It’s a fantasy that every sports fan harbors: the ability to text message his or her favorite athlete during game time and maybe even provide a few tips (Hey LeBron! Stop hesitating when you drive to the basket from your left). At the rate of change in technology, the scenario may not that be that far off.
Jimmy Pitaro, VP-GM, Sports and Entertainment at Yahoo, said having fans communicate electronically with players is something Yahoo would certainly consider. For now, though, he’s taking pains to convince major sports leagues that streaming their content (live games) on Yahoo Sports is not “cannibalistic, but complimentary,” Pitaro said.
I recently spoke with Pitaro at paidcontent.org’s EconSports (The Economics of Digital Sports Media), which was coupled on the same day with EconWomen (The Economics of Women-Centric Digital Media). The overriding theme of both events was how media companies, advertising agencies and their clients can weather the economic storm and what media players can do to help inoculate their brands against the ongoing erosion in ad spending (both online and off).
Pitaro, who spoke at a panel titled, ‘Online Video: Live-Streaming Lessons Learned & Looking Ahead,’ told me about how Yahoo assesses which sports (beyond the big four) have the most potential for streaming video and the demographics that are driving Yahoo’s overall strategy in the sports arena.
I also chatted with Joni Evans, CEO and cofounder of wowOwow, which caters to women, about the so-called ‘Silver Tsunami’ online that advertisers ignore at their own peril, and Dan Lagani, president of the Fairchild Fashion Group (DNR, Footwear News, WWD and their Web sites) about how Fairchild’s brands are faring in a multi-platform world.
Not the least, I interviewed Terence Kawaja, managing director of investment banking firm GCA Savvian, who specializes in digital media. In yet another twist on the classic Who tune, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (meet the new boss, same as the old boss), Kawaja said strategic media companies may for the forseeable future fuel media deals (and acquire new-media properties) because private equity companies have much more exposure to (depressed) credit markets. Score one for tradition.
