Rogers Sportsnet is keeping sports fans in the know with text message NHL trade deadline alerts. The service, which went live on Monday, has been providing up-to-the-minute bulletins direct to cell phones. Though David Ballingall, VP of marketing for Rogers Sportsnet says the text SMS alert service was offered during the past trade deadline in 2004, this year’s results show we’ve come a long way with our cell phones. ‘It was a learning experience for us then,’ says Ballingall. ‘We had 300 people signed up using the service [in 2004]. Now, just after noon [yesterday], we have 1300 signed up. We’re very pleased with the results and it shows a real appetite for folks to get information quickly and from [anywhere].’
Ballingall says the net plans to have its SMS component ongoing and available for sponsors, positioning Rogers Sportsnet as ‘not only a TV station but platform-agnostic, be it TV, radio or online.’ The net will again offer a live chat ticker during Hockeycentral at the Deadline, when the show panelists take over for eight hours of continuous coverage beginning 10 a.m. today. Ratings for the six-hour- long trade deadline show in 2004 had an average minute audience of 109,000 with 2,000 folks participating in the live chat ticker feature.
