“Sandlot Day” in Minnesota: A Day Fans will Cherish For-ev-er

 “...because Mr. Mertle asked the cops how long, he had to keep 'The Beast' chained up like a slave, they said until for-ev-er, for-ev--er, for-ev-er…. (One of many classic lines from the movie The Sandot)

FOX Sports North, in conjunction with FOX Home Entertainment and the Minnesota Twins, recently celebrated the 20^th Anniversary of The Sandlot. The classic film was shown on the scoreboard at Target Field during the Twins vs. Red Sox game on Sunday, May 19 (shown during three hour rain delay instead of after the game, as planned) as well as on FOX Sports North following Twins Live postgame show.   

 

The director/narrator David Mickey Evans was in attendance along with two of the actors: Patrick Renna (Ham) and Chauncey Leopardi. (Squints)

The excitement surrounding "Sandlot Day" was apparent, even the Twins players requested photos with the actors and hung out in the dugout during the three hour rain delay to watch the movie on the Target Field big screen.

More on “Sandlot Day” FOX Sports North...

Millions of Potential Social Impressions from FOX Sports North’s Minnesota Wild Playoff Campaign

FOX Sports North’s first round coverage of the Minnesota Wild Playoffs proved to be a success on many levels. 

In addition to record-breaking ratings (game 2 was highest Wild game ever on FOX Sports North with a 10.13) and ad sales success, the regional sports network also documented an impressive social reach, with millions of potential impressions according to Mass Relevance. 
 

FOX Sports North teamed up with the Minnesota Wild to generate buzz and drive social awareness around the playoffs, by turning the team’s slogan, “Fight to the End,” into a hashtag.

Fans were encouraged to show their support for the Wild by tweeting #FightToTheEnd, then to check the avatar wall on foxsportsnorth.com to find their photo: http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/fight_to_the_end

The hashtag was promoted across all of FOX Sports North’s platforms throughout the playoffs and recorded impressive stats:

• Social Reach: Approx. one million fans per game (five games total)
  
• Total Number of Tweets Sent with #FightToTheEnd: 10,207
  
• Tweets per Minute: up to 100, during game 3
  
• FOXsportsnorth.com page views: 700+
  
• Top “Influential” Tweeters who used the hashtag:
• @mnwild, Minnesota Wild (144,000+ followers)
• @lindsay_13, Lindsey Whalen, Minnesota Lynx (25,400+)
•  @lvking, Kirby Puckett Jr.(33,700+)

The campaign was promoted across FOX Sports North’s multiple platforms:

• **Stats show that on-air mentions directly correlate with spikes in interaction

• On-Air:
• Pregame Clip, WATCH
• In-Game Clip, WATCH
• Postgame Clip, WATCH

• In-Game Game Drops

• Promo:

• Social Media:

  

Overall, the campaign showed that sports fans rally around their team and want to be part of a social network that identifies with their team affiliation. FOX Sports North provided the perfect platform to educate and encourage fans to join the social “cheer” section as well.

ACC network may stall over rights issues

May 20, 2013
By Michael Smith & John Ourand, Staff Writers

Don’t expect an ACC-branded TV channel to be launched any time soon.

The biggest problem so far is a rights issue. ESPN needs to control the conference’s syndicated rights to launch a channel. But those rights are tied up until 2027 through deals with Raycom and Fox Sports Net.

“There’s no way an ACC network co-exists with a syndicated model,” said Chris Bevilacqua, a media consultant who worked with the Pac-12 to form a league network. “They’re going to have to get those rights back.” 

ESPN Cuts Jobs Amid Rising Fees for Games

• MEDIA & MARKETING
• Updated May 21, 2013, 8:20 p.m. ET

By AMOL SHARMA and BEN FRITZ

ESPN started laying off a few hundred workers Tuesday, a sign that the hugely profitable sports cable-TV powerhouse is responding to the higher prices it is paying for rights to air games as well as other industry changes.

ESPN said some of the job cuts are coming through attrition or unfilled open positions, and didn't disclose the precise number or types of workers who are being let go. ESPN, which operates several cable channels in addition to its flagship, has about 7,000 employees.

FOX Sports North’s “Kids in the City” Event Raises Over $100,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities

FOX Sports North’s partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs continues to grow and evolve. The relationship, now in its 9th year, is dedicated to fostering opportunities that create a positive and resonating impact on the children. 

The regional sports network has embraced the Clubs on a number of levels through the “North Supports” platform. This Spring, numerous opportunities were identified in raising awareness including  employees volunteering at a local club, and awarding the sixth annual Home Team Scholarship. (footage: click here) The biggest initiative of them all recently took place at Target Field, where “Kids in the City”  came to life.

A major fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities,  the “Kids in the City” event is designed to recognize the Boys & Girls Club After School All-Stars. The 2013 event honored over one-hundred kids and generated over $100,000 in donations.

Learn more about FOX Sports North's "Kids in the City" Efforts:

'You're killin' me, Smalls! FOX Sports Southwest Rangers Fan Sleepover & screening of classic baseballl film The Sandlot a hit!

Twenty year's later, it's still one of the most quoted lines in movie history. Actor Patrick Renna, who delivered the now iconic and often repeated line "You're killin' me, Smalls" as 13-year-old Hamilton "Ham" Porter in the 1993 coming-of-age baseball classic The Sandlot, was a special guest at FOX Sports Southwest's Fan Sleepover at Rangers Ballpark held over Mother's Day weekend.

Renna was joined at the family-friendly event by The Sandlot writer, director and narrator David Mickey Evans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Twentieth Century FOX's beloved film that still captures the hearts of baseball fan's young and old.

Barclays Center Inks Deal with Fox-owned USC Sports Properties

By Don Muret, Staff Writer
Published May 13, 2013

Get ready for another Brooklyn-to-Los Angeles connection, but without the emotional scars over a team bolting for the West Coast. 

Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, has signed a three-year deal with USC Sports Properties for hospitality and advertising during Southern Cal football games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

The agreement, valued in the low to mid-six figures annually, gives Barclays Center officials the opportunity to entertain at two games a season in one of four temporary suites set up in the stadium’s east end zone. 

ESPN, Twitter Expand Tie-Up

Sports Network to Increase Highlights on Messaging Service, Generating Ad Sales

By SHIRA OVIDE And KEACH HAGEY - Updated May 13, 2013, 7:22 p.m. ET

ESPN and Twitter Inc. are announcing a major expansion of their collaboration to post sports-related videos on the short-messaging service—part of a growing wave of tie-ups as TV networks and Twitter hunt for new advertising revenue.

ESPN, which is majority-owned by Walt Disney Co., DIS +0.18% plans to show video-highlight clips on Twitter of major sports events in the coming year, including from soccer matches leading up to the World Cup, college football and the X Games extreme-sports tournaments. People can watch the video clips on Twitter's website and mobile apps shortly after the action happens on TV. 

NBA ready to discuss rights deal

By John Ourand & John Lombardo

The NBA plans to start informal negotiations on its next media rights deal this summer, two years before its current ESPN and Turner Sports deals wrap up, according to several sources. 

ESPN Eyes Subsidizing Wireless-Data Plans

By AMOL SHARMA, SPENCER E. ANTE and ANTON TROIANOVSKI - Thursday, May 9, 2013 As of 7:31 PM EDT

Smartphone users who binge on video, games and other content must monitor their usage to ensure they don't run over monthly data caps that wireless carriers have put in place in recent years.

Now, some media companies whose mobile content gets a lot of traffic are considering arrangements with wireless carriers that would ensure their users can watch, surf and play as much as they want without being hit with stiff overage charges.

Enlarge Image

Getty Images

ESPN is considering a plan to pay wireless carriers for the mobile content used by the sports channel's subscribers.

ESPN, the cable sports channel majority-owned by Walt Disney Co.,DIS +1.02% has had discussions with at least one major U.S. carrier to subsidize wireless connectivity on behalf of its users, according to people familiar with the matter. Under one potential scenario, the company would pay a carrier to guarantee that people viewing ESPN mobile content wouldn't have that usage counted toward their monthly data caps. 

Pay-TV Providers Get Picky About Their Customers

By SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN - Updated May 9, 2013, 7:22 p.m. ET

Faced with rising programming costs, pay-TV providers are getting pickier about the customers they want to keep.

Quarterly results from Dish Network Corp. DISH -2.04% Thursday, as well asComcast Corp., CMCSA -0.73% Charter Communications CHTR +0.08% andDirecTV DTV +1.74% in the past week or so, show that pay-TV companies are focusing more on holding on to the subscribers that generate the most revenue and profit, even if that means letting less-valuable customers fall to the wayside. Each of the companies reported higher video revenue, thanks in part to rate increases, despite lower subscriber numbers. 

News Corp. Earnings: Profit Jumps, Helped by Cable Networks

By Amol Sharma - Updated May 8, 2013, 6:43 p.m. ET

News Corp NWSA -1.03% .'s profit tripled in the quarter ended March 31, boosted by one-time gains and better results from its cable networks segment.

Meanwhile the publishing unit, to be spun off as a separate company in coming weeks, posted sharply lower operating income.

The media company posted net income of $2.85 billion, or $1.22 a share, up from $937 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 14% to $9.54 billion.

Men’s Final Four Is Moving to TBS

By AMOL SHARMA

Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s TBS cable network next year will begin showing later rounds of the U.S. men's college basketball tournament, including the semifinals known as the "Final Four," as part of a new arrangement with CBS Corp.CBS +1.02% to divide up coverage in coming years.

Time Warner Inc.'s TWX +1.43% Turner and CBS have been jointly telecasting the 67-game National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament since 2011. Turner, whose networks have shown only games from the first three rounds thus far, will show half of the quarterfinal games and both Final Four games on TBS in 2014 and 2015; CBS will continue to broadcast the National Championship game in those years. 

Is TV Everywhere going nowhere?

John Ourand, Sports Media 
Published May 6, 2013

Is TV Everywhere on track to become one of the biggest media-industry busts?

Nobody is ready to call it a failure just yet. But network executives have not been shy in expressing frustration with the slow pace of adoption for the concept, which essentially allows subscribers to stream TV channels to any device.

The cable industry has been talking about this concept for four years or more. Cable operators viewed TV Everywhere as an enticement to keep subscribers from cutting the cord — only authenticated cable subscribers would have access to TV Everywhere streams.

By 2013, watching cable channels on iPhones was supposed to be as easy as watching them on big-screen TVs.


It’s not.

ACC Moves Ahead on Plans for TV Network

By Michael Smith & John Ourand, Staff Writers
Published May 6, 2013

ACC executives kept close tabs on Atlanta last Thursday, when rival conference SEC and ESPN announced their new network, scheduled to launch next year.

Thanks, in part, to a new grant-of-rights agreement from its 15 member schools that gives it a new level of security, ACC executives negotiated a new media rights deal with ESPN that conference executives say will be among the richest for all college conferences. 

Now, ACC officials are turning their attention to launching their own league-branded network, joining the ranks of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and, now, SEC as conferences that own channels. 

Twitter Tug-of-War Between FOX Sports Wisconsin & FOX Sports Florida

Round one of the NBA playoffs between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat have come and gone, but some interesting social media stats have since surfaced.

FOX Sports Wisconsin and FOX Sports Florida teamed up to test the Mass Relevance platform in an effort to capitalize social media interaction during the playoffs.

A Twitter “tug-of-war” was created and fans were encouraged  to tweet their support using #BeatHeat or #BeatBucks. The model provided some interesting stats for the two regional sports networks:

·         Direct correlation between social interaction and network promotion

·         Notable social impression numbers produced using variety of multi-media platforms

Additional stats outlined below:

Must-see hockey: Penguins among top-rated sports teams since ’97

Are this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins about to join the ranks of the most-watched American sportsteams?

Heading into their final regular-season games last week, the Penguins were on pace to post the highest average RSN rating for any U.S.-based MLB, NBA or NHL team since 2002. Penguins games on Root Sports were averaging a 12.56 Nielsen rating in the Pittsburgh market, a mark that would be the highest RSN rating for any U.S.-based NHL team on record.