The latest developments, trends and technologies affecting sports media was the main topic of the opening panel of the '13 Covington & Burling Sports Media & Technology conference this morning. NFL Media COO Brian Rolapp discussed the league's recent deal with Twitter and said the collaboration "creates an immediacy and a scale," and Twitter has a "monetization model that fits well with ours." Time Inc. Sports Group Editor Paul Fichtenbaum said of possible pitfalls with Twitter, "It has taken a little bit of accountability out of sports reporting."
Rolapp said companies like Google or Apple are "so flush with cash they can do whatever they want" with respect to sports rights. Rolapp: "It's really a question about developing a model that works for them. We haven't seen that yet." Turner Sports Exec VP & COO Lenny Daniels said many of these tech companies work because they are "hyper-focused on what they do."
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league is now serving fans "in ways they never had been able to before," including player tracking technologies on NHL.com.
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