"FoxSports.com charging back into fantasy football"

From SportsBusiness Journal

Review by Henry Bronez in SRM 334

Fantasy Football in the past several years has become a large social network among young men, who commit large amounts of time, effort and in many cases money into fantasy sport leagues and teams. Draft days have evolved into large event that sees friends traveling and rearranging schedules in order to come together to draft teams for the new season. As fantasy sports have gained popularity and the market grows ever larger, businesses and corporations are vying amongst themselves to gain dominance in the adolescent market.

FoxSports.com used to host fantasy football, but in 2005, a year that saw many fantasy football leagues change from fee based to free, the site suffered several technical and organizational difficulties, which left it far behind its competition as fantasy sport’s popularity started to take off. The site is now attempting to re-enter the market and become a major player in the fantasy football market, in which a few large companies such as Yahoo, CBS Sports, ESPN and the NFL currently control the majority of the market.

Fox sports has been aggressively campaigning its re-entrance into fantasy sports, largely on the Fox Television networks and its affiliates as well through social media to attract consumer attention. Television ads have been running during Major League Baseball games that Fox broadcasts and also during the National Football League’s preseason. Two main competitors, Yahoo and ESPN have strong footholds already and successful leagues with loyal user bases, which will hinder Fox gaining ground in the market. ESPN also possess a media network that is on par with Fox media in order to advertise and promote the leagues that it already has in existence to try to maintain dominance.

This article pertains to us studying the media because the fantasy football market has blown up in popularity in the past few years and transformed from a leisurely pastime into a competitive quasi-sport. There are a variety of leagues, free or fee-based, some just for fun and others that are highly competitive with large ticket prizes such as Super Bowl tickets or cash. Even though the market is dominated by a few significant players Fox media controls one of the largest and widespread media networks in the country and has ties to other large corporations and leagues through which it can advertise its new fantasy leagues. Fox Sports is unquestionably behind in gaining a foothold in the fantasy football market, however it has business relationships and large enough media reach that in a few years there is a possibility that Fox may be one of the big players fantasy sports.

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Review by Ryan Oliphant in SRM 334

FoxSports.com is attempting an aggressive re-entry into the fantasy football market after setbacks and technical failures in 2005 which saw many consumers go to competing outlets. Fox’s new fantasy football program is being supported by WhatIfSports.com and the company has a goal of eventually being in the top three of the market. To do this Fox has to compete with other leading companies such as Yahoo Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports and NFL.com. Like most of these other key competitors FoxSports.com new fantasy program will be free to use. To be a major player in the market Fox will have to use its extensive reach, particularly through TV baseball coverage and NFL game day coverage to attract and obtain new players for their game.

FoxSports.com will have a difficult time making a splash right away in the market even through their extensive coverage of the NFL and baseball on TV. The company will most likely be in fifth place in the fantasy football market in the short term as the other companies are more familiar to people and have a well established product. To be in the top three of this competitive industry FoxSports.com will have to have appealing ads on TV throughout popular sporting events. FoxSports.com will also have to have an easy to use system for the game and some distinguishable features that make their product different.

This current issue/topic is related to this course because the game of fantasy football has become a huge part of sports media and communication over the past five years. There are now TV shows just on fantasy football, as well as magazines and radio stations that just talk about the game. There are apps for smart phones that can give updates and scores to people playing and even during the NFL games fans can see updates for their fantasy player’s flash in the bottom of the screen with the scores of the different games around the league. 

"Over the years, ‘Hard Knocks’ has provided players with 15 minutes of fame"

From The Palm Beach Post

Review by Jen Nelson in SRM 334

The new hit TV serious, “Hard Knocks” has been around since 2001, and recently just had the serious premier featuring the Miami Dolphins. The show is a “docu-drama”, consisting of a sports documentary following the teams training camp, along with drama to capture viewer’s attention. For our presentation, we decided to focus on what we believe is the main issue: is there too much media coverage?

The article we found provided us with positive and negative impacts of player publicity. Although some players enjoy the constant media attention, other would prefer to stay out of the limelight. Our article was entitled, Over the years, ‘Hard Knocks’ has provided players with 15 minutes of fame by Hal Habib. Aside from the Miami Dolphins, 6 other teams have been featured on “Hard Knocks” and racking up a total of 7 sports Emmys. Player Dwayne Missouri from the Baltimore Ravens said, “I enjoyed the opportunity and I’m thankful for it…I think it kept my name on a lot of peoples mouths for a long period of time.” On the other hand, he also encountered a negative experience with the media when they caught him throwing up many times throughout a game. Since the camera is essentially rolling at all times, players are now seeing what coaches say about them behind closed doors, because really the doors are now open.

Other positive aspects include players learning from their mistakes, and having the chance to watch other teams closely. From a fan based perspective, tickets sales have generally increased for all the teams who were on the show.

The article also has a lot of information discussing the negative aspects that may come about from the show. Having the media there constantly is a huge invasion of players privacy, especially if they are going into places off limits to gain more drama for TV viewers. It can also cause the team to loose focus and often times many events are aired that the players wouldn’t intend for the world to see.

My opinion of the show, is that it’s unique in which its essentially the first sports reality show. This will give fans the capability to learn more about their player’s both positively and negatively. For teams such as the Miami Dolphins, who over the past few years haven’t been doing well, now have the chance to earn back a positive reputation. In regards to the media, I know the public loves scandal, however, there are certain boundaries I think the media shouldn’t cross. I think they should put more of an emphasis on the time training camp, rather than focusing on digging up dirt on athletes personal lives.

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Review by Alyssa Truesdale in SRM 334

We chose to do our presentation on the HBO miniseries, Hard Knocks, because it is a good representation of how communication and media relations has evolved in sports. Many years ago, teams in the NFL were getting little to no media coverage. Tex Schramm for instance, begged the media to cover the Dallas Cowboys. He was forced to write and publish his own stories to send to newspaper companies. Today, NFL teams and players may now be getting too much coverage in the media. The article that we read discusses the positive and negative impacts the show may have on a player’s career.

The article, “Over the years, ‘Hard Knocks’ has provided players with 15 minutes of fame”, was found through SportsBusiness Journal Daily and was written by Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post. Former NFL players, Dwayne Missouri and Todd Lowber discuss their experiences from being on the show. For Missouri, who was a seventh-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens when they were featured on the show in 2001, it was a chance to make a name for himself in the NFL. He admitted that it would have been much harder to focus during practice if he didn’t have cameras and microphones following him constantly. Another thing the show did for Missouri was teach him how to step it up in practice. The show features many coaches’ meetings and discussions with one another where they are very blunt about players. Missouri was able to hear what the coaches were saying about him and the way he played, without them speaking to him directly. After the night the episode aired, he was inspired to work harder in practice and fix the mistakes the coaches had brought up.

Lowber had a similar outlook on the show’s ability to increase awareness of players in the league. Lowber explains that if a player featured on the show gets released and another coach in the NFL that had been closely watching him throughout camp liked what he saw, the player would be more likely to get signed with that new team. Essentially this means that players are “trying out” for all of the teams in the league when being featured on the show, not just the one that they are training with. The criticism that Lowber heard from coaches while watching the show did not have a positive effect on him like I did on Missouri however. He heard coaches say he looked lost while playing, and did not like that upon showing up for practice the following day, he already knew what the coaches thought about him.

It is interesting how the show seems to have slightly changed the game. Players who may not have ever been noticed before get to shine while on camera in the show. Players are also able to learn what coaches are saying about them behind closed doors. Other things that happen throughout the training camp with the team that typically no one would ever know about are suddenly broadcasted for the entire world to see. On an episode from this seasons Hard Knocks, a Dolphin’s player admitted to another that he had been taking acting lessons to learn how to “not look tired on camera”. The show completely changes the experience for NFL teams and players going through training camp. Instead of focusing solely on their play, they are now becoming actors of a show. If I were a coach, I don’t think it is something that I would want my team to be a part of, but as a fan and sports communicator, Hard Knocks makes for great entertainment.

Student Profile of Alan Daniel in the Masters Program

JMU Sport & Recreation Leadership Masters Program students enrolled in KIN 501 (Marketing) during the Fall 2012 semester were required to create a Student Profile. Inspired by the Apple iPhone 4S/Siri commercials, here is Alan Daniel's take on the assignment.