Three elements I underestimated:
■ VOICE OF THE ATHLETE: I underestimated the editorial impact Derek Jeter’s player-authored website, The Players’ Tribune, would have. I don’t know its business model, but some of its editorial offerings have been refreshing. I was especially surprised by Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore’s recent assessment of the marketing and appeal of female athletes and the WNBA. If you haven’t read it, you should. She wrote, “Somewhere up the chain of command — in companies that, in many ways, dictate what is ‘cool’ — people are making choices not to celebrate the WNBA and its players.” She’s right, and this won’t change until the key decision-makers and influencers at the largest corporations — who are largely men — decide to engage and invest in women’s sports because they see it not as a cause, but as a platform that will create, and grow, value. Jeter’s forum has clearly been a safe place for athletes like Moore to get out of a scripted comfort zone, and that’s a good thing.
■ PERISCOPE UP: I underestimated the impact of Periscope. A month ago, I received a note from a trusted source in the Bay Area pushing me to look closer into the impact of video-sharing application Persicope: “I’m hearing a lot of chatter about Periscope and sports TV both in the sports world and in Silicon Valley circles, but no one really wants to say much about it yet because they have no idea what to say.” I had read the comments by Major League Baseball’s Bob Bowman about fans streaming live games in-venue, but I hadn’t become fully engaged with it. But while in New York City last week, and fresh off the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight, talk focused on the disruption of video-sharing apps. Piracy has been around for years, but look how quickly Periscope and Meerkat, both of which received great acclaim at this spring’s SXSW, have rattled owners of valuable copyright content. No one knows where it is going, and it marks another in a dizzying series of technology advancements with which intellectual property holders must grapple.
This comes as I’ve also been spending time on Snapchat and its Snapchat Live feature. Check it out: Last week, I followed a feed from Talladega for NASCAR’s Geico 500 Sprint Cup race, and it felt like I had been there. In addition, the company hired CNN political reporter Peter Hamby to lead its news division, and I’ll be watching to see how he builds a content strategy around the 2016 elections.
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Chicago’s success with the NFL draft is grabbing attention.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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■ FEELING A DRAFT: I underestimated the success of moving the NFL draft to Chicago. Drawing 200,000 football diehards to the Midwest for a three-day celebration of the league is very impressive. Just creating a new event after years in New York City was a challenge, but seeing such successful engagement with a fan plaza at Grant Park and Congress Plaza has to be an eye-opener for the league that is surely thinking about bringing it to other locations and even developing local events. This was also surely noticed by other cities and brands looking to activate and create more experiential marketing touch points.
> LISTEN TO THE RIVER SING SWEET SONGS: If you’re planning on attending any of the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well shows commemorating the band’s 50th anniversary at either Levi’s Stadium (June 27-28) or Soldier Field (from July 3-5), shoot me a note, and we will tell you why.
> BEST IN BUSINESS: A tip of the cap to SportsBusiness Journal’s senior writer Bill King and special reports editor David Bourne for taking first place in the Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ annual Best In Business contest. King and Bourne, along with many other members of our edit team, teamed to win in the Explanatory Category with last summer’s “Soccer’s growing reach” In-Depth coverage. Also recognized by SABEW this year was King’s Lifetime Achievement profile on Pittsburgh Steelers icon Dan Rooney. This marks the 10th consecutive year that SportsBusiness Journal has been honored in the prestigious SABEW competition, or every year since we started entering it. To put that into perspective, this year’s SABEW contest drew entries from 177 organizations, yet only six other newsrooms were honored for the 10th straight year: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, The Seattle Times, The Charlotte Observer and Crain’s Chicago Business. It’s a streak we are very proud of, and one in which every member of our editorial team has played a role.
Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
