There is certainly no more business as usual when it comes to the current state of sports communications and what the future holds. This class has certainly put things into perspective as far as the origin or sports coverage and where the industry is now. I am actually very excited to see what new innovative strategies and fads will be presented in the future. The need for instant gratification and wanting to be the first to report the latest story has become an interesting dynamic thanks to the internet. As journalists work to cover their stories average people are able to utilize blogs and Youtube to beat them to the punch. In other cases teams and individuals have begun to manage their own sites and social media accounts, drawing in fans giving them that "personal" relation ship that they would not have from average coverage or from the new report. I think the future will entice the competition between current media giants such as ESPN, ABC, and Fox by challenging them to reach their target markets in new and exciting ways. I also think there will be even more coverage of international sports, and an improvement in the live stream feeds that are used. The other day I watch the US Men's National Team beat Italy as they played overseas. Although the commentary was clear they picture kept freezing. On a regular television I would have changed the channel but because it was giving me the viewing option that I otherwise would not have had I kept it on. I am sure I was not the only one that felt this way, as other people in the office did the same. A clearer feed would attack even more viewers. There are so many revenue driving opportunities in the sports communications industry. With magazines, social media, commercials/advertising/ live stats, and sponsorships I think it will be interesting to see how all of them continue to play into the new digital standards. I think there will be an increase in those that are in the IT field to find themselves in jobs that are sports based. There is no real need of sports knowledge but to give an athlete, team, or organization to push out information quickly will certainly be an asset. I would not be surprised if players begin doing their own post game interviews with webcams. One thing that does worry me about the future is the transferring of rights between organizations and advertisers. With many of them there are all ready so many shameless plugs and commercial interruptions and product placement. I only wish I had a DVR so I could speed right past them like millions of Americans do, although its not the case when watching a live event. My fear is that the money being made could come at the expense or safety of the players. Earlier this year there was a basketball game that was played outside in the hanger. I thought it was a great idea, the game looked amazing on tv! On the court there were these advertising stickers that both of the coaches had complained were a hazard because they were not level with the floor and they were sticky. Sure enough a play slipped on it and had to be tended to, as they worked on him all I could think was how excited the advertisers were because they kept focusing on floor sticker and if they were even concerned for the player. There is no question that there is a lot of revenue that can and will be generated from the industry, but at what cost? Don't get me wrong I am looking forward to watching people and companies trying to top themselves while keeping up with the demands and fast pace of delivering sports information quickly and efficiently.
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