It’s the end of the week, and a day when some will be wisely using their annual leave to take an extended Christmas break. I’ll be busy trying to keep a 2 year old entertained as all available childcare is unavailable, seeing how long I can last before CBeebies is put on. Before I shut up for the weekend, here are my ‘articles of particular interest’ for this chilly Friday.

INDUSTRY NEWS/ARTICLES

ESPN President John Skipper Discusses Social Media Policy, Priorities at ‘Talent Gathering 2017’ (si.com)

With everything going on around ESPN at the moment, not just in the subscriber news but also the purchase of 21st Century Fox by ESPN’s owner, Disney, this is an interesting look into what was said during a ‘talent gathering’. It covers deals that have been made (NBA until 2025 for $12.6bn), social media policy and the fielding of a few questions.

Is it Inevitable that the TV Industry Will Lose Major Sports Rights to the Digital Giants? (videoadnews.com)

A good longish read that brings together a few of the things we’ve covered on DS before, with WPP’s Martin Sorrell talking at Leaders Conference, and the recent Juniper Research. What is the result of the debate? Well you’ll just have to read it to find out (spoiler – nobody can agree).

Sports publisher GiveMeSport is growing revenue by cutting ads (digiday.com)

A company I’ve known about for a number of years and seen evolve from running football player Facebook accounts for the PFA, to a massive player in the sports publisher landscape. With all the problems going on with publishers at the moment and various business models being tested, the approach by GMS is an interesting on (as is their use of AI).

Snow, sweets and Spidercam: Behind the scenes of Sky Sports’ Super Sunday (independent.co.uk)

An enjoyable look at the set up at Old Trafford ahead of last weekend’s Manchester derby by SkySports. It’s concentrated on the build up to the game and visiting various parts of the production process, before probably getting kicked out so they can do their jobs when the action starts!

NBA to sell ads in virtual universe of new esports league (espn.co.uk)

NBA taking the lead in enabling teams to not only embrace the esports space, but open up new revenue opportunities at the same time. Some of their main sponsors are also taking short sponsorships on the game version, and new companies are entering the market too.

DIGITAL SPORT ARTICLES

Why are Europe’s leading football clubs adopting such woeful app strategies?

World Cup 2018: How the group stage draw played out on social media

How the GAA has ramped up its digital content to engage fans worldwide