![\"TNT's](\"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/IMG_1613.jpg\")
<\/a>TNT’s Ernie Johnson (far left) moderated a panel that discussed social media and more at CES. It featured (from left) Adam Silver of the NBA, Dr. Mark Emmert of the NCAA, Grant Hill of TNT\/NBA TV, and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm.<\/p><\/div>\n
Grant Hill, NBA analyst, TNT\/NBA TV, and former NBA player, said that social media is a great way to connect with fans and people he admires and may not know. But a downside he sees is the temptation to be consumed with being a voyeur of other people\u2019s lives and that it also taps into the narcissistic side of being an athlete.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago, in the locker room, players would talk to one another during halftime or have a conversation after the game,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now everyone is on their own device. So I see a little bit of player interaction being lost because of social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
The upside, he said, is that players can more easily have a voice concerning social causes, something he said\u00a0he didn\u2019t have as a player in the 1990s when journalists ultimately controlled how the public perceived an athlete. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver noted\u00a0that the NBA encourages its players to use social media to talk about the issues that are important to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial media is a part of that process, and we help them understand the guardrails. We are protective of them and the business as they are representative of the league when they use social media,\u201d he said. \u201cSocial media demonstrates how multidimensional the players are, and, for a league like the WNBA, it also shows how multicultural it is as 25% of the players are born outside of the U.S. So there is a fascinating global community with people commenting from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veteran\u00a0WNBA player Sue Bird, point guard for the Seattle Storm, said\u00a0she learned the negative power of social media years ago when Twitter was new and\u00a0a player was fined for tweeting negatively about having to take part in a season-ticket\u2013holder event.<\/p>\n
She\u00a0also sees a difference between how she approaches social media\u00a0and\u00a0how\u00a0younger players or college players do. For example, she looks at social media and ignores negative tweets or posts. Others tend to engage, a move she says ultimately gives the negative commentator what they want: their moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that you can be connected and show another part of your personality, but you see young kids getting judged all the time even when the behavior they are doing might be normal for a college student,\u201d she eplained. \u201cThere is a higher level of responsibility now than there was 15 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, echoed her sentiments, adding that 18-year-old college athletes can quickly learn a life lesson when doing things like posting political views.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with them closely to understand their level of responsibility because, once you say something, you can\u2019t bring it back in and you can have a tsunami of reaction,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd, [with]\u00a0an 18-year-old, there is a different dynamic in handling that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silver added that social media not only allows the NBA to get messaging out but also to gather market intelligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tool where you can learn a lot about your business,\u201d he said. \u201cIf there is an issue with NBA League Pass, I will learn about it faster on social media than through our own organization. And we can see how we are trending on Twitter, what fans think of the rules or the format of the game or even the CBA. We have an incredible group of engaged people who are passionate about this game, and they want to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social media is also playing a key role in spreading the popularity of sports beyond borders. Emmert said that college sports continues to show gains overseas and that often, when he meets people overseas and discusses the NCAA, they don\u2019t know what he is talking about. But, when March Madness comes up, they quickly understand what he is talking about, thanks to the streaming of March Madness games and social media.<\/p>\n
With Turner Sports and CBS Sports holding the March Madness rights through 2032, Emmert said he has had a chance to learn about how future technologies might impact how March Madness will be consumed during the next 15 years.<\/p>\n
Silver took a stab at what the NBA viewing experience might be like in five years. One key development he sees is that authentication will become easier and get to the point where someone might see a Tweet regarding a game, then click on a link, and instantly be brought to that game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd,\u201d he added,\u00a0\u201cyou might be able to watch the last five minutes and pay a price just to watch those five minutes versus watching the game for two hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hill added that VR is one of the mediums that he thinks will grow in popularity. And, of course, as millennials get older and more numerous, digital platforms will continue to gain in importance.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir language and their currency is digital, so how we engage with fans there is important,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the technology, so now we have to embrace that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The CES Sports Business Innovation Summit, presented by Turner Sports, kicked off with a discussion about social media and how\u00a0players, leagues, and sports organizations can make the most of quickly […]\n More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":109535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8899,9248],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109534"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109534"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109578,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109534\/revisions\/109578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.sportsvideo.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}