Chapter 1: Reds Baseball Begins

We've endured the harsh winter, and spring has arrived to welcome another season of Reds baseball, where every game tells a story.





FOX Sports Ohio is excited to be telecasting 145 games this season, 100 of which are scheduled to be in high definition. Click here for the complete game schedule: http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5585048



R
eds Fan Cam is back! We're partnering up with Budweiser to once again give fans the chance to be on FOX Sports Ohio. All season long, fans can attend these pre-game events and have the opportunity to ask Reds Live co-hosts baseball questions to be answered during an upcoming postgame show.



The first Fan Cam of the season will take place the morning of the Reds home opener.



You can find the complete Reds Fan Cam schedule here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=71902071094



Check out the Reds season preview on FoxSports.com. http://tiny.cc/w9b5a



GO REDS!

Beyond "Spots and Dots"

"Advertisers want more now,” says FOX Sports Ohio Senior Account Executive, Michelle Kennedy. When advertising their product, clients have so many media options: print, radio, internet, as well as television. In order to entice them to advertise on a regional sports network, the FOX Sports Ohio sales team has to find creative ways to move beyond simple commercial advertising and add value for the client. This can include new forms of nontraditional advertising; elements that make the client feel they are an organic part of the broadcast rather than separated in a commercial break.








In partnership with Rick Koehler and Anna Latkovic of Rosenberg Advertising in Lakewood, Kennedy created two such feature elements for their clients, Alson Jewelers and Central Cadillac-Hummer, respectively. These features appear in the lower half of the screen during Cleveland Cavaliers games to increase brand recognition and enhance their traditional commercial advertising. Check them out below!



“Sports are still a very viable commodity,” says Kennedy. “Televised games are DVR proof and the fans are passionate about their teams.” The FOX Sports Ohio sales group is committed to finding ways to make their advertisers stand out.

Tis the Seasons to Give Thanks

It's an exciting time for FOX Sports Ohio as the cable home of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Columbus Blue Jackets! The Cavs are once again headed into playoffs after a season of setting new records, both on the court and on the television. Ratings are at historic highs for Cavs telecasts in Cleveland (Check out ratings in the right-hand column).





The Blue Jackets have started hockey fever in Columbus that is melting across the state of Ohio. In the race to the playoffs, they too are experiencing a season of success, with new team records and the highest television ratings in franchise history.





FOX Sports Ohio wants to thank the viewers who have supported the teams and the network all season long with Viewer Appreciation Nights, events where fans watching at home can enter to win prize packs including player and team autographed merchandise, playoff tickets and more.





The Columbus Blue Jackets Viewer Appreciation Night, presented by Central Ohio Toyota Dealers, will be Saturday, April 11 when the Jackets play the Minnesota Wild at 7 pm.





Click here for more information: http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5839492



The Cleveland Cavaliers Viewer Appreciation Night, presented by KIA,
will take place Wednesday, April 15 when the Cavs take on the 76ers at 8 pm. Click here for more information: http://msn.foxsports.com/id/8450624

Austin Carr Can't Get Enough...even on YouTube

YouTube, the ever popular video sharing website, is full of searchable clips including music videos, homemade movies and sporting event replays.



You can even find videos of Cavaliers broadcasting duo Austin Carr and Fred McLeod. Austin's catch phrases like “Get that weak stuff outta here” and “Throw the hammer down” have become all the rage among Cavs fans.



Click on the photos below to check out these YouTube videos where AC can’t get enough of his basketball lingo.






To Tweet or Not to Tweet

In today’s face-paced, ever-changing world dominated by the Internet, e-mails and text messages, people have the ability to exchange information with a simple click of a mouse or press of a button. But this ability to communicate instantaneously is no longer a benefit of being technologically savvy; it’s an expectation. And in business, if you can’t come to the table able to “tweet” from your cell phone, don’t expect to be invited to sit down.

That’s why FOX Sports Ohio has built upon its MySpace presence and recently launched Facebook and Twitter pages, two of the hottest networking tools in the social networking craze. If you’re wondering “What is Twitter?” or “How does Facebook work?” you’re not alone. Although we hear about these web-based communication tools daily, as more and more businesses are seeing their value, it’s not uncommon to be unfamiliar with, or intimidated by, them. Below is a basic overview of how we've just begun to use these sites.


Our pages’ functions are not only to connect with viewers, but also to engage them.

Through Facebook, we can create a shared sense of community among our viewers. By posting videos, pictures, event information, programming schedules, and much more, fans can interact with us and each other by adding comments, starting discussions and posting their own photos and videos.

Twitter provides us a platform to communicate with viewers who crave that sense of immediacy. Twitter allows us to post short messages about programming, promotions, our teams, etc. and fans can follow them in real time and respond. We can also share links, photos and video.

These sites, once designed for college kids and techies, have become universal tools that help us connect and stay informed. Whether used socially or professionally, networking is the critical action. So if you haven’t yet started, become a Facebook fan of FOX Sports Ohio and start “tweeting”!

*click on the photo to take you to our page.

FOX Sports Ohio Hungry to Help

What began as a one-time employee volunteer activity has grown into a monthly volunteer event! This past December, FOX Sports Ohio employees and freelancers volunteered at Over-the-Rhine Kitchen in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. They spent the afternoon preparing food, serving meals to approximately 200 guests and cleaning up. The activity was so well received, FOX Sports Ohio employees and freelancers now volunteer at Over-the-Rhine on a monthly basis.




Established in 1976, Over-the-Rhine is the oldest soup kitchen in Cincinnati. Its founder, Father Thomas Bokenkotter, opened the kitchen to provide guests with nutritious hot meals in a clean, kind and welcoming environment. Over 30 years later, Over-the-Rhine remains a very active soup kitchen serving over 4,000 meals per month.




Over-the-Rhine’s mission statement is “To help alleviate hunger in our community by feeding the poor in an environment of respect, care and hospitality. We call the people we serve our ‘Guests,’ because we want them to feel welcomed and to maintain their dignity during what is a trying time in their lives.”




FOX Sports Ohio Marketing Manager, Ronnie Khadaran, has found the experience to be very rewarding: “This has been a fun opportunity for the entire office to help make a difference in our community on a regular basis. The people at Over-the-Rhine are awesome, very friendly and grateful for our help.”

Soak Up the Sun and Cheer on the Jackets!

This year’s Columbus Blue Jackets season has been particularly exciting for FOX Sports Ohio’s hockey fans; watching eagerly as the team skates toward the playoffs. To help one lucky person join in the action, our network —in cooperation with the Blue Jackets— created the Florida Flyaway Promotion, presented by IGS Energy.

From January 19 through February 10, a different Florida Fly Away “password” was announced on FOX Sports Ohio during Blue Jackets games. Viewing fans could then enter the game’s password online for a chance to win a trip package. including two airline tickets from Columbus to Orlando, FL; four nights at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort; Disney theme park tickets; and tickets to the Blue Jackets v. Lightning game on March 24.

Out of 10,657 entries, Thomas Lewis from Hillard, Ohio was the lucky winner. Congratulations, Thomas and Go Jackets!