ESPN is an American cable television network that produces and broadcasts sports-related programs. ESPN markets itself as the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” Being at this point in media, developments in social media are having a significant effect on their network. ESPN is more than willing to adapt and attempt to use social media to their advantage, however this has turned out to be more difficult than expected.
ESPN'S "FEAR"
According to article entitled, Social media fear results in Twitter ban from ESPN, by Erik Qualman, there is a social media “FEAR.”
F-False
E-Evidence
A-Appearing
R-Real
In an article by Qualman, he discusses how this “FEAR” has affected ESPN. After several incidents of breaking news or information about or dealing with ESPN being retweeted on Twitter that was false, ESPN banned broadcaster and on-air talents from Twitter. They also released a social media guideline to their employees. According to Rob King, the editor-in-chief of EPSN.com, the reason for this ban was started by the fear of false information being reproduced. He also stated, “Someday somebody’s going to get sued somewhere for re-tweeting something that is false.” As a result of this, employees of ESPN are either banned or regulated on their social networking websites.
ESPN's Social Media Guidelines
After reading the Social Media Guidelines released by ESPN, I realized it was less of a ban and more of a guideline to promote ESPN. The guidelines are direct in what an employee can and cannot do on websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
- “The first and only priority is to serve ESPN sanctioned efforts, including sports news, information and content.”
ESPN is worried that their well-known employees will use these social networking website to contradict or leak information.
- "Assume at all times you are representing ESPN."
In my opinion, every company should remind their employees of this fact. They are regulating these people because they represent their company.
Other Examples of the Social Media Guidelines
- Personal websites and blogs that contain sports content are not permitted
- Prior to engaging in any form of social networking dealing with sports, you must receive permission from the supervisor as appointed by your department head
- Confidential or proprietary company information or similar information of third parties who have shared such information with ESPN, should not be shared
After reading several articles about these guidelines, I came to the conclusion that ESPN basically wanted to be able to monitor what information was released and when it was released. ESPN wants sports fans to come to their website for their latest sports new, not Twitter or Facebook. However, they are allowing some information to be released on personal accounts as long as they mention more information can be found at ESPN.com. They received plenty of criticisms about their guidelines. To the point where, Nate Smeltz, an ESPN publicist, tweeted:
The fans and critics responded well to this statement and the method of releasing this statement.
It would seem that ESPN is timid to use social media based off previous information. However, that is not true. ESPN has embraced the developments of social media. For example, popular ESPN shows, PTI and Around the Horn, have Twitter accounts and are active in engaging with their fans or followers. Although given a strict set of guidelines, many popular ESPN host or employees, use Twitter to stay in touch with their fans, followers, and viewers. ESPN also made a Twitter account for the Big 12 conference, to interact with the fans throughout the tournament.
After the release of the guidelines, ESPN stated, “specific tools and implementations are in development” for the incorporation of social media and the company. Shortly after, ESPN experimented with live blogging during a New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox game. They placed a link of the front page of ESPN.com to direct fans to the page featuring CoverItLive chat. CoverItLive chat incorporates tweets from broadcasters, reporters, other employees, and user submitted comments. Also, ESPN contributed frequently with statistics and information throughout the game. Even though this is not a revolutionary technology, it was a step into involving social media into ESPN. This experiment turned out to be very successful for ESPN. It became a one-stop for sports information and entertainment. It was successful because it made it fun. Different reporters were getting involved and making jokes about other reporters. Also, the fans could submit questions or comments and have them answered by the reporters or employees. Many articles say this experiments quieted the critics of the social media guidelines ESPN released. 
ESPN has also started using Facebook and other social networking websites that provide games to start distributing ESPN games. ESPN signed a contract with social gaming company Playdom to develop a line of social sports games. ESPN has seized an opportunity to take a lead in social gaming and essentially social media. These games run on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Tagged. Also during this time, they released six new iPhone and iPod Touch applications. ESPN also fuels involvement with social media with links to share articles on Facebook and Twitter. This also fans to share links with their friends and drives more traffic to ESPN.com. In this video on YouTube, it shows the activity of these options during the NFL draft.
FUTURE
The future of ESPN is hard to predict. ESPN is such an influential and developing company. I believe that ESPN will strive to get more involved with social media throughout the coming years. I do think they will hold strong to their guidelines for the protection of the their company being the first and only to have certain information. I do not think social media will harm or negatively impact ESPN because they have control over their involvement and their employees’ involvement.
