Live From Super Bowl LI: Five Highlights From Fox Sports’ Aggressive Social-Media Strategy
Live Social gets a serious boost as Fox Sports blends linear, digital operations
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Matt Schnider, VP, digital production, Fox Sports, had one simple strategy when it came to social media at Sunday’s big game in Houston: “We want to be everywhere.”
Whether it was Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat, Fox Sports was everywhere and then some, showing off an impressive collaboration between the networks’ linear and digital operations.
Here’s a handful of the many highlights from Fox Sports’ week on social media at the Super Bowl:
1. Radio Row Puts Focus on Live
Few networks anywhere have done a better job over the past handful of years of fostering digital-first talent and putting them in a position to succeed on social media. So, with all hands on deck in Houston for Super Bowl Week, Fox Sports had the unique opportunity to blend its nationally recognizable linear talent with its emerging digital talent.
Nowhere was that more on display than on Radio Row, where Fox put a lot of effort into live social-media productions. Digital talent Kristen Baloni went live all week from Radio Row and, in numerous instances, partnered with talent from the linear side. Also, Fox partnered with Sports Illustrated to produce a three-day Facebook Live series called Live at Radio Row and hosted by Maggie Gray and Albert Breer and featuring guests like SI’s Peter King and Fox’s Peter Schrager.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to find the right mix and hit the right notes,” says Schnider.
On Radio Row, Fox had a sizable set with a four-camera shoot. The Digital team deployed solutions from Telestream and Telescope to dial directly into Facebook Live’s API and integrate graphics and B-roll into the shows.
NFL player Michael Bennett worked with Fox Sports, providing on-field access through the network’s PROcast system.
2. PROcast Makes the Star the Camera Operator
Fox Sports deployed its PROcast workflow to create personality-driven behind-the-scenes access to activity around the Super Bowl. The network partnered withSeattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett (whose brother Marcellus is on the Patriots team) to have him create content for social platforms.
PROcast is a POV, selfie-style approach to making content. Fox provided Bennett with a camera phone featuring an app that enabled him to shoot videos of himself around the stadium and talk with other players and celebrities in attendance. The app is linked to the backend of Fox Sports’ video infrastructure, meaning that all Bennett had to do was shoot and the content was ready and available in the PROcast system for a digital producer to edit and distribute. The app also offers the ability for producers to communicate with Bennett directly via text to give him direction when he was out on the scene.
3. NFL Field Pass Leveraged Much of Fox’s Extensive Linear Resources
In perhaps the most impressive integration of the linear and digital teams, Fox offered NFL Field Pass, a live-viewing offering available on social platforms, Fox Sports GO, and FoxSports.com that took viewers behind the scenes into player arrivals, on the field for pregame warmups, and more.
NFL Field Pass was made possible by leveraging the 100+ camera resources that Fox Sports had in and around NRG Stadium for the Super Bowl. Four digital producers were seated in the main game truck and had access to every camera angle and the full EVS network to build their own commentary-free insights into pregame activities. It was a second-screen experience at its finest.
Producers for the debate show Undisputed shot a 360-degree video for Facebook distribution showing what it’s like to be on the set with the show’s hosts.
Undisputed on FS1 posted a 360 video showing a time lapse of what it’s like to get ready to sit at the table with Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe, and host Joy Taylor. Also, NFL on Fox published a 360 video to give fans a unique look at Super Bowl Opening Night.
“I think we’re pushing the envelope with VR and 360,” says Schnider. “You see it all the time in our business, but I think Fox has done a great job of getting ahead of the curve when it comes to big events.”
5. Live Social-Media Coverage of Fox’s Media Event Was An Unexpected Win
For those unfamiliar with digital talent Rachel Bonnetta’s work surrounding the other football (MLS), Super Bowl LI was a bit of a coming-out party for Bonnetta, who hosted loads of programming on the social-media side for Fox last week.
One of the highlights of the week for the Fox digital team was a 45-minute Facebook Live show shot around a media event that the network held to showcase its on-air talent last Monday. Bonnetta and a single camera operator (using a rig and an iPhone) ran a full 45-minute-long show that never stopped for a break.
The show garnered more than 100,000 views.
