Does this sound excessively rosy to you: "Sports content offers wireless providers and media outlets an opportunity to reach some of the most desirable subscribers in any market, as well as a chance to grow the overall number of wireless users, industry experts said Monday. Sports are one of the most potent ways to reach young men in both the 18-to-34 and the 18-to-49 demographic, groups that are coveted by advertisers."
Yeah. It seemed like a wild over-simplification to me too. Especially when the current execution and anecdotal evidence haven't been so hot.
You're with me, desperate advertiser!
3 comments:
i've always tied the success of sports to organized betting. (one reason why female sports like the wnba have difficulty generating great interest is that people won't bet on games. without mafia involvement, it's tough to compete for audience and advertiser attention.) anyway, the wireless sports content provides a benefit that can't be legally hyped: now you can check the scores and call your bookie with a single device.
I know people who share your theory and Deadspin did mention that the logical audience for the ESPN phone would be bookies.
But I think there's something different about how younger men (and women) follow sports now. I don't know if just checking the latest score is what these people are after. I really don't know where I'm going with this, but I don't think sports content is the silver bullet for attracting men. And beware of anyone who uses NASCAR fan behavior as a model to predict anything. That's a one-of-a-kind fanbase.
A few thought and comments…
• Actually, it probably also has a lot to do with the content creators; that is, sports networks like espn are actively producing and selling their offerings — whether anyone actually wants it or not.
• Wagering is an international thang, as evidenced by this story in the New York Times (sorry, I don’t know how to create embedded links): http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/sports/soccer/08soccer.html?ei=5094&en=e3dc795f42520c50&hp=&ex=1149825600&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
• Sports content is not the silver bullet for attracting men. Porn is, but that’s tougher to sell with a straight face.
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