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8
Think you can call a game?
By IAN BUSBY, QMI Agency
It’s quite easy to play armchair quarterback and criticize the voice describing sports action on television.
It’s another thing to step up to a live mic and do it yourself.
The Score is asking all wannabe sportscasters to put their voices on the line and give it a shot.
From firsthand experience, no one should ever call sports broadcasting easy ever again.
Gillette Draft 2: The Search for Canada’s Next Sportcaster is completing a cross-Canada tour this weekend in Vancouver and the top-10 finalists will be part of a reality show that will air starting Sept. 6 on The Score.
Filming will begin in Toronto July 7, and this sportswriter won’t be part of it. The audition tanked, as expected.
The process is a nerve-racking one and it certainly weeds out the pretenders. After getting prepped for television (the customary shave), and viewing some highlights for a preview, the contestant gets thrown under the hot lights, handed a microphone and the action rolls.
Last year’s winner Paul Brothers was on hand throughout the tour, and he offered some feedback during a quick run-through of Game 7’s highlights of Montreal Canadiens against the Washington Capitals.
This contestant stumbled right out of the gate, forgetting momentarily who was facing the Caps and where Washington plays its home games. All it takes is one slip-up and it goes off the rails quick.
It didn’t get any better from there, as identifying the goal-scorers was difficult in the fast-paced NHL action.
Without the benefit of a script (which the Drafted crew has taken away to see who can ad-lib the best), it was easy to get behind.
As for feedback on my performance, Brothers was too kind.
"Saying ‘Who’s that?’ or ‘What’s happening here? probably isn’t the best thing to do," said Brothers, who had a broadcasting degree but was unemployed when he won the contest last year.
"Viewers know when you don’t know what you are talking about. You need to have energy but it’s tough to get."
The producers for Drafted aren’t necessarily looking for someone to read the highlights with proficiency.
They want personality, enthusiasm and some witty lines.
Brothers brought that during the first season, but he also has the ability to remain calm on air, which is a skill unto itself.
But that reminded him of his favourite Pat Quinn quote, and it’s one he uses as his motto.
"I’m like a duck. I’m all calm on the top but underneath the surface my legs are kicking like crazy," Brothers said with a laugh.
1
Score’s goooooooal: win over soccer fans
Toronto-based media company rolls out latest mobile phone app in time for World Cup
Dale Fallon, director of Mobile for Score Media, shows off Score’s new soccer app. Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and
Susan Krashinsky Media Reporter
Globe and Mail Update Published on Monday, May. 31, 2010 7:29PM EDT Last updated on Monday, May. 31, 2010 9:01PM EDT
When the World Cup kicks off in South Africa next week, sports fans will be united in their passion for the beautiful game. There’s just one problem for the media companies that serve those fans: The world doesn’t agree on what the sport is called.
For those outside North America (and purists within), it’s football, period. But when Score Media Inc. set out a few months ago to create a mobile phone application for footy fans everywhere, it faced a marketing conundrum. A “soccer” app would leave the rest of the world confused; a “football” app would have Canadians and Americans thinking touchdowns and tackles.
“It’s incredibly difficult for North American media companies to break into Europe for that very reason,” said Dale Fallon, the director of Score Media’s mobile division. But that is nevertheless the goal of the small Toronto-based company, which owns specialty TV network The Score. Its vehicle for a European landing is called ScoreMobile FC, which is to be released for iPhone and BlackBerry by the end of this week.
The company achieved unusual international success with its first application, ScoreMobile, which is the most popular app in the sports and recreation category for the BlackBerry – more popular even than the apps created by Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and Major League Baseball.
Among Canadian iPhone users, it’s the No. 5 free sports app, according to stats from iTunes; the most popular is TSN’s. (TSN is owned by CTVglobemedia Inc., which also owns The Globe and Mail.)
Almost two-thirds of ScoreMobile’s total downloads come from the U.S. But the application has not brought in as many users from Europe. Score executives judged that the World Cup would be the perfect time to try to change that. While it is far too early to know whether it will pay off for Score Media, the move illustrates the way in which some media outlets are turning to mobile viewers in a search new revenues and growth as the traditional television audience fragments.
The FC app will be translated into French, Spanish and German by this fall; other languages, including Portuguese, will follow. The financial motivation is there: The Score only has so much airtime to sell TV advertising. Mobile platforms can court more digital ad sales, and can use “geo-fencing” target ads according to users’ locations.
In 2009, just under 10 per cent of Score Media’s $24-million in advertising revenue came from digital sales, including the small banners stamped at the top of the phone screen in its apps. The company’s goal is to grow its mobile revenues.
The popularity of ScoreMobile builds on the TV channel’s roots. When it launched in 1997, before there were anchors and highlights, it was essentially a sports ticker with scores and game information for die-hard fans. The app satisfies the same need for instant information, with scores and stats for baseball, soccer, football, hockey, basketball, golf, and car racing.
But both the TV channel and the mobile app differentiate themselves from other sports media brands through their approach to another side of the athletic world: gambling.
“We have been more forthright [than other sports channels] about the fact that people wager on games, whether it’s you and me betting privately, or whether it’s a provincially-funded sports lottery, or whether it’s offshore or whatever,” said Score Media chairman and chief executive officer John Levy. The app includes not only scores but also betting odds and information about athlete injuries.
“We do it very carefully because we don’t want to go offside, and everything we do is entirely legal,” said Mr. Levy.
The perk of expanding into international markets, Mr. Levy said, is that many of them are not as legally restrictive. Once ScoreMobile FC builds an international presence, he said, Score Media could be exploring a move into the highly lucrative betting business itself.
“By us now being in those markets, we’ll be able to deal with it in a more direct fashion,” he said. “…Who knows what that might lead to down the road. If we have the best vehicle to promote it, and to advertise it, then we should seriously look at stuff like that.”
Further apps that target an individual sport are on the way. Score Media is drawing up plans for one that caters to cricket fans in India. The original ScoreMobile app had 1.5 million downloads in its first three months and now, one year after its launch, it has been downloaded 3.5 million times. Score Media has a partnership with CBC to broadcast World Cup highlights and beyond the tournament, will include 30 leagues in its FC app. The international reach of The Beautiful Game gives the company a shot at building out its mobile strategy even further.
“In two to five years from now, we fully expect to be generating more revenue from our non-TV platforms than from our TV platform, and at much higher multiples,” Mr. Levy said. “We’re looking to be recognized as a sports media company with a global reach.”
1
Looking to score with a mobile soccer app
Matt Hartley, Financial Post Published: Monday, May 31, 2010
Courtesy of Score Media
With the World Cup of soccer kicking off June 11, Toronto’s Score Media is launching a new soccer-specific smartphone application for BlackBerrys and iPhones.
TORONTO — John Levy’s son Noah wanted to know why his father’s Toronto-based media company was running television commercials during college football games in the United States. The chief executive and founder of Score Media Inc., owner of the Canadian sports network The Score, had no idea what his son was talking about.
As it turns out, the TV spot actually had nothing to do with Mr. Levy’s TV channel. Rather, it was an ad for Cellular South Inc. The U.S. telecom carrier was using Score Media’s smartphone application – ScoreMobile – to market a new BlackBerry device to sports-hungry Americans, even though Noah, a 21-year-old University of Texas student, might have been the only person watching that game who knew that Score Media owned a TV network.
"They had contacted BlackBerry [RIM] because it was such a sports-crazy area, and asked what would be a good application they could use to promote as part of their ad," Mr. Levy said.
Now, with the World Cup of soccer kicking off in South Africa on June 11, Score Media is launching a new soccer-specific smartphone application for BlackBerrys and iPhones – ScoreMobile FC – as part of a plan to expand its burgeoning international footprint to hundreds of millions of fans of the Beautiful Game around the world, primarily via mobile applications.
More important, Mr. Levy predicts that within two to four years, the revenue generated by Score Media’s online and mobile advertising efforts will eclipse the company’s existing television ad sales.
"From a corporate perspective, the more people we can communicate with and the bigger the network we can encompass, the more people are interacting with us and the more people we have to sell stuff to," Mr. Levy said. "I’m thoroughly convinced over the next number of years that we’re going to be generating more revenue from mobile and Web than we are from the TV network."
In addition to introducing the Score brand to new audiences around the world, Mr. Levy is banking that ScoreMobile FC will be able to generate new revenue from advertisers.
Many of those advertisers were previously inaccessible to Canadian sports networks, including gambling websites that advertise prominently through English soccer leagues but whose advertising is restricted in Canada.
"It’s almost like the shackles have been released from us," he said. "We now have the capability to compete effectively in international markets."
Already, ScoreMobile, the company’s current multi-sport mobile app that provides users with live scores and news from a variety of professional leagues, boasts more than 1.3 million active users, and the company’s director of mobile, Dale Fallon, believes ScoreMobile FC will likely double that figure by the end of 2010.
ScoreMobile FC will feature live scores and news headlines from about 30 soccer leagues and competitions from Europe and around the world when it launches on BlackBerry devices and Apple Inc.’s iPhone later this week.
Mr. Fallon, said ScoreMobile FC will grow to cover more than 50 international soccer leagues by the fall and that the company also plans to roll out versions of the app in French, Portugese, Spanish and German before the end of the year.
A version of the app designed to run on Google Inc.’s Android software will launch sometime after the World Cup begins, around the same time the company plans to roll out its first iPad application.
Still, Mr. Fallon said the company has no current plans to launch other single sport apps.
"We see soccer as a special case," he said. "It takes ScoreMobile beyond its North American roots and helps it be relevant in a meaningful way for sports fans around the world."
One of the challenges associated with launching a soccer application of such depth is that getting reliable sources of real time information for second and third tier soccer leagues is much more difficult than securing access to real time NHL or NFL information, Mr. Fallon said.
"It’s pretty easy for us to get our hands on that data and for the data to be of a high quality – timely and reliable, but when you move to the next tier and the next next tier, you’re getting into the Russian league and the Greek soccer league, it’s just not as easy to get a quality data feed," Mr. Fallon said.
mhartley@nationalpost.com
29
Apps born in Toronto
Three Toronto tech companies at hub of iPad app revolution
Dirk Heikoop, left, Garry Seto, centre, and Ken Seto, right, of Endloop Studios, created iMockups, an application for the iPad. JENNIFER ROBERTS FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Iain Marlow Telecom Reporter
Toronto — From Saturday’s Globe and Mail Published on Friday, May. 28, 2010 6:51PM EDT Last updated on Saturday, May. 29, 2010 9:18PM EDT
Toronto has become a hotbed of app development for mobile phones, churning out everything from productivity apps for businesses to sports and entertainment apps. The iPad’s bigger screen opens up even greater possibilities and Toronto developers are eager to seize the opportunities. The city is well-placed to do so. Its bustling film, Internet, design and creative industries have merged around the city’s universities and institutions to create an ideal ecosystem for app development, says Krista Jones, who heads the information and communication technology division at the MaRS Discovery District, a small business
incubator. “Toronto is an app hub because we have deep roots in both the creative and design industries, and the technical industries,” she says. “It’s the perfect mix for apps.”
EndLoop Studios
Founders: Brothers Garry and Ken Seto
No. of employees: Three
Most popular creation: iMockups
The e-mail from Apple Inc. that landed in Ken Seto’s inbox was crystal clear: If you want your app to be in the grand opening of the iPad App Store, you have precisely three weeks to submit it. “We only really started putting hand to keyboard then,” says Mr. Seto, 42, who became a developer after a decade spent as a technology consultant. The company met the deadline, taking its iMockups product from concept to downloadable app in less than a month. “We’re a small team, so we work fast,” Mr. Seto says. EndLoop’s app, which costs $9.99, allows designers to mock up Websites and layouts by choosing from a small display case of options, including various video and text icons, and sweeping them onto a digital whiteboard; a designer can shrink, enlarge and move things about on the screen as clients sit next to them. After being featured on the front page of Apple’s app store, downloads soared 300 per cent.
FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Ameet Shah, Jeff Zakrzewski, Oliver Tabay and Troy Hubman of Five Mobile Inc., have developed apps for Sony, Disney and mapquest and are currently developing new apps for the iPad. They are seen outside their Toronto office on May 28, 2010. JENNIFER ROBERTS FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Five Mobile Inc.
Founders: Troy Hubman, Ameet Shah, Oliver Tabay, Jeff Zakrzewski
No. of employees: 35
Most popular creation: The Score Mobile for BlackBerry
Shortly before Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in September, 2008, the financial giant pulled the plug on one of its many investments: Tira Wireless, a mobile app developer with a large office in Toronto. Five of the employees started the aptly named Five Mobile and never looked back. “When we started the company we had our first four contracts waiting to be signed as we were waiting for our incorporation papers,” says Ameet Shah, a Silicon Valley veteran. The company has grown to become one of the city’s larger developers. From NHL games for simple cellphones, the firm went on to create a popular BlackBerry app that aggregates sports results for The Score television network, as well as apps for Walt Disney Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment and MapQuest.
FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Peter Kieltyka, left and Jeff Brenner, right, co founders of NuLayer Inc., are working on a iPad app for The Score. They are seen in their Toronto office on May 27, 2010. JENNIFER ROBERTS FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
NuLayer Inc.
Founders: Jeff Brenner and Peter Kieltyka
No. of employees: Five
Most popular creation: CrowdReel
When the executives at Twitter fly you to California for a meeting, you know you’re on to something. NuLayer’s 25-year-old co-founders have gotten used to the attention, as they start pushing their most ambitious creation, CrowdReel, which allows users to pull together themed photos from Twitter – every image that, say, mentions “World Cup” or whatever other term you choose to search. (You would be shocked by some of the photos that appear after dark.) The two McMaster University graduates demonstrated CrowdReel – which is currently a Website, but will be an iPad app by June – to the Twitter folks using an iPad, which they bought on a pilgrimage to Buffalo, N.Y., a few days after the U.S. launch of the tablet. “If we hadn’t had the iPad, it would have been much harder to convey how great CrowdReel is,” Jeff Brenner says. NuLayer has also landed the job of building the iPad app for The Score sports network, allowing users to not only follow scores but track player stats.
9
Hoping to get drafted
Published: 2010-05-09
Hoping to get drafted
Wannabe announcers line up to audition for a job at sports channel The Score
By BILL SPURR Features Writer
Paul Brothers, who won last year’s competition, has interviewed baseball great Johnny Bench and skated with Mat Sundins. (Ingrid Bulmer / Staff)
Andrew Graham of Dartmouth auditions during tryouts for Gillette Drafted 2, The Score’s reality show in search of Canada’s next sportscaster at Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth on Saturday. (INGRID BULMER / Staff)
SCOTT ALLISON didn’t mind getting up early on a Saturday morning, shaving and putting on a nice shirt, if it gave him a chance to chase his dream.
Allison was the first in line at the Mic Mac Mall for Gillette Drafted 2, a contest that has sports channel The Score seeking its newest announcer.
"It was three minutes, but it felt like 30 seconds," the 31-year old Newport man said after his audition.
"It’s pretty much what I expected. I came here to try and be a sportscaster. It’s been a dream of mine. I’ve always loved sports and I just came here to try my best and see if I could take the next step."
Hopefuls watched highlight packages from five games, one hockey, two soccer and two basketball. Then they chose which one they wanted to voice over, standing in front of a camera and under bright lights.
"You get your choice of those five and they play a similar clip up on the screen. The hockey one was from Game 7 between Montreal and Washington," Allison said. "I came in thinking hockey, but I also thought if I picked soccer there’d be less people picking that and I could stand out by doing something different.
"In the end I went with hockey just because of familiarity. It went OK, I don’t think it went great, but it’s the first time I’ve ever done something like that. I had a great time."
Last year, 3,000 people from across Canada tried out, with two of the top five coming out of the Halifax audition, which was held at the Red Stag tavern. The winner, and now the newest announcer on The Score, was Paul Brothers, who at the time was unemployed.
"It was a series of eliminations," Brothers said Saturday. "They went from 60 down to eight, then down to two, then they told the two of us we’d have to wait until June to find out if we made the final five for all of Canada. So I went through that process and managed to pull it out."
On the day he auditioned, Brothers, who has a journalism degree and a little broadcasting experience, had been out of work for a year.
"Then on Mother’s Day, one year ago . . . I was at my girlfriend’s mother’s place in Liverpool and the commercial came on TV. I said ‘This is it,’ because I had wanted to be a sportscaster since I was 12," said Brothers, who’s 29 but looks about 17.
"I’ve been on the job for three months, but I’ve already experienced some things that are totally amazing. Three days ago I got to play hockey with Mats Sundin, Curtis Joseph, Claude Lemieux, Marcel Dionne and all kinds of legends.
"We went to this pro fantasy hockey camp in Niagara Falls, where people pay a ton of money to go play with hockey legends. We got invited to go cover it, so not only did I interview all the guys but I got to play hockey with them, take a breakaway on Cujo, then go on the bench between shifts and interview Mats Sundin right on the bench.
"I interviewed Johnny Bench . . . the most legendary catcher in baseball, got to go to Pittsburgh for MLB opening day, covered the Pirates against the L.A. Dodgers. And day-to-day at The Score, I do studio updates and this thing on the internet called Take a Number."
Brothers was on hand Saturday to interview some of the people auditioning, for a show The Score is doing on the contest, and to offer advice for anyone that wanted it.
"We’re looking for a personality, someone who likes to have fun, loves sports and doesn’t take themselves too seriously," he said. "Try and throw something in there different, that other people aren’t going to do, like if you read a script, maybe don’t read it word for word; put your own personality into the script. I mean, 3,000 people are going to audition — you’ve got to be able to do something to make yourself stand out."
Andrew Graham’s red hair and interesting haircut distinguished him from some of his competitors. He hoped his choice of clips would stand out, too.
"I chose basketball, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, figuring everyone would choose Habs-Caps. I felt pretty comfortable with it, it was pretty easy to do," the 24-year old Dartmouth man said. "It went really well. It was pretty nerve wracking at the very start but once the clip gets going you get used to it. I watch The Score every morning and basically talk my self through it every day anyway, so it’s just another day."
7
The Score’s Gillette Drafted freshens up for season two
IN CANADA
View all stories from May 7, 2010
News Briefs
by Katie Bailey
The top three finalists of Gillette Drafted Season 1
Related Content:
Campaign
Just a few short months after the smiling, youthful face of Gillette Drafted first-season winner Paul Brothers disappeared from Score Media’s massive billboard at King and Peter streets in Toronto, he’s back in the public eye again as the broadcaster kicks off the audition tour for the show’s second season.
With Procter & Gamble brand Gillette on again as exclusive sponsor, the program – which debuted last year in eight-minute on-air segments – will this year be extended to 23 minutes and has been developed into a more competitive format with 10 finalists instead of five and judging-based elimination rounds, Susan Arthur, VP marketing, Score Media, tells MiC.
Set to air in the fall, Gillette Drafted 2’s five-phase production process is already underway with a cross-country live audition tour (handled by GMR in Toronto) starting this week. Gillette’s media agency, MediaCom, challenged Score Media to develop the brand-promotional aspect of the show even more, Arthur says, and the result is an "organic" integration into the audition called the Gillette Grooming Station, as well as an enhanced social media presence.
The Grooming Station is set up to look like a real "makeup" area on the 20-by-20-foot in-mall audition stage. Each wannabe sportscaster will be freshened up for their live audition with Gillette products, and be given a new Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide razor (in stores June 6). High-value coupons for the new razor will be handed out as well, and people can sign up for a "ManSAMPLER" Gillette product pack at a kiosk. Throughout the tour, Brothers will be on-site, hosting the proceedings and blogging on show microsite Drafted.ca. Audition videos will be uploaded to the site as well.
The show and the audition tour will be promoted via Score Media’s properties, including broadcast and mobile, and via digital media external to Score properties. Additionally, Score personalities will be promoting the show via personal and corporate social media pages.
Gillette Drafted 2 is set to air mid-September 2010 and will run in one original timeslot per week for 10 weeks, with multiple repeats per week. The competition generated 3,000 entries in its first season.
5
The Score teams up with t.o. night
By Jeromy Lloyd
Score Media has established its hard-core brand of sports coverage to television, radio and the Internet, but a new deal with Toronto’s t.o. night Newspaper Group has brought its content to newsprint.
The Score, which owns Score Television Network, Hardcore Radio and TheScore.com has signed a deal to have the independent free daily t.o. night’s sports section branded with The Score’s name.
Starting Monday, Score content and columns from its on-air personalities began appearing in t.o. night’s pages.
"We’re always looking for ways to migrate our content to as many different platforms as possible," said Susan Arthur, vice-president, marketing at The Score, in a release. "In the world of sports, we need that content to be as fresh as possible. By working with t.o.night we are able to take advantage of their same day, early afternoon publishing and provide sports coverage and insight that is up to date and relevant to commuters as they make their way home."
John Cameron, the daily’s publisher, said the partnership "is another way in which t.o.night is building on the informative content we provide commuters each weekday evening. The unique insight The Score will provide our newspaper, and The Score’s exposure to our estimated 109,000 daily readers, will greatly benefit both of our brands."
16
Mobile apps score with fans on the move
Posted By IAN BUSBY, QMI AGENCY
With spring upon us, Canadians can now basically combine two great loves at the same time: Playoff hockey and the outdoors.
No longer is the hockey fan glued to the television set during the Stanley Cup playoffs as the increasing technology gives mobile device users a chance to watch games while on the move.
The CBC has launched live streaming games to itsHockey Night in Canadaapplication through iTunes, while TSN has teamed up with Bell Mobility to provide its games in real time to those subscribers.
The catch with CBC’s app is the games will cost $2.99 for single-use or $14.99 for the entire post-season.
TSN debuted its Masters app for last week’s tournament and the reviews have been positive. It followed a featured group, Amen Corner and holes No. 15 and 16 among other highlights available on demand and it was available for free.
Sampling these apps isn’t easy for those of us who aren’t tech savvy, but there are few free programs out there that will help sports fans keep track of the scores at least.
CBC’sHNICapp is easy enough to navigate and quickly updated the NHL playoff scores starting Wednesday night.
The ScoreMobile iPhone Edition has the easiest screens to navigate, while TSN Mobile is also user-friendly with the added advantage of a ticker at the bottom of the screen.
Both provide enough updates that baseball fans can read boxscores and get a good view of what’s happening, butThe Score’sapp provides a couple more features such as detailed scoring plays and preview stories.
There are plenty of other apps for users willing to spend some cash, but there is enough content out there for free seekers. It might not always be that way, as this is more of a promotional tool for networks than a way of making money directly.
For instance, TSN is working on a CFL app for this season, but live streaming games will have a fee attached to them.
CBC had first pick in choosing playoff series and at first it looked like a tough decision. Montreal against Washington would be intriguing if it was expected to be a long series, so the mother corp. made a good choice in taking Pittsburgh against Ottawa instead.
The Canadiens will likely draw higher ratings for TSN, but with Sidney Crosby and the rest of the defending Stanley Cup champions getting upset in Game 1, the series now becomes must-see. It also didn’t hurt that Crosby notched three assists in a thrilling 5-4 win for the Sens.
TSN is the real winner from the first round of games, basically because it now has the side network TSN2.
That allows the network to still show games in entirety while some might have to be joined in progress in case of long overtimes.
One of the most exciting first-round series will start Friday night on TSN2 as the Nashville Predators faceoff against the high-flying Chicago Blackhawks.
15
Score Media Financials Reflect Multi-Platform Success, New Content Deals
Score Media announced its financial results for the second quarter ended February 28, 2010, noting continued growth across all of its media platforms.
Revenues for the quarter increased by $1.3 million or 15% to $10.0 million compared to $8.7 million in the quarter ended February 28, 2009.
"We are proud to say that Q2 growth picked up right where Q1 left off with strong growth across all of our platforms and improvements in EBITDA in all areas of the business," John Levy, Chairman & CEO, Score Media Inc., said in a release announcing the results.
Score Media’s primary asset is The Score Television Network, a national specialty television service. Score Media also operates Hardcore Sports Radio, a satellite radio network, and other interactive assets including theScore.com and ScoreMobile.
Among the recent multi-platform plays, Score Media has just announced it secured the exclusive Canadian media rights to Serie A, Italy’s world-renowned professional soccer league.
The deal, which includes full digital rights, represents the first time a major Canadian sports network will deliver exciting high-definition Serie A action to sports fans across Canada.
The rights, which give exclusive Canadian distribution to The Score for the next two seasons, were acquired by MP & Silva, the international sports agency that holds the worldwide media rights to Serie A outside of Italy.
"With access to a full range of Serie A rights, soccer fans across the country will now have the opportunity to get their fix – whether it be full games, highlights or league news – on The Score Television Network, ScoreMobile and theScore.com," said Benjie Levy, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Score Media Inc. "The Score has a strong track record of growing audience and profile for international soccer in Canada. With our core following of loyal soccer fans and The Score’s unique style of delivering sports, we look forward to bringing even more exposure to this popular international league."
Carlo Pozzali CEO, MP & Silva America added, "We are delighted to start a new partnership with Score Media, a broadcast leader which ensures high level coverage and exposure for Italian Serie A in Canada."
The Score is known as home to The Footy Show, which provides multiplatform programming covering the latest soccer news and highlights from various international leagues.
Hosted by soccer expert and Score personality James Sharman, and entering its fourth season, The Footy Show provides, live chats, 24/7 blog coverage and a very popular soccir podcast.
"The Serie A deal brings an international powerhouse, Italian Calcio, to The Score making The Footy Show even more attractive to a broader soccer audience," Sharman said of this latest news.
Among other recent developments, Score Media recently celebrated the download of its one millionth ScoreMobile application for the BlackBerry smartphone. Between the ScoreMobile iPhone Edition and ScoreMobile for BlackBerry, The Score reports it had over 1.1 million average monthly unique visitors during the quarter ended February 28, 2010.
Score Media and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also recently announced their partnership to deliver exclusive 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa content to viewers on The Score. There’s a deal with the National Hockey League to bring video highlights and content features to its website, and The Sciore has an exclcusive multi-platform deal with World Extreme Cagefighting to present live events, online content and exclusive features
Score Media also re-launched its website, theScore.com. The new site includes a new home-page ticker, enhanced news sections with real-time video, and a revamped TV section with greater user comment and content opportunties, including putting user opinions on-air.
13
Score Media’s Q2 EBITDA jumps to $1 million; revenue gains 15 per cent
TORONTO _ Score Media Inc. (TSX:SCR) says a measure of its broad earnings increased by 400 per cent in its fiscal second quarter due to growth across all areas of the sports media company’s business.
In the quarter ended Feb. 28, Score’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, increased to $1 million from $200,000 a year earlier.
Score reported a net loss of $239,000 or zero cents per share for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $1 million or a penny per share a year ago.
Its revenue for the quarter gained 15 per cent to $10 million from $8.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009.
“We are proud to say that Q2 growth picked up right where Q1 left off with strong growth across all of our platforms and improvements in EBITDA in all areas of the business,” stated Score chairman and CEO John Levy.
Score Media’s main business is The Score Television Network, but it also operates satellite radio network Hardcore Sports Radio and interactive assets including TheScore.com and Score Mobile.
Shares in the company, which reported its results after markets closed Tuesday, lost four cents or more than five per cent to 71 cents in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press
