From ESPN.com
Analysis by John Kim in SRM 334
Throughout the past decade, Tiger Woods has emerged as the face of professional golf and has been considered one of the best players ever to play the game. In his career, Tiger Woods has a total of 79 PGA Tour wins, 14 of them being a major championship (About Tiger). In recent time, Tiger has recovered from the scandal that has happened in 2009. However, on April 1st, he posted on his twitter, “Sad to say I’m missing the Masters,” because of a back problem he has been having for the past few weeks (Harig, 2014). He had surgery on his back Monday and he is now currently going through rehabilitation; he is hoping to return sometime during the summer (Harig, 2014).
I believe that this article on Tiger Woods missing the Masters tournament this year is crucial in a media standpoint. The first name that would pop up on most people’s minds when talking about golf is Tiger Woods. He is the face of golf right now, and there are probably many people that watch the game of golf just to see Tiger Woods in action, especially in a major tournament. This article is also critical in a media standpoint because of the attention Tiger gets worldwide; on the ESPN website, he even has his own column named “Tiger Tracker.” I believe that the media covers Tiger Woods so much because he is probably the only interest to people that do not regularly watch golf. By promoting Tiger Woods and his status, it could spark up interest in golf and get more viewers to watch golf. Tiger Woods is the best advertising tool to attract the general public and now that he is not able to compete in this year’s Masters Tournament, it could possibly impact the ratings on television.
The article about Tiger Woods is relevant to our course in both broadcasting and relating with the audience. I believe that it was relevant to broadcasting because of the impact Tiger Woods brings to the game of golf. As I have stated, many viewers probably watch golf just because of Tiger Woods and when Tiger Woods is not playing, it could impact the viewings of the Masters Tournament, which is aired both on CBS and ESPN (Masters). I believe that it is also relevant to relating with the audience because in order for people to be interested, the article must attract the general public’s eye. If a player that is not as famous were to miss the Masters, it would probably not be as newsworthy as Tiger missing the Masters.
In conclusion, I believe that the media covering Tiger Woods as much as they do is necessary in order for the game of golf to grow in popularity. There will be a limit advertising Tiger Woods, but many people have started watching and even playing golf because of the way that Tiger Woods has played the game. If the media were to cover another player more than Tiger Woods, they would probably not be so successful in advertising and promoting the sport of golf.
From CNN.com and TSN
Analysis by Reuben Alarico in SRM 435 (section 2)
For our project, we focused our attention on two articles: “Northwestern Players Granted Right to Unionize” by Eric Macramalla and “Northwestern University Players Can Unionize” by Sara Ganim. Overall, they both detailed the situation similarly but they also detailed and went in-depth on different aspects. The first article by Macramalla focuses a lot on the criteria and regulations of being considered a “student-athlete” such as asking for permission to get an off campus job and how you have to accept a coach’s friend on any social media that the player may be using. The second article by Ganim focuses on what the players seek by unionizing such as medical benefits and how Northwestern University may actually eliminate their football program entirely if the players succeed in unionizing so that way they can preserve their academic integrity.
From a marketing and sales standpoint, I believe this situation can help and hurt both parties. I believe that if they succeed in unionizing, then current football players and the football program may be able to target potential recruits and state that their player get treated fairly and so will you. They would also be able to “pitch” them the fact that they will be able to receive medical benefits and possibly see increased stipends. Another marketing strategy that Northwestern University could employ would be to present their top high-profile athletes in a professional way to the NFL. For example, they would be able to show that they take on responsibility and that they handle themselves in a professional manner. I feel that this would take some pressure off any team that is interested in the player. Looking at it from the other side, Northwestern University can use this issue and their stance on it to help pave the way for other schools in preventing the unionization of their “student-athletes.” According to Henry Bienen, Northwestern University’s President Emeritus, is ok with completely eliminating their football program to maintain academics as being their priority. The article goes on to say that this situation could lead to what the Ivy League schools did back in the 1950’s when they dropped athletic scholarships.
As for how this issue relates to our sports marketing class, I believe that it will be a lingering issue for years to come and that it will be something that will cause controversy within private universities. With that being said, I think that later down the road we might see private institutions employ marketing strategies about being a part of a union that might appeal to potential recruits. There have even been talks that these ”athletes” might even receive a salary within the next couple of years. The last reason why I feel that this topic is relevant to class is because it may or may not hinder the schools chance to promote their football or other athletic team if they decide to eliminate the sport all together.
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Analysis by Matthew Flint in SRM 435 (section 2)
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that the Northwestern college football players are employees of the university and have the right to form a union. The union is led by Kain Colter who played for Northwestern as their quarterback. The players on the football team can now bargain with their coaching staff and school, or employers, for more rights and benefits in regards to the basic rights that employees are granted through labor laws. With the players able to unionize, if enough teams pick up on the ability to unionize through private schools, then the situation could very well change the way the NCAA is handled with student athletes. The billions that the NCAA pulls in through college athletics could be split up a lot more if more and more players are considered employees and demand a higher salary and benefits. Northwestern stated that they would consider getting rid of their football program if the union actually came to fruition.
The situation about Northwestern is gaining a snowball effect with the media and how much coverage the topic is getting. A union could be a brand new selling point to colleges if they want to try to adapt the feature of athletes having more benefits and pay raises. Recruits from high school would probably much rather focus more on the sport they are interested in as well as look at the benefits of getting paid for what they love playing. The union could be a great selling standpoint because instead of a recruit going on to another school just with a scholarship, the union could offer the recruit much more.
I believe that the Northwestern unionization is relevant to this course because it has a chance to completely change the way that the NCAA is ran. If Northwestern decides to keep their football program due to the union, they could have an unfair advantage when looking for new recruits. Unions catching on to private schools could easily influence player’s decisions on whether they want to focus more on their academics or their college career. Marketing with the union would be very easy to appeal to younger athletes because they would look at the bigger picture with what is readily available to them to help them achieve their goals and help them in case they get injured.
From Yahoo! Sports and NBC Sports
Analysis by Ryan Watson in SRM 435 (section 2)
This article is about the NFL moving the extra point (after a touchdown is scored) to the 20-25 yard line. Recently owners voted down the rule of moving the ball to the 25-yard line, but this year during the first two weeks of pre-season they will place the ball on the 20-yard line for PAT's. The reasoning behind this is to make the point attempt more difficult to increase competition. If you look at the field goal attempts in recent years the defense barely take two steps because the point is "guaranteed". An NFL writer said it well when he wrote, "the extra point serves as a bathroom break for fans at games". Another statistic is that around 99.6% of extra points were made last football season.
From a marketing, promotion, and sales perspective there are a lot of different variables. The increased competition could increase interest in the extra point, which in turn can increase fan viewership. I do not necessarily think this will be a deciding factor when purchasing a football ticket, but when watching a game, people would likely pay more attention to an extra point. I personally usually flip the channel on the TV when this play is going on, but this rule would prevent me from doing that. I think a lot of the increased viewership would come into play when people are watching on their tablet, computer, smart phone, or TV. Another thing that I thought about is the marketability of kickers. NFL kickers are not very marketable for products or sponsorships, but I think this rule would help some kickers stand out. For example if a kicker went 100% on his extra points during a season this would be notable. Companies and organizations might try to use the increased awareness in kickers to use them to endorse products. Since kickers are not really known to have these deals, that would mean an opening to a whole new market. One other sales aspect that could come from this is a substantial increase in "kicker" merchandise like jerseys.
With these marketing benefits I think that this rule will eventually get installed in the NFL. There are other negative affects though to think about. This could drastically change outcomes to close games, which might not be favorable to fans. A lot of people would be very mad if their team lost to a missed extra point. A major negative affect would also be the increase of player injuries since both the offense and defense would be trying a lot harder (since there is an actual chance of blocking the kick).
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Analysis by John Sullivan in SRM 435 (section 2)
The article Ryan and I chose for our class discussion topic is ‘NFL will test longer extra points for two weeks in the preseason. On March 26th, Michael David Smith posted the article on NBC Sports. The article title is a dead give away for what it is about. For the first two weeks of the 2014 preseason the spot where the football is placed for the extra point will be moved back to the 20-yard line. This turns the normal 20-yard distance into a distance of 38 yards. The article suggests that making the kick harder will make the games more interesting to the fans.
How this relates to marketing, promotion, and sales. By moving the extra point back, it will make the kick more difficult to make. By increasing the difficulty of the kick, the margin of error also increases. By increasing the margin of error, the fans will be more willing to pay attention to see the outcome of the kick. Moving the kick back will increase viewership at both the stadium and at home on the couch. It could potentially keep fans better engaged in the game. It could make them stay in their seats at games and maybe even stay tuned it at home through the commercial breaks.
If this rule becomes concrete it could very well lead to increasing popularity in kickers. People may actually start buying jerseys with the kickers name on the back rather than the quarterback or running back. Kids who like football might aspire to become a kicker instead of a quarterback. Moving the kick back will bring the kickers that do not miss the extra point the respect that they deserve.
This rule change can only bring good to the already great game of football. People are going to watch and go to the game no matter what, but it is the excitement of the unforeseeable events that keeps them coming back for more. People want to see kicks get blocked, or missed. It adds excitement to the game. It makes the game more interesting (if it is a close game), and that is what gets people to watch. This rule change will help promote games because it should make the games more competitive.
It is not for certain that this rule will be established in the official rules of the NFL. But for the first two weeks of the preseason the NFL will experiment with the rule in play. It will be interesting to see how the rule affects the game and the fans.
