Hello, Sports Fans! ESPN Is Making a ‘MySpace’ For You
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Written By Reprise Media | June 30, 2006 | Share This
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Imagine a place where sports fans can gather, size each other up, and talk trash…without beer. That’s basically the idea behind ESPN’s new online initiative, which will incorporate social networking tools like profiles and blogs into ESPN Sports Nation this September.
Ad Age reports that ESPN digital media sales Vice President John Zaccario announced the plans for a sports-centric ‘MySpace’ at a party preceding the NBA draft this week. ESPN will apparently monetize the new features partly through ‘team sponsorships,’ which could result in tie-ups like ‘Joe’s Stadium Cushions, the official stadium cushions of the Green Bay Packers on ESPN.’
It’s not a bad idea, since sports fanatics are already legion online, populating countless message boards while obsessively checking scores, stats, and managing their fantasy teams. And, more than likely, the same fans are also devotees of ESPN’s online coverage (if only to denigrate it). Rolling social aspects into their website seems like an intuitive move for ESPN.
That said, we hope ESPN has thought this through more than some of their other new fangled offerings. Witness mobileESPN, which ran right out of its Super Bowl ad and fell flat on its face. It would be disappointing if all we get is just another low-functionality message board environment for posting profanity-laced, CAPS LOCKED fan tirades.
Blog housekeeping note: We hope all of you are getting ready for a nice, long holiday weekend (we sure are). If the Interweb explodes, we’re on top of it; otherwise, see you after the Fourth!
Topics: Social Media |