Oct. 27, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – When the University of Kentucky announced the theme of the annual Big Blue Madness as “Blue All Around You,” they meant it literally. Today, UK Athletics announced a never done before recap of the event – translated into eight (yes eight) different languages and posted it online at www.kentuckywildcats.tv.
“Our great basketball tradition is a logical tool to promote the University of Kentucky and its drive to become a Top 20 university,” UK Athletics Director of Marketing and Licensing Jason Schlafer said. “We’re proud that both UK and Kentucky Basketball are becoming even bigger players in the global marketplace.”
The University of Kentucky basketball program extends new Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Calipari’s message to the Big Blue Nation via the world’s first, multi-language, picture-in-picture (PIP) video player. This innovative media platform enables users to stream the on-demand replay in eight different languages. Leveraging Adobe Flash technology, Cornett IMS designed the Web site to also include features like full screen viewing mode, multiple audio controls based on a single slider and the ability to switch PIP videos in real time.
To watch the full speech and enjoy one of eight translations, including Afrikaans, American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, German, Kazakh, Russian and Spanish, go to kentuckywildcats.tv.
Traditional and online coverage was unprecedented for Calipari’s first Big Blue Madness. Besides being featured on televised networks ESPN and Fox Sports South, it was covered live by the Big Blue Sports Network, streamed on UKathletics.com and more than 400,000,000 Chinese could follow the event via live blogging on Titan Sports, the largest circulation sports newspaper in China.
“Calipari’s speech for the opening of Madness was an amazing moment for the program and with all the communication tools now available to us, the decision to make it accessible and understandable to the world was easy,” Schlafer continued.
“International outreach, diversity, and innovation are certainly cornerstones in UK’s Top 20 strategy,” said UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr. “We are proud to be working hand-in-hand with UK Athletics to deliver UK’s powerful brand to a broader global audience.”
