ESPN launches high school sports site
Cory Bergman August 27th, 2008
ESPNrise.com has launched, joining the fray of high school sports sites battling for attention. Unlike many local high school sports efforts, ESPNrise.com takes a broader approach, focusing on states and regions instead of drilling down on individual high schools and all the rich data that comes with it. But it comes with all the usual community functionality, from discussion to user blogs, and soon you’ll be able to upload video, too.
Meanwhile, many local high school sports efforts are entering their second full football season: HSGameTime.com (Belo), HighSchoolPlaybook.com (Hearst), FoxHiLites (Fox) and High School Football (Cox). Gannett is entering its first full season with HighSchoolSports.net, and it’s been a year and half since CBS bought MaxPreps. Certainly a very crowded, competitive space.
5 Comments Add your own
1. Rod Overton | August 27th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Ahhhh… Local high school sports sites. One of my favorite subjects.
The key here is understanding the differences in how to set up local coverage on a TV website vs. that of a newspaper website.
Why, you ask?
Because many (well, at least two that I personally know of) have not taken this into account — at all.
I was at a Belo meeting in Dallas a couple of years ago when the idea was floated by PE.com folks that everyone follow their grand idea for whatever their prep sports site was. It sounded great, but I simply reflected at the meeting that — having worked in prep sports at three newspapers before — the resource differences between newspapers and TV were vast.
So, what did Belo do? Hmmm.. rolled out virtually the same product from newspapers to the TV sites. The impact: well, at least two prominent TV sites in Belo never made dime one on it this past season and were investing TONS of time from the web staff into. This was killing their staff. The traffic was nil and the money was nil. The payoff may come in three years — if the rest of the site survives that long.
At a recent job, the same idea was announced and I had — in theory — more input. A few months later, the results from the “brain trust” in corporate was — surprise — “there is no cookie cutter solution” (!)
Wow. So, each TV station was told that they could do whatever they wanted with one TV station told (and I assume they were all told this with just different numbers) that if they wanted to pursue a “solution” they could round up 170 (yes, 170 at this particular station) stringers, hire them, supervise them and then expect their scores and data for the season. (Oh, and when I say “hire them” — this would mean, of course, not paying them!)
Um, so what is my point?
Think this through TV folks. The way newspapers do it counts on YEARS of developing sources, freelancers, stringers and various ways collecting data. To put all of that together for a TV site (with no additional staffing or money — Belo and, um, unnamed other company) is just asking for a disaster.
Fancy folks in corporate roles: please listen to local people who know this and have done it before. Heck, even talk to the other people in newspapers within your company who have done this and really ask them what it takes to get it done right (because users with this passion can see through fake sites).
Yes, this means you, corporate muckey muck who is asking “does he mean me?”
2. tdc | August 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
well, if they all believe in their approach, then this should put to rest once and for all the meme that you must have a short domain name… a few of those are over 20 letters “short”.
corporate mucky muck? i’d love to know,but believe it or not am too shy to ask.
3. Rod Overton | August 27th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Oh, I meant corporate *muckety* muck.. my bad…
names have been withheld to protect the profoundly stupid, who will continue in their middling, marginal media careers as the industry reaches the point of people who are just now only in it protecting themselves — which is just as bad as you can get….
4. tdc | August 28th, 2008 at 7:15 am
they say the best therapy is talking about it.
why not tell us what you REALLY think?
just kidding, ro.
keep commenting!
i enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling i get reading your stuff!
5. Anonymous | September 1st, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I think HSGameTime works okay because the local station here is driving it and they do a prep roundup and weekly TV show that is fast paced and trys to be about the KIDS.
It’s THEIR lives and they post to the website while I’m sure some of their parents provide the video footage of the game itself. The weekly “spirit” contest with a limo ride as the prize to a student from the winning school and their friends is a great idea too.
What some have not realized is that this ISN’T a money making operation, it’s a recruiting effort to bring a generation that doesn’t normally think TV represents them in to focus as Belo viewers and site users from a good experience and the loyalty it may bring to view Belo’s news and sports broadcasts.
No money now=ratings and hits for a long while (they hope).
Not brain surgery.
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