Monday, November 12, 2012

Rapper and Reality Star T.I. Makes Debut as a Sports Broadcaster during Hawks-Heat Game on SportSouth on November 9

Recap of Social Media Reach, Ratings, and Media Coverage


How far did the word spread on Twitter?

When the T.I. announcement was jointly made by the Atlanta Hawks and SportSouth on the morning of Friday, November 9, word spread quickly and widely in the “Twittersphere,” thanks in part to retweets from T.I. (@Tip – 2.9 million followers), the NBA (6.2 million followers) and local influencers such as Ryan Cameron (V-103, @TheRealRC – 52,815 followers).   

Over a 24 hour period, more than 800 tweets were sent specifically referencing @Tip being a part of the Hawks broadcast on SportSouth, including a great amount of positive feedback on Twitter during the broadcast (samples below).  The 800+ tweets reached more than 8.9 million unique Twitter accounts, for an overall exposure of more than 20.4 million. 

Media outlets and blogs picked up the story quickly too, as the news made headlines in numerous national oulets including Yahoo Sports, the Huffington Post, Yahoo Sports, Deadspin,  the New York Times, Washinton Post, and many more (full list follows).

TV Ratings:  
Did T.I. have an impact on TV ratings? Below are quarter hour ratings (first 5 quarters’ hours of each game YTD), and while the Miami/T.I. ratings were up significantly vs. the other 3 games so far this season, the fact that the Hawks were playing the Heat also played a significant factor.  The social media explosion and ratings correlation are interesting nonetheless and first half ratings (when T.I. was on the broadcast) were higher than second half numbers.

Qtr Hour:      11/2 (HOU)          11/4 (OKC)           11/7 (IND)            11/9 (MIA with T.I.)
7:30pm                        0.78                      0.33                      0.83                      0.68
7:45pm                        1.36                      0.46                      1.01                      1.75
8:00pm                        1.46                      0.33                      1.47                      2.36
8:15pm                        1.61                      0.26                      1.23                      2.10
8:30pm                        1.77                      0.10                      1.48                      1.67
Full game Avg:            1.78                      0.28                      1.25                      2.02      
 

Twitter Reach and Impression Figures:

Friday, November 9 – T.I. Makes Debut as Sports Broadcaster for First Half of Hawks-Heat Game
Only tweets that referenced @Tip + Hawks or SportSouth were included in this report.  If a tweet referenced only @Tip with no mention of Hawks/SportSouth, it was excluded from count.  

Total unique # of Twitter accounts reached: 9.8 million
Total impressions: 20.4 million

For reference, the following are comparable Reach and Impression figures measuring the reach of tweets about the telecast on Opening Night and during the first week of the season:

Friday, November 2 – Hawks Opening Night – Reach for @SportSouth

Total unique # of Twitter accounts reached:  37,317
Total impressions: 69,702

Friday, November 2 – Hawks Opening Night – Reach for #FSHawks, @BobRathbunTV, and @AndreHoops

Total unique # of Twitter accounts reached:  112,884
Total impressions: 280,780

November 2 – November 9 – Opening Week – Reach for #FSHawks, @BobRathbunTV, and @AndreHoops

Total unique # of Twitter accounts reached:   266,745  
Total impressions: 785,392    

Sample Tweets sent while T.I. joined the broadcast:  
  • #Hawks T.I. Is doing a great job doing color analysis for #fshawks tonight!! It's nice to see an Atl native root for the home team!!
  • Nique better watch out TI may steal his seat! @Tip #fshawks #hawks #atl
  • @TIP is killin it on the hawks broadcast!
  • @Tip is a brilliant commentator!
  • @Tip finish the game
  • They got my dawg, @tip doin commentary at the hawk game turn up homey
  • @Tip trippin at the Hawks game #Ball#Ball#Ball#Ball
  • @Tip callin the hawks game. F* rappin, your Color commentary is fantastic.
  • @Tip doing a superb job as sideline analyst on Sportsouth for the @Hawks vs @MiamiHEAT game. Is there anything "Trouble Man" can't do?
  • "@MARIOGA12000: Lets fire Larry Drew and hire @Tip. Josh Smith might listen to him. #hawks" (Larry Drew=Phil Jackson)
  • @Tip is hands down the best @ATLHawks commentator of all time
  • Wonderful job announcing tonight @Tip Atlanta loves you. Fan since before #Imserious #ATL4LIFE


The T.I. Story Facebook post received: 1,012 Shares, 510 Likes, 92 Comments, making it one of the most shared posts ever on the FOX Sports South Facebook Page:


The word spread quickly on Twitter with more than 800 Tweets over a 24 hour period, including retweets by T.I. (2.9 million followers) and the NBA (6.2 million followers):




T.I. joining the broadcast made headlines across thes country, on media outlets and blogs including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Miami Herald, Deadspin, Huffington Post, Yahoo Sports, YardBarker, and an AP story was picked up by outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Herald, Sports Illustrated, MSN.com, and more:

The Pro Basketball Talk: T.I. to Call Hawks-Heat Game
SLAM online: Video-Q+A: T.I.

AP Story by Paul Newberry:







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