I haven’t done a Sunday thoughts post in a while. You deserve one. Let me do one now.
Handicapping The 2014/16 Olympic Bids For The Last Time
As the bidding for the US TV rights for the 2014/16 Olympics and possibly beyond is finally here, let’s take a final look at the three networks vying to become America’s Olympic Network.
We know ESPN, Fox and long-time incumbent NBCUniversal will present their coverage plans to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland starting Monday. Fox will present its bid on Monday followed on Tuesday by ESPN/ABC and then NBC. This is considered to be a wide open race ever since NBC Sports Group Chairman Dick Ebersol announced his surprise resignation so close to the bidding. Let’s give the final odds for the bid. We’ll go in order of the bids.
Fox Sports: Fox has never done a production of this grand scale. While it has started to air international sports with the UEFA Champions League in 2010, it still has yet to prove its worthy of airing the Olympics. Fox has aired the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and the World Series, but nothing similar to the Olympics Games. As I mentioned in other Olympic-handicapping posts, Fox owner Rupert Murdoch has obtained the rights to 2014/16 in Italy and Turkey and would love to parlay that into the US rights. Fox has announced that it will everything from Sochi and Rio live which would end the frustration of those used to watching NBC’s coverage. Events would air on Fox, FX, Fox Soccer Channel, perhaps even Fox News Channel.
Fox has plenty of cash and would love to break the NBC streak of airing the Olympics. Will Fox do it? I’m not sure.
Odds of Fox winning the Olympics: 5-1
ESPN/ABC: The Disney networks are really raising the bar for their bid. Disney announced that it would be willing to become a full Olympic partner by becoming a worldwide sponsor and providing marketing power that NBC/Comcast and Fox could not. Of all the networks, it has the best online infrastructure with ESPN3.com and can allow for online viewing through its Watch ESPN mobile app. ESPN can use ABC, ABC Family, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU and ESPN Classic as well as its other Disney networks for events. ESPN has announced it will air all events live with some packaging of the games for ABC’s primetime.
ESPN showed during last year’s World Cup that it could show an international event without going overboard and tell stories. Disney probably has the deepest pockets of all the bidders. Of all the of bidders, ESPN/ABC has the best chance of wresting the rights away from NBC.
Odds of ESPN/ABC winning the Olympics: 2-1
NBCUniversal: The long-time incumbent now comes in as an unknown entity as new owners Comcast have definitely made their mark. Instead of familiar face Dick Ebersol, incoming NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus will be in Switzerland to help lead the bid. In addition, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts will also talk to the IOC. We know the networks that will be air the Olympics, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Bravo, Oxygen and we can throw Versus and perhaps E! and Golf Channel (remember Golf will be in 2016 for the first time) into the mix as well.
Dick Ebersol’s strategy has been to make the Olympics into a Big Event and save events for primetime. While Ebersol and his loyal right-hand man, Ken Schanzer have left, I would think if NBC wins the rights to 2014/16, many of the producers and directors he hired for the network’s Olympic unit would remain. Comcast would most likely shift some events to cable and air more events live, but that remains to be seen.
The IOC has been loyal to Ebersol, but has shown recently that money is the main thing that talks and long-time partnerships be damned (CBC in Canada, 7 Network in Australia, EBU in Europe).
Odds of NBC/Universal winning the Olympics: 5-2
Whatever happens this week is sure to shake up the industry. And we’ll be watching and talking about it.
Advice For Aspiring Bloggers
I can’t believe I’ve been blogging for four years and during that time, this blog has grown to a point where it has a loyal readership. I thank you for making Fang’s Bites a part of your routine.
Some bloggers have asked about my site and how they can do something similar. I’ll give you a few pointers how you can start blogging and get a loyal readership of your own.
1. Blog About A Subject On Which You Have Some Expertise
This sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised at how many blog on subjects that are over their heads. When I started blogging, I wrote on various sports, but then thought to myself that I’ve have knowledge of the sports media. I have experience working in radio and TV, why not stick with something I know?
If you like baseball, write about that. If you’re a hockey person, write about hockey. If you find writing about your kids is your fancy, then do that. Don’t take a subject you need to research or have difficulty writing about. Keep it simple.
But by all means, don’t blog about your workplace. Ten times out of ten, your employer won’t find what you write about him or her funny and you’ll be out of a job.
2. Find A Schedule That Works For You and Stick To It
You’ll find you want to blog every day, then after a while, the luster may wear off. That means you’ll have popped your load. Don’t do that. If you can blog every day, then do it. If you work regularly and can only blog at night on Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays, then do that. I try to do blog around my work schedule, but inform your readers that new posts will be published on which days so they’ll know. If you can’t blog for a day, put up a post informing visitors that you can’t. They’ll understand. But don’t start blogging and then stop. That’s one of the worst things you can do. When I started in 2005, I found that I couldn’t keep to a regular schedule and I stopped. It took me two years to start up again and then I found my bearings.
3. Have A Thick Skin Or Don’t Read Your Comments
You can open your blog to comments or not. I do. Most of my readers are sensible and leave intelligent comments. However, the internet has become a bastion of negativity. People have found they can hide behind anonymity and write negative comments. You can make your blog so people have to register. However, once you open your blog to comments, be ready for anything to happen. Someone will write something negative. It’s bound to happen. Do not get angry. Do not engage the commenters in fights. You can make your blog so you approve comments so you can reject what you feel is over the top. Just be ready. You can also ignore them. And make sure you have a good spam filter because you will get spam too.
4. Social Networking Is Your Friend
Twitter and Facebook are made for blogs. They help you promote your blog to your followers and if your post is of interest, it could be spread to their followers and their followers and so on. Putting your blog on Twitter and setting up a Facebook page are free marketing. You can’t ask for better promotion and you don’t have to pay for an ad agency!
Once I started on Twitter, my following began to grow. Granted, I don’t have the following of Facebook, the Big Lead or Erin Andrews, but I do have a solid amount of people who have signed up for my Tweets. In addition, WordPress has a feature that automatically posts your updates to Twitter so your followers see them. And you can sign up for Networked Blogs which you can configure to post to your Facebook page.
If you’re going to blog, you really need to be on social networks. They will help you.
5. Go To Blogging Conferences & Tweet Ups
I’ve attended Blogs with Balls and Boston Sports Blogapalooza plus a number of Tweet Ups. What are Tweet Ups? They’re social gatherings organized by fellow Tweeters. Attend them. You will find people who are interested in the same subject as you. This expands your network and you may find bloggers who want to form a partnership with you. And these gatherings can help your forge friendships, solidify current ones and introduce you to people who can help you publicize your blog.
6. Use Blogger At The Beginning, But Then “Graduate” To WordPress
Using Blogger is like when AOL first started. It’s great to get you started blogging like AOL was great to get you started on the internet when the internet was in its infancy. However, AOL got old quickly and you found other ways to connect online. It’s the same thing with Blogger. It’s great to establish your blog, build up your archives, a wonderful way to learn how to post YouTube videos, edit HTML and give you confidence blogging. But after a year or two, start migrating to your own site using a self-hosted WordPress template. Transfer your archives and you’ll find WordPress is a very easy template once you’ve been on Blogger.
7. Join A Blogging Network & Get Paid!
For sports blogging there are networks like SB Nation, Yardbarker and Big Lead Sports. I’m part of Big Lead Sports. These networks will sell advertising for you and allow to share in what’s sold every month. It’s not a big amount, but getting regular checks is nice. Sometimes, you can solicit the networks or the networks will find you. Either way, the networks can promote your posts in ways you cannot.
8. Don’t Blog Thinking You’ll Get Rich
There are a number of bloggers who have sold their sites and gotten rich. However, a majority of us have day jobs and work for a living. Think of blogging as your second job that compliments your real job. If your blog gets to the point where you can sell it for seven figures, then you’ve been around for a long time and you must be popular. But most bloggers aren’t at that point.
So there are my Sunday thoughts. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them today.
