roger Goodell announces them on stage. In previous years, picks were tweeted moments before they aired because networks were informed early for production purposes, thus making Goodell’s official announcements mere formalities. But this year fans spoke out and said they wanted to enjoy watching the draft on television and not have Twitter upstage the many inevitable surprises that every draft provides.
It would be nice to have more behind the scenes insight to an NFL Draft Pick’s experience on their big day like Robert Griffin III last year One round. Nineteen trades. Thirty-two selections. Zero intrigue. Only those four numbers are needed to describe the viewing experience of last year’s opening round of the NFL Draft. Chris Berman’s cheesy verbal clues and premature cuts to the green room gave way to Twitter, as NFL insiders jockeyed to be the first to report draft picks. And at the viewers’ expense, that meant spoiling the mystery of the 2012 Draft on social media. “Social media kind of took over the whole thing,” said Shawn Zobel of DraftHeadquarters.com. “Five minutes before every pick, you...
