Media Technology and Sports

            

Everyone might agree that the best way to enjoy watching sports is going to stadiums and watching games. It is difficult to share the atmosphere and feeling at the stadium through TV or radio. However, the advance of technology has changed ways of sharing games and information. Therefore, the sports industry utilizes new technologies to maintain their fans and get new fans.

Wireless and handheld digital cameras let people to see amazing views of sports. Senior coordinating producer of ESPN’s X Games and Winter X Games, Phil Orlins mentioned that these cameras are arrowed to get closer to the athletes and to take shoots the actions that viewers can feel they are at the stadium. Some of those videos cannot be seen by people even they are at the stadium because cameras are so close to the athletes. Extreme sports uses those cameras a lot to share the incredible actions, and distributes through YouTube to get more fans. Many companies create YouTube channels and share highlights and interviews of athletes. Teens and twenty somethings are the main viewer of those videos. These generations are the main audience of action sports and they are the generation of the Internet. So, this strategy of using YouTube is a great way to maintain their fans.

            

Mobile devices and social media are also a great technologies to keep attract sports fans. 94 Fifty utilize information technologies. Its system can capture 6,000 pieces of information a second and provide information to the audience in another second. So, fans can access to real time information through their mobile devices everywhere. Also, fans exchange information about their favorite sports through social media. The great example of utilizing social network is that the NFL Super Bowl will set up a social media command center. The team of this center will monitor the digital conversation, and provide helpful information about the stadium and the area through Twitter and Facebook. This media center will help to improve relationship between audiences and citizens.

            

Watching sports at the stadium is still the best way of enjoying the sports. However, technologies help to fans to come to the stadium by providing amazing videos, real time information, and communicating with fans. I am looking for future technologies that change the way of communication between sports games and fans.