ESPN has become a leader in sports social media by providing accounts for different sports, divisions, and shows. They created a department dedicated to conducting social media. Individual ESPN accounts are run by writers and bloggers to connect their work to platforms like Twitter. Sports teams also have official accounts run by their media departments, while individual players use social media but have faced penalties for inappropriate content.

1. STRUCTURE OF SPORTS
SOCIAL MEDIA
By: Nick Wojton

2. Popular Sport Networks on Social
Media
 Facebook
 Not as up to the second with the updates as Twitter, but still
posts the newest sports news
 Has more open discussions for more fan interact, allows fans to
debate with each other
 Twitter
 TSN
 Canada’s sports network; most of their sports social media is aimed
at the NHL, along with the CFL
 NBC Sports
 Along with their top (@nbc_sports) sports twitter, NBC is an up and
coming sports network that also provides specific pages for the NBA
and NHL
 ESPN
 ESPN has several twitter accounts; each are made to satisfy each
specific sporting need for fans, by far the leader

3. ESPN and Social Media
 When social media first became
popular, ESPN was said to be falling behind
 In recent years, ESPN has became the leader
of sports and social media
 ESPN provides twitter accounts for sports fans of
all kinds from covering certain sports
(@ESPN_NHL), even going as deep in certain
sports covering certain divisions (@afc_east)
 Along with certain sports coverage, ESPN shows
have their own twitter and facebook accounts
dedicated to their individual shows

4. How do they do it?
 With so many twitter accounts running out of
ESPN, how do they do it?
 Since expanding its reach in social
media, ESPN created a whole department
dedicated to conducting its social media
 Shows that connect to twitter for questions from
fans to be used on the shows, are run out of here
 Certain ESPN accounts, such as the (@afc_east)
account, are run by individuals who run blog’s
dedicated to the trending topic

5. Professional Individual Twitters
 An example of a “Professional” Twitter is used
by ESPN
 (@espn_afceast) is run by writer James
Walker
 Walker reports news on the AFC East of the
National Football League for ESPN
 His blog on ESPN.com is directly connected to
twitter which can be followed by tweeters
 Other writers also follow suit connecting their
twitter and facebook accounts to recent stories
they have published

7. Sports Teams
 Individual sports team
also run their own
“Official” twitter and
facebook pages such as
(@Sabresdotcom) and
(@buffalobills)
 These sites are also run
out of the teams media
department who decides
what goes up on a teams
site
 The latest new from a team
will be posts along with
play by play updates at
times, usually scoring plays

8. Individual Players
 Individual Players use
social media to connect
with fans more
 Though the idea is
meant to mean
well, several players
have been fined or
penalized in different
sports for being
provocative and not
representing a team or
league in a positive
light