*By Michael Teich*
Instagram, not Snapchat, is the preferred off-court platform for the LA Clippers to win over fans, said the basketball team's director of social media, Sandro Gasparro.
"Instagram is probably our most engaged platform and also our fastest-growing," Gasparro said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "Most of our fans are there. We get a lot more metrics as well."
The Clippers on Monday became the NBA's first team to introduce player GIFs to Instagram Stories, choosing the Facebook-owned ($FB) app over the similar offering from Snap ($SNAP), which is based in the LA area.
Gasparro said the decision largely came down to user preference. With 400 million daily active users, Instagram Stories attracts more than double Snapchat's count of daily visitors ー which stood at 188 million at the end of June.
"It allows us to unlock the personalities of our players a little bit and show what they are like off the court," Gasparro said of the Instagram Stories platform. "It also allows our fans to really contribute to the conversation around the team in unique and fun ways."
The NBA's early adoption and savvy strategy for social media has created a strong, engaged fan base.
The NBA's Twitter ($TWTR) account has 27.3 million followers. The NFL, MLB, and NHL all fail to measure up, with 24.1 million, 8.2 million, and 6.14 million, respectively.
Gasparro said it's a team effort ー Clippers execs are collaborating with players to capitalize on the digital trend.
"We're definitely working really closely with our guys, not only in terms of supplying them with great content they can use on their channels, but also helping them craft their own content strategy," he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/la-clippers-do-it-for-the-gram-2).
Anthony Tall, sports agent and president of Miracle Sports Agency, joins Cheddar News to talk about the challenges professional sports leagues are facing amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S.
2021 was no walk in the park for the tech sector. However, despite the industry dealing with worldwide chip shortage and supply chain crisis, many companies managed to push innovations forward. All these innovations are also expected to accelerate its coolness in 2022. Editor at Large at CNET Ian Sherr, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A number of major sports leagues like the NFL, NHL, and NBA are now postponing or canceling games altogether as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country. The latest omicron variant is now forcing leagues to implement new COVID protocols as several of their players have tested positive. President and CEO of Life Flip Media and Sports Analyst Eric Mitchell, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Carlo and Baker preview President Biden's address to the nation as Omicron becomes the new dominant Covid strain. Plus, Trump gets booed for getting his booster and the White House gets a new puppy.
Olivia Harlan Dekker provides her top picks for Week 15 of the NFL season, while Minty Bets discusses the strategy behind picking games amid a league-wide COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, Jared Smith breaks down his approach to betting college football bowl games.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Carlo and Baker wrap up another week discussing the latest explosion in new Covid cases in the Northeast, President Biden's stalled agenda and more. Plus, Love, Hate, Ate featuring the question: why did movie dialogue get so hard to understand?
Olivia Harlan Dekker, BetMGM host, joins Cheddar News to dissect the best bets in the matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, and breaks down the other big game of Week 15.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Jared Smith, sports betting analyst from Pickswise, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best bets you can make for the first wave of College Football bowl games, and how to make picks despite some stars opting-out of the games.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Minty Bets, sports betting analyst for Yahoo Sportsbook, joins Cheddar News to discuss same-game parlays and navigating this week's slate of NFL games despite the league-wide outbreak of COVID-19.
Sponsored by BetMGM
The sports world has been at the forefront of dealing with the pandemic ever since the NBA temporarily halted operations in March 2020 and opted to play in their Florida bubble. As the omicron variant and current COVID surge forces game postponements and player quarantines, how leagues manage to continue operations through the outbreaks could be a sign of what is to come for the general public. Dr. Robby Sikka, chair of the COVID Sports Society Workgroup and a former VP with the Minnesota Timberwolves, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the ways in which the NBA, NHL, and NFL are innovating amid the disruptions.
