Digital Media Cafe Blog – Featuring Tactical Cam, Football Conversation and Max Verstappen

Second Screen Soccer: The Tactical Cam

Football fans in American are getting a new view of Premier League football on their laptops with the introduction of the Tactical Cam. Why is this of interest? Well, it’s available as a second screen experience via the NBC Sports Live Extra app and was first used in Liverpool’s defeat by Manchester City. Placed high up on the side of the pitch, it can be viewed on tablet and mobile and viewed picture in picture or as a separate screen. It means your second screen can follow which players are where and give a better understanding of attack, midfield and defence. While some have said this is an extension of the football education in the States, I’m sure there are European and British fans who’d like to have alternate views of play. The Tactical Cam is part of NBC Sport’s coverage of all 380 Premier League games which cost them $250 million – it’s just a shame the NBC Sports second screen isn’t currently available to UK fans.

Football Conversation: Twitter Scores Winner

As the Premier League gets under way, it was London side Arsenal who got the social scene talking last week. Joining them as the to three teams mentioned on Twitter, Facebook and on blogs were Liverpool and Manchester United. Compiled by Meltwater, what was interesting was the percentages of where the conversatiosn were being held. Twitter saw was way out in front, with the highest amount of mentions around the event (73%) followed by Facebook (26%) and blogs (1%). It means that Twitter really is winning the battle for sports conversation, and worth considering for sports teams and athletes. Louis Van Gaal won the battle for the most mentioned manager. Although perhaps not all positive. Unless you’re from Milton Keynes, of course.

Featured Athlete: Max Verstappen

Our featured athlete of the week is just 16, but he’s set to make his Formula One debut next March. Max Verstappen has risen through the ranks of the Red Bull Junior Team with a pace matched only by his speed on the F3 circuits. And it’s likely his social media is going to get a fresh livery over the next couple of weeks as well. Currently his Twitter feed is shared with the other member of the Verstappen racing team – his father and former F1 driver Jos, while his Facebook feed tends towards links rather than social-only content. It will be interesting to see which path in social media he follows. While fellow Junior Team alumni Sebastian Vettel is far from a social fan, Daniel Ricciardo has embraced it with both hands.

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Having spent eight seasons in Formula One managing the digital channels for world champions Red Bull Racing, David Granger now runs Fact 51, a social and digital content agency.

David’s

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