Commentary
YouTube + Slam Dunk Contest = Success?
- by dave.b , February 7, 2008
As a major sports fan, I would consider myself to be ahead of the curve when it comes to sports news. However, today when I was watching Pardon the Interruption, a popular ESPN variety show, I saw something that I did not know that excited me!
Rudy Gay from the Memphis Grizzles has challenged America. What is his challenge? A Slam Dunk! Rudy Gay will be participating in this year’s Slam Dunk contest at the NBA All-star game. Rudy has partnered with YouTube, and I am guessing Nature Valley Granola Bar (their advertisement is on the bottom of the screen during the video and there is a link for their own video contest). Smart move Nature Valley…smart move.
But, back to the point: Rudy encourages participants to be safe and smart when video tapping their slam dunks. He also says to stay sweet and simple. Participants can upload their videos at RudyGay22SlamDunk on YouTube. From there he will pick the best one for his first slam dunk at the NBA All-star game.
So far there have been 2559 comments on YouTube for Rudy’s video. The first 6 comments are all positive. There are 1,315 subscribers to Rudy’s video site that has already reached 77,599 viewers. There are currently 17 favorite videos that Rudy has chosen. I would rate this video as a success.
The NBA has reported viewership to be at
an all time low. Many reports have said that violence, player trades, and team trades have caused this low viewership. I believe that videos like Rudy’s can save the NBA. If 77,599 people
have already viewed the online video, how many people are going to actually watch the NBA All-star game and slam dunk contest? I am curious to see what the ratings will be for this year. Will they be
higher or lower than previous years? If so, will other NBA stars follow by making their own online videos? I guess we will see after the NBA Slam Dunk contest ratings.
I would first say that "77,599 viewers" does not mean "77,599 people" since 1 person can view videos multiple times, and usually do.
To the point of your post though - you are totally correct in pointing out that this is a success already and will only get even better as more people find out about it and pass it on to friends.
The NBA should take note and reach out to more people in this way. I personally haven't watched basketball much since all the Vince Carter hype but this Youtube video has me more interested now.
As a former "slam dunk master" myself, I love watching slam dunk contests. What I hate though is the ability for a contestant to miss dunk after dunk attempt until he finally gets one in. After watching Nate Robinson make over 15 attempts I didn't even care if he finally got it to go down or not. After multiple attempts you also should not get a
"10" when you finally get it in. The initial excitement that one gets from watching a new or difficult dunk attempt is gone. Than, you get a guy like Josh Howard who does an amazing dunk of eaching over 12"6" to slap a stiker on the backboard then complete the dunk get overlooked is ridiculous! There were dunk contest that if you are over 6"tall you get overlooked if a smaller guy even makes his dunk. I'm tired of seeing guys bounce the ball and do simple dunks! Take the ball up with you and do something amazing.
All right! Somebody else other than myself watches PTI! I love that show...
Anyway, it's a great marketing move by Gay, YouTube, and the NBA. The ratings are actually up on at least one channel: I read in another publication that ratings were up on TNT from last year. But I think the poor performances by the New York Knicks, and my beloved Chicago Bulls aren't helping the NBA much, not to mention the national networks slotting a lot of Miami Heat games, which seemed to see a good idea last summer.
To echo David's comments, the concept is already a success simply by generating more interest than the contest would have without YouTube. THis unique version of fan interactivity will definitely increase viewership on Saturday night, something the NBA and the dunk contest sorely needs.
An ancillary effect is the publicity for Gay, an emerging star, and the Grizzlies, possibly the worst NBA franchise. Along with his play on the court, marketing games like this will help Gay land endorsement deals, and somewhat improve the face of the franchise, albeit marginally.
Speak of the devil, as I speak there goes an ESPN promo for Rudy Gay on First Take looking for help in the dunk contest. YouTube has traction.