FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015

BYTES: UNDEFEATED GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS BOOST CSN BAY AREA DIGITAL TO ALL-TIME NOVEMBER RECORDS

NBC SPORTS DIGITAL “BYTES”

December 3, 2015 – Vol. 77

NBC Sports Digital “Bytes” is a collection of highlights, information and metrics for NBC Sports Digital properties. Previous editions can be found on NBCSportsGroupPressbox.com.

Undefeated Golden State Warriors Boost CSN Bay Area Digital to All-Time November Records

The on-court magic of the 20-0 reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors has translated into record numbers for CSN Bay Area Digital, posting its best-month ever in November with 10.6 million visits. CSN Bay Area Digital also delivered 7.9 million unique users, its second-most ever (Dec. 2014, 7.95 million).

In addition, the Warriors’ 116-99 win over the Charlotte Hornets last night, featuring 40 points from 2015 NBA MVP Stephen Curry, set a streaming record for CSN Bay Area with 1.2 million minutes. The game surpassed the previous record set just three days ago, when the Warriors defeated the Utah Jazz on November 30 (1.18 million minutes).  Through 17 games, fans have consumed 11.4 million minutes of Warriors action on CSNBayArea.com and via NBC Sports Live Extra.

Rotoworld.com Posts Best November Ever

Boosted by NFL and NBA content, Rotoworld.com posted its best November ever with 6.8 million unique users and almost 30 million visits. This marks Rotoworld.com’s 14th consecutive month in which unique users and visits have been up versus the year prior.

November’s most popular players on Rotoworld.com were:

  1. Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte
  2. Kansas City Chiefs RB Charcandrick West
  3. Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch
  4. Tennessee Titans RB David Cobb
  5. San Francisco 49ers RB Carlos Hyde
  6. Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffery
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
  8. Chicago Bears RB Jeremy Langford
  9. San Diego Chargers TE Antonio Gates
  10. Green Bay Packers RB Eddie Lacy

NBC Sports Regional Networks Launch Facebook Strategy to Increase Reach & Fan Engagement

As previously announced, in order to strengthen the connective tissue between fans and NBC Sports Regional Networks, an engagement strategy on Facebook was launched in several major markets during the 2015 baseball season. Playing out through a coordinated posting strategy, Q&A sessions and on-air integrations on CSN Philadelphia, SNY, CSN Mid-Atlantic, CSN Chicago and CSN Bay Area, the networks utilized their on-air talent and digital insiders to engage fans more regularly, often using Facebook Mentions.

The campaign resulted in:

  • 5 million sports fans reached by CSN networks during the first half of the MLB season (April – July) by on-boarding its talent on Facebook with a robust posting strategy;
  • 62% average growth of talents’ pages over the 4-month span of the program;
  • More than 800,000 average monthly reach of CSN Bay Area Host Brodie Brazil‘s Page, greater than many national baseball journalists on the platform;
  • A 400% increase in referral traffic from talent pages back to NBC Sports digital properties.

“This partnership with Facebook was successful on several levels,” said Jen Franklin, VP of Digital for NBC Sports Regional Networks. “Onboarding our digital insiders and broadcasters increased the visibility of our talent and networks, and by integrating Facebook content during our live game broadcasts, we significantly extended our overall reach and engagement.”

Click here for the full Facebook case study.

NASCAR on NBC Scores on Social Media

As previously announced, retiring legend Jeff Gordon’s #24Ever content, where users tagged social posts with the hashtag in honor of Gordon’s #24 car, garnered 53 million impressions on Facebook and 10 million on Twitter, making it a dominant trending force throughout the season.

Since July 1st, NASCAR on NBC’s Facebook page has produced 339 million total impressions on content pushed from the page, while the @NASCARonNBC Twitter handle has gathered 77 million impressions and increased its followers by 47%.

Custom videos on the NASCAR on NBC Facebook page have accumulated more than 18 million views, with Blake Shelton’s opening theme contributing 1.5 million individual views and 17,000 shares.

Comcast SportsNet Northwest Sets Video View Record in November

Comcast SportsNet Northwest set a record in November for video views on CSNNW.com, breaking the previous record by 6%. Leading the way were highly shared videos on the Oregon Duck uniforms, a tribute to former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders, and postgame reactions surrounding a scuffle in the Blazers vs. Bulls game on November 24.

ICYMI on NBC SportsWorld, NBC Sports Digital’s Long-Form Website, and NBCSport.com

Joe Posnanski penned a piece on Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning, and when it’s time to say goodbye. All three entered national consciousness at the same time, but only Bryant has been able to admit that it’s over. Click here for the long-form story on NBC SportsWorld.

Pro Basketball Talk’s Kurt Helin was at Staples Center the day Bryant announced his retirement, and wrote about how he came to his decision through reflection and meditation. Click here for the story.

NASCAR Talk’s Dustin Long caught up with Sprint Cup champ Kyle Busch and gained some insight into his relationship with Tony Stewart and the friendship that was born from their rivalry on the track. Click here for the story.

— NBC SPORTS DIGITAL —