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Post by George WK Newman on Jun 8, 2009 12:19:45 GMT -5
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/images/random/SportsIndustry.pdfIf a contract is a large one then the project is treated much like any other television series. One or several executives provide leadership and management, and serve as high-level liasons with the league and the teams. A series producer ("supervising producer") takes charge of packaging; graphics, overall style, music, etc. In each city a freelance technical crew typically handles cameras, audio, and lighting, but a core technical staff may travel as part of the network supervisory group. Sports is still seen as a way to reach a male demographic, and teens under 18 are generally underepresented in sports viewing. Sportel is held in Monaco each October and has become the leading international marketplace for the sale of sports rights. Several additional Sportel marketplaces are also in operation.
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Post by George WK Newman on Jul 17, 2009 8:44:06 GMT -5
CEO George Newman is a huge sports fan!
Obviously the problem for us is that the big sports leagues and events are beyong the financial and contractual reach of our network at this time.
America One network broadcasts a wide variety of sports like Canadian Football, National League Lacrosse, Hawaii Winter Baseball, and English Premier League Soccer.
Add all the cable sports channels from ESPN and Fox and the saturation is quite high, all the way down to women's basketball and extreme sports.
One idea not currently being used that Newman has floated out for possible use if our network ever goes to a weekend daytime program would be to mirror the old Wide World of Sports that ABC produced. A sports "anthology" show. The idea would be to show sports no one else is showing and to bounce around the globe and around one sport to another during the show; much like Olympic coverage.
Some of the sports he suggests trying are Ultimate Frisbee, Lacrosse, Unlimited Hydroplane Racing (the crashes are spectacular!), Murderball, Roller Hockey, Surfing, Jai' Alai, Dodgeball, Paintball, Aussie Rules football, Football (soccer) from around the globe, Polo, Running, and Red Bull Run. Many sports have an avid fan base that would tune in, and hopefully also attract many people who do not like the traditional American sports of Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf.
Another idea would be to pursue the National Hockey League in the coming years when their deal with Versus expires.
Another booming sport that might fit is Mixed Martial Arts. Finding another "UFC" would be tough, as witnessed by CBS's failure with EliteXC. Looking at the WEC, which is a UFC promotion currently on Versus, might be an option.
Pro Wrestling may not belong under Sports but that's generally where it falls. The great thing about pro wrestling TV deals is that the content generally comes free or very cheap, in return for all the onscreen advertising during the show and a chunk of the ad spots. The negatives are the low class image as well as difficulty these days finding a stable organization outside of WWE that can make this kind of thing work. Perhaps though WWE's show "ECW" could be taken from Sci-Fi when it expires? Or TNA from Spike?
Other "sports entertainment" programs, both scripted and non-scripted would be shows like American Gladiator, Pros versus Joes, and RollerJam. Newman also likes the idea of rejuvenating the Battle of the Network Stars shows from the late 70's and 80's. This is kind of currently being done though by NBC with "Superstars". There is cross marketing potential with that concept.
These are just some ideas for those thinking of taking the helm of our network sports department. But its your department to do with it what you can.
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