Shifting the editorial mindset to unlock revenues through video
There is a universal understanding that all reporters must report events as quickly as possible with credibility.
In the sports world, this means monitoring the games, tournaments, and off-court developments (and antics) of leagues, teams, and players and sharing this news with their readership. It typically involves researching and writing a compelling story and then scrambling to locate related imagery and video content to support and enhance this new editorial.
A recent article in AdWeek highlights the growth of a player like Bleacher Report and its ability to capture these moments:
“Journalism has been forced to keep up with sites like Bleacher Report,” says Jason Sullivan, executive vice president and managing director at Publicis Seattle. “It has the urgency of Twitter, the ability to use localisation to follow your favourite team, and a constantly improving level of quality and legitimacy to keep fans tuned in during the sports world’s biggest moments.”
However, in the new age of digital news publishing and in the face of competitors like Bleacher Report or SB Nation, we see two major factors that are driving many sports reporters and editorial desks to at least partially rethink this process.
1. Growth in digital advertising: Digital ad spending is growing. In fact, it will nearly double to US$12.8bn in the United States alone by 2018, with approximately half of this spend directed toward mobile viewership.
Following in the footsteps of industry leaders like USA Today, digital news teams need to develop the ability to produce an enormous amount of online content on a daily basis to capitalise on the shift in ad spend.
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