Tonight, FOX Sports Ohio is proud to present a new feature, which we know will make Reds games even more enjoyable. Trust us on that one.
Fox Game Connect combines a unique set of game stats with social media to create a new way for fans to enjoy the game.
GAME CONNECT HOME
The main page for Game Connect provides everything that today’s passionate fan needs to immerse themselves in the Fox baseball broadcast;
• A feed of real-time game data
• The ability to view and contribute to the “social conversation” around the game action
• A deep dive into game stats that are not available in other second screen experiences.
On the main page, you will find an ocean of stats for both teams. Player cards display batting or pitching stats for the player. The player cards are designed to display season stats for the first at bat and then update for all future at bats in the game as follows:
• Batters: Season AVG, hits, walks, runs for the game
• Pitchers: Season wins/Losses, Season ERA, SO’s for game, BB for game
On each player feature, you will see a category we have labeled as ‘Social Buzz’. As a player gets more buzz, that meter will rise. Click through it to interact with other Twitter and Facebook users on that specific player.
There is also a ‘Bio’ link on each player card – this launches a light-box that displays season statistical data and bio information for that player.
The Diamond Visual provides an illustration of the baseball diamond and any players who are on base. Players on base appear as yellow dots and mousing-over those dots reveals the players name.
During each Game Connect game, you will have the ability to e-mail the broadcasters in the FOX Sports Ohio booth and ask them questions mid-game.
On the homepage, the Game Stats area is a graphic representation of:
1. The pitcher/batter match-up
2. Unique pitching stats visualization
3. Unique batting stats visualization
4. Team leaders
You will be able to tell when a pitcher is getting tired through our "Pitch Count - Gas Gauge". The pitch count gas gauge is designed to take the average pitches a pitcher throws in a game and compare it to the number of pitches he has thrown in the current game. As the pitcher's "gas tank" gets empty, the pitcher will be nearing his pitch limit for the game.
The batting visualization to the right of the pitch count gas gauge is designed to display:
1. Career average by month
2. Career average vs. left handed pitchers (lefties)
3. Career average vs. right handed pitchers (righties)
GAME TALK
At the top of the Game Talk window is a ‘Live Conversation’ box where you can get in on the conversation. Click the "Tweet" button, and you'll be able to log in and start Tweeting right from the Game Connect box.
The Game Talk page has even more features than the front page design, including Image Cloud and Most Talked about.
IMAGE CLOUD
The Image Cloud is a map of player images, organized by the popularity of Twitter responses. If Joey Votto hits a grand slam tonight, he's going to get a lot of traffic, and his cloud will grow. The Image Cloud takes the top 15-20 players based on social media volume and displays them with the players who have the most conversation about them.
MOST TALKED ABOUT
The Most Talked About feature shows you the volume of social conversation going on about the players. That level is represented in the ‘buzz meter’, which lights up as the conversation volume changes.
Tonight at 8pm, the Game Connect takes off for the first time. Join in and try our new feature....and have fun! We'll see you at game time!
