NBA Digital yesterday announced plans to televise a newly created awards program, the NBA Social Media Awards, on June 20 on NBA TV. The event, to be hosted by by former NBAer Rick Fox, TNT's Shaquille O'Neal and Slam magazine's Lang Whitaker, will recognize achievement in several facets of social media, including the player who best utilized the space, the player with the most shared highlight and the team with the highest percentage increase in fans and followers. Starting yesterday and ending June 18, fans are able to vote on the awards at NBA.com/sma. The June 20 televised event will compete against the NHL Awards in Las Vegas scheduled for the same evening (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
TIME FOR A CHANGE:In Chicago, Paul Banks wrote Comcast SportsNet’s “Chicago Tribune Live” is in “dire need of formatting overhaul.” Banks: “Basically, [its] all middle-aged white male panel is like an inferior stock portfolio -- no diversification. Between the host, usual special guests and regular panel, the show has a very narrow demographic.” The program “could be so much more, and they could start by having more gender, racial and age equality among their guests” (CHICAGONOW.com, 6/5).
OLYMPIC STREAM: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes YouTube will stream “2,200 hours of live Olympic coverage free to 64 countries and territories in Asia and Africa at youtube.com/olympic during the Summer Games in London, which start July 27.” The digital rights in those countries “were available to YouTube because they had not been previously sold by the International Olympic Committee to broadcasters carrying the Olympics.” YouTube and the IOC have “what is largely a revenue-sharing deal” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/7).
OH, CANADA: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Etan Vlessing noted Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium “plans coverage on four screens and a record 5,500 hours of programming” for the Games. Bell Media-predecessor CTVglobemedia and Rogers “secured the rights” to the Vancouver and London Olympics for a record $153M. Then there is “another 704 hours of French language coverage on the RDS and V channels.” The consortium also plans “another 223 hours of multi-language coverage on the OMNI and ATN channels” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 6/6).
