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With an edgy new cable network and a slew of new digital properties, Fox Sports aims to create for fans and advertisers a multiplatform, 24/7 sports news and entertainment experience.

The weekend of Aug. 17 crackled with excitement for pro sports fans. New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady played what many commentators called a “nearly perfect” preseason game, despite torquing his knee during a scrimmage earlier in the week. In baseball, the Boston Red Sox stuffed the New York Yankees 6-1 on Saturday, but the Yankees struck back the following day. After Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster hit Alex Rodriguez with a fastball in the second inning on Sunday, A-Rod homered in the sixth to propel the Yankees to a 9-6 victory over the Sox. Take that, Dempster.

For analysis of Brady’s performance and whether Dempster purposely whacked A-Rod, sports fans had a new network to tune to that weekend: Fox Sports 1, a national 24-hour cable sports channel with an irreverent tone. To make fans aware of the new cable network, Fox inundated its local affiliates with promotions in the days and weeks leading up to the launch. Fox also promoted the debut of Fox Sports 1 on its flagship sports website, FoxSports.com, home to more than 32 million unique visitors each month.

Fox’s use of FoxSports.com to promote the new network represents one of many ways television and digital media can support each other: The website directs visitors to the cable network, and the cable network drives TV viewers to the site.

Broadcasters referring TV viewers to their networks’ companion websites is not new. Neither is using a website to tease network programming. But Fox Sports is ratcheting up the synergies between television and digital media to create a richer, more compelling 24/7 experience across viewing platforms. The broadcaster sees its digital properties (websites, mobile apps, and social media accounts) as essential components of its consumer engagement strategy and broader business strategy, and is working to combine the power of both media to more effectively attract consumers and serve advertisers’ needs.

“Audiences are increasingly splitting their attention between screens,” observes Pete Vlastelica, Fox Sports’ senior vice president of digital. “We have to think about how we serve our audience across whatever devices they may be using, whenever they want to engage with us. To focus only on the television platform is to miss a tremendous opportunity to engage an audience when live shows aren’t on, and to miss a significant revenue opportunity to bring advertising to that engaged audience.”

Findings from Deloitte LLP’s most recent “State of the Media Democracy” survey support Vlastelica’s observations. More than 80 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed multitask while watching TV, and their top multitasking activities include surfing the Web, checking email, sending text messages, or using a social network. Twenty-six percent of survey respondents own a laptop, smartphone, and tablet.

“American consumers have a voracious appetite for digitized information and entertainment, and increasingly use multiple devices simultaneously to consume content,” notes Mike Brinker, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP and U.S. practice leader for Deloitte Digital.

Competing for Digital Dollars

As proof of its commitment to digital media, Fox relaunched FoxSports.com in 2013. The goals? Develop a mobile-friendly site that mimics the tone and style of the new cable network, and create a surging digital advertising inventory for sponsors.

“We want to offer to our brand partners sponsorship opportunities that are integrated across our television and digital platforms, and that take advantage of the strengths of those platforms—digital’s presence and interactivity and television’s reach and impact,” says Vlastelica. “It’s really difficult to offer integrated opportunities for brands when your digital properties, products, and editorial features aren’t aligned with your core television products.”

To that end, Vlastelica’s 150-person team is currently developing a number of new blogs for each show on Fox Sports 1 and each sport the new network has invested in carrying (college basketball and football, major league baseball, NFL football, UEFA and CONCACAF soccer, NASCAR, and Ultimate Fighting Championship matches). Fox Sports also plans to launch a new mobile app, Fox Sports GO, that lets Fox Sports 1 subscribers stream live games on their mobile devices.

Content on the redesigned site features the same ‘we have attitude, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously’ tone that the network is trying to promote, to distinguish itself from competitors and attract visitors who seek a unique perspective just as much as stats. Recent headlines on the site included, “Tiger may get a major math lesson he won’t like: 1 is greater than 5” and “Huh? UFC prez Dana White defends A-Rod: ‘He completely changed my life’.”

“There’s not a lot of differentiation in the sports content category. Every mainstream sports site looks pretty much identical, and it’s been that way since 1995,” says Vlastelica. “We want to change that.”

The site also includes interactive features designed to more tightly integrate FoxSports.com and Fox Sports 1 and engage viewers across both platforms. A polling application called Connect Live with Fox Sports, which launched Aug. 19, allows hosts of “Crowd Goes Wild,” Fox Sports 1’s live sports and entertainment talk show, to involve the studio and home audience in the flow of the show. When a host asks a question, she directs viewers to the polling application on FoxSports.com, where they can cast votes. Questions like, “What do you think of Regis’s new haircut: love it or hate it?” and “Which city has the worst sports fans: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, or Miami?” illustrate Fox Sports 1’s irreverent style.

“The idea behind ‘Connect Live with Fox Sports’ is to make the audience a cast member and give them a feeling of participating in the show,” says Vlastelica. “We think it represents real progress in the way broadcasters think about their audience.”

Digital’s Rising Influence at Fox Sports

Digital media has touched many aspects of network operations, including production and talent development. Each of Fox Sports 1’s production teams include a digital producer whose responsibilities involve finding ways for show hosts to engage the television audience on social media sites while programs air. For example, Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole, hosts of Fox Sports Live, frequently solicit audience feedback via social media, and relay it, during their nightly highlights and commentary program.

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Digital producers also repurpose television content for FoxSports.com. The outtakes, extended interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage provide Fox Sports with coveted video inventory for advertisers and help align Fox Sports 1 with FoxSports.com. The trick for producers? Finding content likely to go viral. Of course, when you have Michael Strahan, retired defensive end for the New York Giants, interviewing former foe Tom Brady about his life with supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, or entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban saying whether he’d invest in random sports inventions featured on the Web, monster views are pretty much assured.

Regarding talent development, Vlastelica indicates that Fox Sports is hiring show hosts from new sources. For example, Katie Nolan, Crowd Goes Wild’s digital correspondent, lacks a traditional television background. She made a name for herself when a digital show she hosted and produced for the website Guyism.com took off on YouTube.

“We place a premium on television talent that knows how to engage audiences on platforms like Twitter,” says Vlastelica.

The SVP has other ideas for using technology to attract sports fans across platforms. While he declined to disclose specifics, he indicated he’d like to see the experience of watching live games on TV become more social. He also thinks the sports content category would benefit from personalization—a priority for FoxSports.com.

“Our ideas for differentiating Fox Sports 1 aren’t traditional. We want to challenge the status quo because it’s the only way to grow,” says Vlastelica. “My hope is that we’re moving in a direction that’s not just different, but truly valuable to our audience.”