Picks And Predictions For 2010: The SportsTube And The Facebook March Madness

Posted by Jonathan in INTERNET on 12-30-09    No Comments


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This is the time of year we stick our necks out and posit what sports fans can expect from technology in 2010. Here are a couple of predictions for 2010. More are coming.

No matter what, it is going to be quite a year.

  1. The Sports Tube: Though the NFL will not participate, you can expect the smaller leagues — MLB, the NBA  and the NHL to experiment with a common web presence that will support user created sports content. With cameras. cell phones and even music players becoming sophisticated video tools, fans are collecting their own video libraries of sporting events. There will be attempts, probably lead by the NFL, to suppress or even ban imaging at games. But the leagues with less clout will offer a sanctioned online posting environment. Think Facebook meets Youtube, but owned by the leagues, the site will allow fans to trade clips and images. And create a lucrative marketing environment. Issues will abound including rights and ownership. And the service may flame out as professional imagery find its way into the mix. But expect 2010 to be the year professional sports experiments with user created content.
  2. The Facebook March Madness. 2010 will also be the year that March Madness goes all Facebook, for better or worse. With the migration to online video of the event essentially a done deal, the NCAA will have no choice but to manage their brand on social Web tools like Facebook. Expect sophisticated brackets and chats to spring up on the service. Already most collegiate teams have major social media presences. And we are expecting the NCAA to do a rather poor job of exploiting the new landscape, since the organization is beholden to conferences who take a certain glee in doing their own thing. The Facebookification of March Madness could get ugly as the league cracks down on fans stealing their material. But if you are looking for a major tussle in spring, search NCAA on Facebook in March. It could be quite a fight.
  3. Leagues crack down on personal media devices. We are expecting one grim turn of events this year. All this going social with sports will force most leagues to get aggressive with which devices they allow in games. Expect there to be rules on camera usage and even cell phones — a la beer drinking in college games — that limit what fans can shoot and capture at events. Some fans will resist. And there will be howling from the new media set, but 2010 will be the year that you may not be able to take out your iPhone during a game. Strange days.

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