Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (2 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Sports Media & Marketing Blog 8, Question 2 (April 5)
Has sports media
reached a tipping point in its reliance on traditional/legacy media? What
changes, if any, do you expect to see over the next 3 – 5 years?Limit:
15 responses
Erin Fennell PT 1 Before the readings, I was not too familiar with most aspects of sports media. However, from class I know that sports media has hit a wall. Streaming is the primary way people watch their shows, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Even awards show’s like the Oscars are being pushed to streaming because that is where the demand is. For sports media to succeed, and stay as popular as it has been, I think each league will need to create a streaming platform of its own. This idea is discussed in an article by the Athletic. According to the article, “The NFL is developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts, and team content. Teams were briefed on the development at the annual NFL owners’ meetings occurring in Palm Beach, Fla” (Kaplan, 2022). I believe that if each league, NFL, MLB, NBA, ect… were to switch to streaming, traditional media will finally reach a low point of no return. I also believe viewership in sport will rise even more, since people are already finding ways to stream sports legally, and illegally. A second example of how this shift is occurring is in the MLB. Apple TV has made a deal with the MBL to “carry a weekly doubleheader of games on Fridays, starting with the 2022 season — whenever that may begin” (Porter, 2022). The sports industry's shift to streaming was already underway in smaller sports such as soccer. According to a Bloomberg article, “MLS is in the early stages of selling its media rights, a process that is expected to wrap up in the first half of next year” (Shaw, 2021). Smaller sports like soccer are heading the shift, and now in much more popular sports like the NFL and MLB are switching, and I think the movement to streaming will take off much quicker than expected.
Over the next three to five years, I think this trend will continue, and lead to the end of traditional viewing as we know it. As I mentioned, award shows have started making the switch, and if sports do the same then what is left to be watched on traditional cable television? An article by The Hollywood Reporter states, “while bingeable series get most of the streaming-centered attention, it’s live sports that will determine how long legacy linear television can hold on to its viewers” (Gardner, 2021). The article continues, explaining that “after a June 17 Nielsen report showed streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube accounted for just 26 percent of total TV viewing time — while broadcast and cable dominated at 64 percent” (Gardner, 2021). Sports viewing made up most of this 64 percent, further emphasizing the point that without sports being solely shown on cable, the traditional viewing will change. Live viewing sports deals are what keep cable television afloat. I think since bigger leagues like the NFL and MLB have begun making the switch to streaming, other sports will follow, leaving linear viewing obsolete.
Gardner, E. (2021, August 5). How live sports is propping up broadcast and Cable. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/live-sports-broadcast-cable-1234982064/
Kaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own. The Athletic. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/
Porter, R. (2022, March 8). Apple enters sports arena with Major League Baseball Streaming deal. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 12). How Soccer Became Every Streaming Service’s Favorite Sport. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-12/mls-playoffs-set-up-the-league-for-a-big-payday-from-streaming-services?utm_medium=email&%3Butm_source=newsletter&%3Butm_term=211219&%3Butm_campaign=screentime
Personally, I am not a huge sports fan and do not watch sports regularly. I only mainly watch the big events like the super bowl or if my boyfriend makes me sit through a March madness game. But mostly every time that I have watched a sports game in college, it was streamed from a website. Back home, since we have cable, we would watch sports on linear television and not have to stream anything. But since everything is moving towards streaming and ditching linear television, I think we will see a decline in sports media with linear television. The sports industry, especially the NFL, noticed the decline of viewers in linear television so there was talk about creating a streaming service platform of their own. The Athletic states, “The NFL is developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts, and team content” (Kaplan, 2022). I think this is a great idea for NFL because of how many viewers tune in to NFL and ESPN via streaming. I don’t think they should fully cut out linear television because I do think they have a lot of older viewers who still watch but adding in a streaming service with all the same content will appeal to a younger audience. ESPN also secured the rights to the NHL. According to The Athletic, “When ESPN secured national rights to the NHL through the A package, it was designed as a symbiotic relationship for ESPN and the NHL” (Shapiro, 2022). On ESPN’s part, this was a good idea because now they can stream the NHL games on ESPN+ and generate more money and more viewers. They can also promote the NHL and their players through social media and other platforms to get their ratings up. In 3-5 years, I think the sports industry will solely rely on their streaming service. I also think that by them doing this, their linear television channel will be fading out as the streaming service era fades in. Having streaming services available to people who love sports, is a great idea because it will be more personalized. The Red Bee states, “Recognizing that all viewers aren’t alike, prompts the need to differentiate your output. Superfans might want detailed game highlights with all there is to see, while the casual fans might just want an overview” (Rodero, 2021). Most likely, their homepage will consist of sports teams, exclusive content, or even podcasts that are all customized to their liking because of what content they are consuming. This is a great way to connect with their audience and even superfans. No matter what content they are providing it needs to be great content and to be personalized in a way that can appeal to and connect with superfans and even normal everyday viewers.
Elisa Leone Part 2 Work Cited Kaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own. The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/ Shapiro, S. (2022, February 26). ESPN's NHL TV rights deal previews the future of American Sports Broadcasting Landscape. The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3130968/2022/02/26/espns-nhl-tv-rights-deal-previews-the-future-of-american-sports-broadcasting-landscape/ The Future of Sports Media: Personalized Content, interaction and new technology. Red Bee Media. (2021, June 10). Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.redbeemedia.com/blog/the-future-of-sports-media-personalized-content-interaction-and-new-technology/
Olivia Kettell 1/2 While every sports league seems to be taking a different approach to juggling streaming and live TV, it's clear that streaming services are now ravaging the sports world as well. For awhile, sports were thought to be unaffected by the streaming wars because they are one of the only things viewers still want to watch live. However, last year the NFL cut a massive $100 billion deal with 5 different media companies, effectively fragmenting the league across all kinds of viewing methods, subscriptions, and channels. Starting in 2023, ABC will now be in the mix for hosting a Super Bowl, Thursday Night Football moves from Fox to Amazon Prime, CBS and Fox will share Sunday Afternoon Football, NBC gets Sunday Night, and ESPN gets Monday Night. This appears to be incredibly confusing, however NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes that the deal will “bring an unprecedented era of stability to the league” (NFL Inks Rich New TV Deals…). With the NFL games consistently being the most popular and watched games on TV, it appears that traditional and legacy media need the NFL much more than the NFL needs them. The deals were really made to give these companies the time to prepare for a move away from live TV and to streaming completely, which is a great compromise for those who are still committing to the bundle approach. Now they have 11 years’ time to accommodate for the inevitable shift, which they believe to be streaming through a direct-to-consumer model (With $100B NFL Deal…).
The NFL’s strategy is expected to work in a way to benefit everyone. One particular irregularity with the deal is Amazon Prime’s exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football, making it the first tech company to obtain these rights. However, Amazon Prime has massive subscriber numbers, with over 100 million in the US, that the number both surpasses the number of households using pay-TV and amounts to more subscribers than Paramount+, ESPN+, and Peacock, combined (With 100B NFL Deal…). So, this venture is expected to do well. However, in the baseball world, fans are disappointed with the MLB’s partnership with Apple TV+ for two games every Friday night. The MLB has a much smaller audience, especially with younger viewers, and Apple TV+ is one of the smallest streaming services right now (Newman). But, much like football, MLB representatives believe that streaming will help the sport garner a younger audience and bring more success overall.
Olivia Kettell 2/2 For now, I believe that the following for some sports is so massive that fragmenting the coverage will not hurt it too much. However, I do agree that in the future streaming will become much more prevalent in general, yet sports streaming will be a unique case. For example, the NFL is considering its own streaming service to offer games directly to viewers instead of across all these platforms. The deal it made last year will greatly help it shift more into streaming, but it doesn’t necessarily have to rely on existing streaming services to do so (Winslow). Sinclair Broadcasting Group is also expected to announce their own sports streaming platform to roll out direct-to-consumer MLB, NHL, and NBA games within the next couple months (Newman). The DTC approach should be more popular in the future, for good reason, as this model is cheaper and simpler than bundling channels and offers consumers a wider range of games. In the next 3-5 years I think that games will be showing up more and more exclusively on streaming services, and potentially more services like Sinclair or the NFL could launch to make streaming more convenient.
Works Cited Newman, Jared. “Apple TV+ Will Make Streaming Sports Even More Annoying This Year.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.fastcompany.com/90729573/apple-tv-streaming-sports-mlb.
Weprin, Alex. “NFL Inks Rich New TV Deals with Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, Viacomcbs and Amazon.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nfl-new-tv-deals-abc-fox-nbc-cbs-amazon-4139552/.
Weprin, Alex. “With $100B NFL Deal, TV Networks Keep One Foot in the Bundle and Another in Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nfl-tv-streaming-analysis-4153564/.
Winslow, George. “Report: NFL Considering Its Own Streaming Service.” TVTechnology, TV Tech, 29 Mar. 2022, https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/report-nfl-considering-its-own-streaming-service.
Lachie Harvey PT.1 Sport is right on the precipice of being a thing of the past for typical broadcasting. This isn’t due to its reliance on the medium, in fact it is the exact opposite. Cable and other classic tv has very little going for it in today’s streaming platform age, so it is very dependent on the numbers that sport generates. When looking at Variety’s statistics about the highest viewed telecasts in 2021, three of the top 30 telecasts were not sport related. Every single other entry on the list was either an NFL game, an NCAA football or basketball game or the Summer Olympics. One of the three non-sports telecasts was a preview episode of a new show which aired directly after the Superbowl. Without these telecasts, cable would likely be finished. It also is being welcomed in with open arms by streaming services who are now fighting amongst themselves for the rights to major sports and events. A showcase of how successful sport can be on streaming can be seen by looking at the NBC service Peacock. Peacock recently acquired the rights to show the English Premier League, England’s largest soccer league and one of the most famous soccer leagues in the world. According to data from Bloomberg, this acquisition led to a fourfold increase in signups for the service. Another example comes from Paramount+. The service aired the UEFA Champions League and saw a threefold increase in signups. These are astronomical increases, especially considering that Soccer isn’t even close to the most popular sport available for viewership on media platforms.
Lachie Harvey PT.2 So what does the future hold for traditional broadcasting and televised sports? As I’ve already touched on, it doesn’t look great for traditional media. Once all sports are available on streaming services, and once the target audiences for these sports are aware of this, traditional television will become completely obsolete for them. I see the future being effectively monopolized by streaming. I think that the trends of acquiring sports rights will not only continue but they will get worse. I believe we will see advertising techniques similar to the current techniques that the College Football playoffs use. Looking over the bowl names listed on ESPN is almost sad. The names have changed from Rose Bowl and alike to names like “RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl”. Unfortunately, I think it is only a matter of time until the NBA finals turns into the “M&M Finals”. This will not be helped by the streaming service acquisitions. Companies owned by NBC, Disney, HBO and the other giants will emerge in names, shamelessly placed advertising campaigns and alike. The bigger these streaming platforms get, the easier it will be for them to implement these techniques into their marketing scheme and business models. And the more sports rights they acquire, the faster this process will go. I think that sports streaming is in for a vicious cycle for the foreseeable future.
ESPN Internet Ventures. (2022, January 5). College Football Bowl Game Schedule for 2021-22: Dates, times, matchups. ESPN. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/cfpbowls2021/college-football-bowl-game-schedule-2021-22-dates-s-matchups Schneider, M. (2022, February 4). Top 100 Telecasts of 2021: 'NCIS,' 'Yellowstone,' NFL Dominate, as Oscars Fail to Make the Cut. Variety. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/top-rated-shows-2021-ncis-yellowstone-squid-game-1235143671/ Shaw, L. (2021, December 12). How Soccer Became Every Streaming Service’s Favorite Sport. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-12/mls-playoffs-set-up-the-league-for-a-big-payday-from-streaming-services?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=211219&utm_campaign=screentime
Before any of the readings, I would have said that the reliance on traditional/legacy media likely isn’t a problem because I know traditional sports (NFL, MLB, etc.) generally have an older viewer demographic that may not see social media or be interested in streaming in the same way the younger demographic would or is.
However, even while writing that, I realized that that might be the problem. Compared to 69% of millennials, only 53% of Gen Zers identify as sports fans, and they seem to have much less of an appetite for traditional sports (Silverman). Since this generation didn’t grow up with it in the same way that millennials and older did, and the leagues are still heavily relying on traditional media, it makes sense that sports programming, in general, is starting to lose a younger fan base. Some outlets, like the NHL, are beginning to educate their players on how to effectively brand themselves on social media for this exact reason (Silverman).
Even so, I don’t think sports media has reached the tipping point just yet; the NFL still holds 39 out of 100 spots for the top telecasts of the year in 2021, making it the most popular show on TV by far, and that does not seem likely to change in 2022 (Schneider, Zorrilla). So sports media likely has a few years to be behind the rest of the media, rely on their traditional media model, and figure out their next step to keep fans around and hopefully garner new ones.
And they definitely are trying. The NFL has set itself up to keep the networks around in the cable sense while allowing slightly more access through streaming. Apple is now in a deal with the MLB to carry some of their games for the 2022 season, making it the streaming service’s first time dipping into live sports. ESPN relies on sports figures they hope younger, and older generations like to get viewers interested in talking sports. The NFL is even creating a streaming service of their own to host all of their live sports content and changing how they do things. According to Kaplan, “The NFL has three major media deals percolating: finding a replacement for its mobile streaming; a replacement for Sunday Ticket, which has one more year remaining on DirecTV; and potentially selling a stake in NFL Media, which includes NFL Network and NFL.com,” showing that they know the tipping point is coming.
As all sports media continues, they will have to find a way not only to keep people watching the games but also interested in the players. Gone are the days when you watched someone on TV and didn’t care if you knew anything else about them; we have too much technology at our fingertips for that. So within the next few years, I would expect a massive shift in how traditional sports approach the world.
Kaplan, Daniel. “NFL Considers Creating a Streaming Service of Its Own.” The Athletic, The Athletic, 28 Mar. 2022, https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/. Schneider, Michael. “Top 100 Telecasts of 2021: 'NCIS,' 'Yellowstone,' NFL Dominate, as Oscars Fail to Make the Cut.” Variety, Variety, 4 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/top-rated-shows-2021-ncis-yellowstone-squid-game-1235143671/. Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.
Within the last two years, consumers may have noticed more streaming options to view their sports. For example, the MLB has partnered with Apple TV+, (Porter, 2021) or ESPN+ and Hulu as Disney’s break into streaming sports, (Shapiro, 2022). This trend becomes even more apparent with whispers of the NFL “developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts and team content,” (Kaplan, 2022). With this obvious move toward streaming in sports, what does this mean for traditional media’s relationship with sports? If we were to look at the partnership between ESPN and the NHL it is clear that there is a push to go further into streaming while having traditional broadcasts. According to Shaprio, “ESPN, and its parent company Disney, are betting big on the future of streaming and trying to become the behemoth in the market across multiple platforms with Disney+ and Hulu, (2022). Although less games are available on traditional TV, Shapiro writes the ratings are up for NHL viewership on ESPN and TNT, the other TV partner, (2022). Nevertheless, it is safe to say that in the next few years, we will see streaming services, such as Apple TV+, Hulu, ESPN+, etc. will be the dominant viewing choice for sports fans. The track that many sports associations and media companies are heading toward, a.k.a going into streaming and creating interactive media, will benefit them in the future according to recent research. The Morning Consult released data surrounding Gen Z and sports in 2020. Gen Z being the generation born between 1997 and 2012, so the current 10 to 24 year olds of our world. In their research, they found that only 53% of Gen Zers identify as sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials, (Silverman, 2020), a radical shift downward. However, Gen Zers appear to be more interested in esports and the gamification of sports, which is no surprise as this generation is the most tech savvy and long for engagement in all aspects of their media consumption. Zach Leonsis, senior vice president of strategic initiative at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, agrees with this and says, “Sports properties need to make sure that their games are digestible and available via streaming products. They need to make their games engaging by fostering gamification, daily fantasy, free-to-play games, and sports betting,” (Silverman, 2020). These interactive and engaging aspects would surely boost Gen Z’s interest in the sports industry. With communication professionals such as Leonsis suggesting these changes, Forbes predicts the sports technology market to reach $31.1 billion by 2024, (Ganjoo, 2021). This will largely be due to the fact that franchises and sports media companies will be focusing on building virtual fan experience, as suggested by Leonsis, in hopes to “blur the line between an in-stadium game experience and an at-home experience by providing the engagement that sports fans love vai enhanced digital tools, (Ganjoo, 2021). Overall, we can expect to see most sports fans use streaming services to view games within the next few years. These streaming services may consist of the current giants as mentioned earlier, or league-owned platforms such as the NFL plans to do. This will lead to the split away from traditional TV. Interactive media and fan engagement is in the position to become the key to success in the sports media industry as Gen Zers are more likely to interact with sports via digital tech and sports fans are looking to make sports a more immersive experience.
Ganjoo, A. (2021, September 2). Extrapolating The Future Of Sports: Why Immersive Experience Will Be The Game Changer. Forbes; Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/02/extrapolating-the-future-of-sports-why-immersive-experience-will-be-the-game-changer/?sh=3e394f775a9d Kaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own – The Athletic. The Athletic; The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/ Porter, R. (2022, March 8). Apple TV+ to Stream Major League Baseball Games – The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter; The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/ Shapiro, S. (2022, February 26). ESPN’s NHL TV rights deal previews the future of American sports broadcasting landscape – The Athletic. The Athletic; The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/3130968/2022/02/26/espns-nhl-tv-rights-deal-previews-the-future-of-american-sports-broadcasting-landscape/ Silverman, A. (2020, September 28). The Sports Industry’s Gen Z Problem: Fewer Fans, Lower Viewership. Morning Consult; https://www.facebook.com/MorningConsult/. https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/
Traditional and legacy media are what the sports media industry has relied on for decades to get programming out, which has helped sports teams and leagues build an audience and cult following. However, like many forms of media nowadays, it does appear that traditional media will not continue to be relied on in the future of sports. Because the way we watch television as a society has begun to shift so rapidly in recent years, it is unlikely that sports will not follow and fully commit to streaming. Although sports media has traditionally relied on legacy media, the transition to streaming has started and shows no signs of slowing down.
The NHL has not yet made a complete transition to streaming and can still be accessed with a cable package. However, with cable, there is a limit to what games can be watched. With streaming services like NHL Live, ESPN+, and Hulu live, (Streamlocator) there is a plethora of games available for viewing, which may be more enticing and better priced for hockey fans. With cable, it is mostly catered to an older established audience that is not interested in accessing more than they need and is comfortable using cable instead of paying for multiple streaming services to access all the programming they are interested in watching. Younger generations are more likely to make the switch to streaming to watch sports, but those that are in the 60+ age demographic, it is less likely for them to switch to streaming, so keeping cable around to retain that market could be important for sports media.
Annie Morrison pt. 2 However, only “53% of Gen Z identify as sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials,” (Silverman, 2020) sports media needs to find new ways to engage with a younger audience. Because the younger generation is more likely to be interested in esports than the NHL (Silverman, 2020) Relying on legacy media will not create a viewing environment that draws in the younger generation. By investing and moving towards streaming, the NHL can take new angles on presentation and engagement with the audience and potentially draw a new and younger generation in in a way that has not been seen in sports media before.
Over the next 3-5 years it is highly probable that the sports media industry will make drastic changes and heavily lean towards streaming and work on leveraging a younger and more diverse audience. I believe we will see a decline in reliance on cable networks, and potentially even the end of cable networks and traditional sports media in the next five years. I can see streaming services adding interactive components to potentially engage with a younger audience and even create new brand deals to become more relatable to a younger niche audience.
Although the future of sports media is streaming, it will be interesting to see how it is done and what the future will hold and look like. It will change the face of sports media and streaming, hopefully for the better.
The best streaming services for watching NHL Hockey. Streamlocator. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.streamlocator.com/articles/best-streaming-services-for-watching-nhl-hockey
Silverman, A. (2020, September 29). The sports industry's Gen z problem. Morning Consult. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/
The sports industry has generally followed the wave of the latest media trends over the course of the last century. Games were originally broadcast on the radio, before adopting television as the more popular means of transmission as it did around the country during the 1950s and 1960s. Media innovations were largely stagnant until the mid-to-late 2000s when social media and streaming took over the landscape. Notably, the various sports leagues in North America have been faced with the issue of trying to adapt to this new world and maintaining the attention of the younger generation of fans. This has been an issue for some leagues more than others, but reeling in Generation X remains at the top of the list across the board. According to research done in 2020, polling “found that Gen Zers currently between ages 13 and 23 are less likely than the general population to identify as sports fans. Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 Gen Zers surveyed considered themselves sports fans, compared with 63 percent of U.S. adults and 69 percent of millennials in a subsequent survey” (Silverman). If these trends continue, traditional sports will be in grave danger of losing a major part of their audience within 15-25 years.
Speaking from experience, young people today like to consume media that doesn’t require long attention spans. This has altered viewing habits, so “instead of watching a live sporting event, where real action isn’t occurring 90% of the time (think NFL & MLB), younger fans have continued to feed their underdeveloped attention span with shorter highlight style moments — hence the rise in popularity of platforms like House of Highlights, Overtime, and The Score” (Pompliano). I expect sports leagues to continue investing into bite-sized content, whether that’s a social media feed that can be navigated with the ease and control of a TikTok or Instagram or more accessible highlights. Banking your strategy on teenagers sitting down and focusing intently on a three-hour game is foolish, especially when it’s a sport like baseball that has been criticized for moving at a snail’s pace. At least basketball and hockey have the advantage of natural fast-paced excitement.
That doesn’t mean full games are to be completely abandoned (obviously, the highlights can’t happen without the full games). Streaming is entering the sports media arena just as much as it is in the entertainment world. After Peacock has had success with broadcasting English Premier League soccer games exclusively on its service and Thursday Night Football has moved to Amazon Prime, Major League Baseball will be experimenting with streaming select games on Apple TV+ this season. MLB is targeting an international market as well, as “games will be available to Apple TV+ users in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom,” (Porter). As we’ve seen time and again, the draw of being able to watch whatever you want *wherever* you want has been key in getting eyeballs on all of these new streaming services.
Works Cited Pompliano, Joseph. “The Internet Killed Our Attention Span, Wrecking the Sports Distribution Model in the Process.”, Huddle Up, 30 Sept. 2020, https://huddleup.substack.com/p/the-internet-killed-our-attention.
Porter, Rick. “Apple Enters Sports Arena with Major League Baseball Streaming Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2022, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/.
Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.
Erin Fennell
ReplyDeletePT 1
Before the readings, I was not too familiar with most aspects of sports media. However, from class I know that sports media has hit a wall. Streaming is the primary way people watch their shows, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Even awards show’s like the Oscars are being pushed to streaming because that is where the demand is. For sports media to succeed, and stay as popular as it has been, I think each league will need to create a streaming platform of its own. This idea is discussed in an article by the Athletic. According to the article, “The NFL is developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts, and team content. Teams were briefed on the development at the annual NFL owners’ meetings occurring in Palm Beach, Fla” (Kaplan, 2022). I believe that if each league, NFL, MLB, NBA, ect… were to switch to streaming, traditional media will finally reach a low point of no return. I also believe viewership in sport will rise even more, since people are already finding ways to stream sports legally, and illegally. A second example of how this shift is occurring is in the MLB. Apple TV has made a deal with the MBL to “carry a weekly doubleheader of games on Fridays, starting with the 2022 season — whenever that may begin” (Porter, 2022). The sports industry's shift to streaming was already underway in smaller sports such as soccer. According to a Bloomberg article, “MLS is in the early stages of selling its media rights, a process that is expected to wrap up in the first half of next year” (Shaw, 2021). Smaller sports like soccer are heading the shift, and now in much more popular sports like the NFL and MLB are switching, and I think the movement to streaming will take off much quicker than expected.
Over the next three to five years, I think this trend will continue, and lead to the end of traditional viewing as we know it. As I mentioned, award shows have started making the switch, and if sports do the same then what is left to be watched on traditional cable television? An article by The Hollywood Reporter states, “while bingeable series get most of the streaming-centered attention, it’s live sports that will determine how long legacy linear television can hold on to its viewers” (Gardner, 2021). The article continues, explaining that “after a June 17 Nielsen report showed streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube accounted for just 26 percent of total TV viewing time — while broadcast and cable dominated at 64 percent” (Gardner, 2021). Sports viewing made up most of this 64 percent, further emphasizing the point that without sports being solely shown on cable, the traditional viewing will change. Live viewing sports deals are what keep cable television afloat. I think since bigger leagues like the NFL and MLB have begun making the switch to streaming, other sports will follow, leaving linear viewing obsolete.
Erin Fennell
DeletePT 2
Work cited
Gardner, E. (2021, August 5). How live sports is propping up broadcast and Cable. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/live-sports-broadcast-cable-1234982064/
Kaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own. The Athletic. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/
Porter, R. (2022, March 8). Apple enters sports arena with Major League Baseball Streaming deal. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 12). How Soccer Became Every Streaming Service’s Favorite Sport. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-12/mls-playoffs-set-up-the-league-for-a-big-payday-from-streaming-services?utm_medium=email&%3Butm_source=newsletter&%3Butm_term=211219&%3Butm_campaign=screentime
Elisa Leone
ReplyDeletePart 1
Personally, I am not a huge sports fan and do not watch sports regularly. I only mainly watch the big events like the super bowl or if my boyfriend makes me sit through a March madness game. But mostly every time that I have watched a sports game in college, it was streamed from a website. Back home, since we have cable, we would watch sports on linear television and not have to stream anything. But since everything is moving towards streaming and ditching linear television, I think we will see a decline in sports media with linear television. The sports industry, especially the NFL, noticed the decline of viewers in linear television so there was talk about creating a streaming service platform of their own. The Athletic states, “The NFL is developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts, and team content” (Kaplan, 2022). I think this is a great idea for NFL because of how many viewers tune in to NFL and ESPN via streaming. I don’t think they should fully cut out linear television because I do think they have a lot of older viewers who still watch but adding in a streaming service with all the same content will appeal to a younger audience. ESPN also secured the rights to the NHL. According to The Athletic, “When ESPN secured national rights to the NHL through the A package, it was designed as a symbiotic relationship for ESPN and the NHL” (Shapiro, 2022). On ESPN’s part, this was a good idea because now they can stream the NHL games on ESPN+ and generate more money and more viewers. They can also promote the NHL and their players through social media and other platforms to get their ratings up.
In 3-5 years, I think the sports industry will solely rely on their streaming service. I also think that by them doing this, their linear television channel will be fading out as the streaming service era fades in. Having streaming services available to people who love sports, is a great idea because it will be more personalized. The Red Bee states, “Recognizing that all viewers aren’t alike, prompts the need to differentiate your output. Superfans might want detailed game highlights with all there is to see, while the casual fans might just want an overview” (Rodero, 2021). Most likely, their homepage will consist of sports teams, exclusive content, or even podcasts that are all customized to their liking because of what content they are consuming. This is a great way to connect with their audience and even superfans. No matter what content they are providing it needs to be great content and to be personalized in a way that can appeal to and connect with superfans and even normal everyday viewers.
Elisa Leone
DeletePart 2
Work Cited
Kaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own. The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/
Shapiro, S. (2022, February 26). ESPN's NHL TV rights deal previews the future of American Sports Broadcasting Landscape. The Athletic. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://theathletic.com/3130968/2022/02/26/espns-nhl-tv-rights-deal-previews-the-future-of-american-sports-broadcasting-landscape/
The Future of Sports Media: Personalized Content, interaction and new technology. Red Bee Media. (2021, June 10). Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.redbeemedia.com/blog/the-future-of-sports-media-personalized-content-interaction-and-new-technology/
Olivia Kettell 1/2
ReplyDeleteWhile every sports league seems to be taking a different approach to juggling streaming and live TV, it's clear that streaming services are now ravaging the sports world as well. For awhile, sports were thought to be unaffected by the streaming wars because they are one of the only things viewers still want to watch live. However, last year the NFL cut a massive $100 billion deal with 5 different media companies, effectively fragmenting the league across all kinds of viewing methods, subscriptions, and channels. Starting in 2023, ABC will now be in the mix for hosting a Super Bowl, Thursday Night Football moves from Fox to Amazon Prime, CBS and Fox will share Sunday Afternoon Football, NBC gets Sunday Night, and ESPN gets Monday Night. This appears to be incredibly confusing, however NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes that the deal will “bring an unprecedented era of stability to the league” (NFL Inks Rich New TV Deals…). With the NFL games consistently being the most popular and watched games on TV, it appears that traditional and legacy media need the NFL much more than the NFL needs them. The deals were really made to give these companies the time to prepare for a move away from live TV and to streaming completely, which is a great compromise for those who are still committing to the bundle approach. Now they have 11 years’ time to accommodate for the inevitable shift, which they believe to be streaming through a direct-to-consumer model (With $100B NFL Deal…).
The NFL’s strategy is expected to work in a way to benefit everyone. One particular irregularity with the deal is Amazon Prime’s exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football, making it the first tech company to obtain these rights. However, Amazon Prime has massive subscriber numbers, with over 100 million in the US, that the number both surpasses the number of households using pay-TV and amounts to more subscribers than Paramount+, ESPN+, and Peacock, combined (With 100B NFL Deal…). So, this venture is expected to do well. However, in the baseball world, fans are disappointed with the MLB’s partnership with Apple TV+ for two games every Friday night. The MLB has a much smaller audience, especially with younger viewers, and Apple TV+ is one of the smallest streaming services right now (Newman). But, much like football, MLB representatives believe that streaming will help the sport garner a younger audience and bring more success overall.
Olivia Kettell 2/2
DeleteFor now, I believe that the following for some sports is so massive that fragmenting the coverage will not hurt it too much. However, I do agree that in the future streaming will become much more prevalent in general, yet sports streaming will be a unique case. For example, the NFL is considering its own streaming service to offer games directly to viewers instead of across all these platforms. The deal it made last year will greatly help it shift more into streaming, but it doesn’t necessarily have to rely on existing streaming services to do so (Winslow). Sinclair Broadcasting Group is also expected to announce their own sports streaming platform to roll out direct-to-consumer MLB, NHL, and NBA games within the next couple months (Newman). The DTC approach should be more popular in the future, for good reason, as this model is cheaper and simpler than bundling channels and offers consumers a wider range of games. In the next 3-5 years I think that games will be showing up more and more exclusively on streaming services, and potentially more services like Sinclair or the NFL could launch to make streaming more convenient.
Works Cited
Newman, Jared. “Apple TV+ Will Make Streaming Sports Even More Annoying This Year.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.fastcompany.com/90729573/apple-tv-streaming-sports-mlb.
Weprin, Alex. “NFL Inks Rich New TV Deals with Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, Viacomcbs and Amazon.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/nfl-new-tv-deals-abc-fox-nbc-cbs-amazon-4139552/.
Weprin, Alex. “With $100B NFL Deal, TV Networks Keep One Foot in the Bundle and Another in Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nfl-tv-streaming-analysis-4153564/.
Winslow, George. “Report: NFL Considering Its Own Streaming Service.” TVTechnology, TV Tech, 29 Mar. 2022, https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/report-nfl-considering-its-own-streaming-service.
Lachie Harvey
ReplyDeletePT.1
Sport is right on the precipice of being a thing of the past for typical broadcasting. This isn’t due to its reliance on the medium, in fact it is the exact opposite. Cable and other classic tv has very little going for it in today’s streaming platform age, so it is very dependent on the numbers that sport generates. When looking at Variety’s statistics about the highest viewed telecasts in 2021, three of the top 30 telecasts were not sport related. Every single other entry on the list was either an NFL game, an NCAA football or basketball game or the Summer Olympics. One of the three non-sports telecasts was a preview episode of a new show which aired directly after the Superbowl. Without these telecasts, cable would likely be finished. It also is being welcomed in with open arms by streaming services who are now fighting amongst themselves for the rights to major sports and events. A showcase of how successful sport can be on streaming can be seen by looking at the NBC service Peacock. Peacock recently acquired the rights to show the English Premier League, England’s largest soccer league and one of the most famous soccer leagues in the world. According to data from Bloomberg, this acquisition led to a fourfold increase in signups for the service. Another example comes from Paramount+. The service aired the UEFA Champions League and saw a threefold increase in signups. These are astronomical increases, especially considering that Soccer isn’t even close to the most popular sport available for viewership on media platforms.
Lachie Harvey
DeletePT.2
So what does the future hold for traditional broadcasting and televised sports? As I’ve already touched on, it doesn’t look great for traditional media. Once all sports are available on streaming services, and once the target audiences for these sports are aware of this, traditional television will become completely obsolete for them. I see the future being effectively monopolized by streaming. I think that the trends of acquiring sports rights will not only continue but they will get worse. I believe we will see advertising techniques similar to the current techniques that the College Football playoffs use. Looking over the bowl names listed on ESPN is almost sad. The names have changed from Rose Bowl and alike to names like “RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl”. Unfortunately, I think it is only a matter of time until the NBA finals turns into the “M&M Finals”. This will not be helped by the streaming service acquisitions. Companies owned by NBC, Disney, HBO and the other giants will emerge in names, shamelessly placed advertising campaigns and alike. The bigger these streaming platforms get, the easier it will be for them to implement these techniques into their marketing scheme and business models. And the more sports rights they acquire, the faster this process will go. I think that sports streaming is in for a vicious cycle for the foreseeable future.
ESPN Internet Ventures. (2022, January 5). College Football Bowl Game Schedule for 2021-22: Dates, times, matchups. ESPN. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/cfpbowls2021/college-football-bowl-game-schedule-2021-22-dates-s-matchups
Schneider, M. (2022, February 4). Top 100 Telecasts of 2021: 'NCIS,' 'Yellowstone,' NFL Dominate, as Oscars Fail to Make the Cut. Variety. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/top-rated-shows-2021-ncis-yellowstone-squid-game-1235143671/
Shaw, L. (2021, December 12). How Soccer Became Every Streaming Service’s Favorite Sport. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2021-12-12/mls-playoffs-set-up-the-league-for-a-big-payday-from-streaming-services?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=211219&utm_campaign=screentime
Corinna Caimi (1/2)
ReplyDeleteBefore any of the readings, I would have said that the reliance on traditional/legacy media likely isn’t a problem because I know traditional sports (NFL, MLB, etc.) generally have an older viewer demographic that may not see social media or be interested in streaming in the same way the younger demographic would or is.
However, even while writing that, I realized that that might be the problem. Compared to 69% of millennials, only 53% of Gen Zers identify as sports fans, and they seem to have much less of an appetite for traditional sports (Silverman). Since this generation didn’t grow up with it in the same way that millennials and older did, and the leagues are still heavily relying on traditional media, it makes sense that sports programming, in general, is starting to lose a younger fan base. Some outlets, like the NHL, are beginning to educate their players on how to effectively brand themselves on social media for this exact reason (Silverman).
Even so, I don’t think sports media has reached the tipping point just yet; the NFL still holds 39 out of 100 spots for the top telecasts of the year in 2021, making it the most popular show on TV by far, and that does not seem likely to change in 2022 (Schneider, Zorrilla). So sports media likely has a few years to be behind the rest of the media, rely on their traditional media model, and figure out their next step to keep fans around and hopefully garner new ones.
And they definitely are trying. The NFL has set itself up to keep the networks around in the cable sense while allowing slightly more access through streaming. Apple is now in a deal with the MLB to carry some of their games for the 2022 season, making it the streaming service’s first time dipping into live sports. ESPN relies on sports figures they hope younger, and older generations like to get viewers interested in talking sports. The NFL is even creating a streaming service of their own to host all of their live sports content and changing how they do things. According to Kaplan, “The NFL has three major media deals percolating: finding a replacement for its mobile streaming; a replacement for Sunday Ticket, which has one more year remaining on DirecTV; and potentially selling a stake in NFL Media, which includes NFL Network and NFL.com,” showing that they know the tipping point is coming.
As all sports media continues, they will have to find a way not only to keep people watching the games but also interested in the players. Gone are the days when you watched someone on TV and didn’t care if you knew anything else about them; we have too much technology at our fingertips for that. So within the next few years, I would expect a massive shift in how traditional sports approach the world.
Corinna Caimi (2/2)
ReplyDeleteKaplan, Daniel. “NFL Considers Creating a Streaming Service of Its Own.” The Athletic, The Athletic, 28 Mar. 2022, https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/.
Schneider, Michael. “Top 100 Telecasts of 2021: 'NCIS,' 'Yellowstone,' NFL Dominate, as Oscars Fail to Make the Cut.” Variety, Variety, 4 Feb. 2022, https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/top-rated-shows-2021-ncis-yellowstone-squid-game-1235143671/.
Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.
Jennifer Greene
ReplyDeleteWithin the last two years, consumers may have noticed more streaming options to view their sports. For example, the MLB has partnered with Apple TV+, (Porter, 2021) or ESPN+ and Hulu as Disney’s break into streaming sports, (Shapiro, 2022). This trend becomes even more apparent with whispers of the NFL “developing a subscription streaming service that would include games, radio, podcasts and team content,” (Kaplan, 2022). With this obvious move toward streaming in sports, what does this mean for traditional media’s relationship with sports? If we were to look at the partnership between ESPN and the NHL it is clear that there is a push to go further into streaming while having traditional broadcasts. According to Shaprio, “ESPN, and its parent company Disney, are betting big on the future of streaming and trying to become the behemoth in the market across multiple platforms with Disney+ and Hulu, (2022). Although less games are available on traditional TV, Shapiro writes the ratings are up for NHL viewership on ESPN and TNT, the other TV partner, (2022). Nevertheless, it is safe to say that in the next few years, we will see streaming services, such as Apple TV+, Hulu, ESPN+, etc. will be the dominant viewing choice for sports fans.
The track that many sports associations and media companies are heading toward, a.k.a going into streaming and creating interactive media, will benefit them in the future according to recent research. The Morning Consult released data surrounding Gen Z and sports in 2020. Gen Z being the generation born between 1997 and 2012, so the current 10 to 24 year olds of our world. In their research, they found that only 53% of Gen Zers identify as sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials, (Silverman, 2020), a radical shift downward. However, Gen Zers appear to be more interested in esports and the gamification of sports, which is no surprise as this generation is the most tech savvy and long for engagement in all aspects of their media consumption. Zach Leonsis, senior vice president of strategic initiative at Monumental Sports and Entertainment, agrees with this and says, “Sports properties need to make sure that their games are digestible and available via streaming products. They need to make their games engaging by fostering gamification, daily fantasy, free-to-play games, and sports betting,” (Silverman, 2020). These interactive and engaging aspects would surely boost Gen Z’s interest in the sports industry. With communication professionals such as Leonsis suggesting these changes, Forbes predicts the sports technology market to reach $31.1 billion by 2024, (Ganjoo, 2021). This will largely be due to the fact that franchises and sports media companies will be focusing on building virtual fan experience, as suggested by Leonsis, in hopes to “blur the line between an in-stadium game experience and an at-home experience by providing the engagement that sports fans love vai enhanced digital tools, (Ganjoo, 2021).
Overall, we can expect to see most sports fans use streaming services to view games within the next few years. These streaming services may consist of the current giants as mentioned earlier, or league-owned platforms such as the NFL plans to do. This will lead to the split away from traditional TV. Interactive media and fan engagement is in the position to become the key to success in the sports media industry as Gen Zers are more likely to interact with sports via digital tech and sports fans are looking to make sports a more immersive experience.
Ganjoo, A. (2021, September 2). Extrapolating The Future Of Sports: Why Immersive Experience Will Be The Game Changer. Forbes; Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/02/extrapolating-the-future-of-sports-why-immersive-experience-will-be-the-game-changer/?sh=3e394f775a9d
DeleteKaplan, D. (2022, March 28). NFL considers creating a streaming service of its own – The Athletic. The Athletic; The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/3213873/2022/03/28/nfl-considers-creating-a-streaming-service-of-its-own/
Porter, R. (2022, March 8). Apple TV+ to Stream Major League Baseball Games – The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter; The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/
Shapiro, S. (2022, February 26). ESPN’s NHL TV rights deal previews the future of American sports broadcasting landscape – The Athletic. The Athletic; The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/3130968/2022/02/26/espns-nhl-tv-rights-deal-previews-the-future-of-american-sports-broadcasting-landscape/
Silverman, A. (2020, September 28). The Sports Industry’s Gen Z Problem: Fewer Fans, Lower Viewership. Morning Consult; https://www.facebook.com/MorningConsult/. https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/
Annie Morrison
ReplyDeleteTraditional and legacy media are what the sports media industry has relied on for decades to get programming out, which has helped sports teams and leagues build an audience and cult following. However, like many forms of media nowadays, it does appear that traditional media will not continue to be relied on in the future of sports. Because the way we watch television as a society has begun to shift so rapidly in recent years, it is unlikely that sports will not follow and fully commit to streaming. Although sports media has traditionally relied on legacy media, the transition to streaming has started and shows no signs of slowing down.
The NHL has not yet made a complete transition to streaming and can still be accessed with a cable package. However, with cable, there is a limit to what games can be watched. With streaming services like NHL Live, ESPN+, and Hulu live, (Streamlocator) there is a plethora of games available for viewing, which may be more enticing and better priced for hockey fans. With cable, it is mostly catered to an older established audience that is not interested in accessing more than they need and is comfortable using cable instead of paying for multiple streaming services to access all the programming they are interested in watching. Younger generations are more likely to make the switch to streaming to watch sports, but those that are in the 60+ age demographic, it is less likely for them to switch to streaming, so keeping cable around to retain that market could be important for sports media.
Annie Morrison pt. 2
ReplyDeleteHowever, only “53% of Gen Z identify as sports fans, compared to 63% of all adults and 69% of millennials,” (Silverman, 2020) sports media needs to find new ways to engage with a younger audience. Because the younger generation is more likely to be interested in esports than the NHL (Silverman, 2020) Relying on legacy media will not create a viewing environment that draws in the younger generation. By investing and moving towards streaming, the NHL can take new angles on presentation and engagement with the audience and potentially draw a new and younger generation in in a way that has not been seen in sports media before.
Over the next 3-5 years it is highly probable that the sports media industry will make drastic changes and heavily lean towards streaming and work on leveraging a younger and more diverse audience. I believe we will see a decline in reliance on cable networks, and potentially even the end of cable networks and traditional sports media in the next five years. I can see streaming services adding interactive components to potentially engage with a younger audience and even create new brand deals to become more relatable to a younger niche audience.
Although the future of sports media is streaming, it will be interesting to see how it is done and what the future will hold and look like. It will change the face of sports media and streaming, hopefully for the better.
The best streaming services for watching NHL Hockey. Streamlocator. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.streamlocator.com/articles/best-streaming-services-for-watching-nhl-hockey
Silverman, A. (2020, September 29). The sports industry's Gen z problem. Morning Consult. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/
Jacob Resnick
ReplyDeleteMSS 495
Blog 8
The sports industry has generally followed the wave of the latest media trends over the course of the last century. Games were originally broadcast on the radio, before adopting television as the more popular means of transmission as it did around the country during the 1950s and 1960s. Media innovations were largely stagnant until the mid-to-late 2000s when social media and streaming took over the landscape. Notably, the various sports leagues in North America have been faced with the issue of trying to adapt to this new world and maintaining the attention of the younger generation of fans. This has been an issue for some leagues more than others, but reeling in Generation X remains at the top of the list across the board. According to research done in 2020, polling “found that Gen Zers currently between ages 13 and 23 are less likely than the general population to identify as sports fans. Fifty-three percent of the 1,000 Gen Zers surveyed considered themselves sports fans, compared with 63 percent of U.S. adults and 69 percent of millennials in a subsequent survey” (Silverman). If these trends continue, traditional sports will be in grave danger of losing a major part of their audience within 15-25 years.
Speaking from experience, young people today like to consume media that doesn’t require long attention spans. This has altered viewing habits, so “instead of watching a live sporting event, where real action isn’t occurring 90% of the time (think NFL & MLB), younger fans have continued to feed their underdeveloped attention span with shorter highlight style moments — hence the rise in popularity of platforms like House of Highlights, Overtime, and The Score” (Pompliano). I expect sports leagues to continue investing into bite-sized content, whether that’s a social media feed that can be navigated with the ease and control of a TikTok or Instagram or more accessible highlights. Banking your strategy on teenagers sitting down and focusing intently on a three-hour game is foolish, especially when it’s a sport like baseball that has been criticized for moving at a snail’s pace. At least basketball and hockey have the advantage of natural fast-paced excitement.
That doesn’t mean full games are to be completely abandoned (obviously, the highlights can’t happen without the full games). Streaming is entering the sports media arena just as much as it is in the entertainment world. After Peacock has had success with broadcasting English Premier League soccer games exclusively on its service and Thursday Night Football has moved to Amazon Prime, Major League Baseball will be experimenting with streaming select games on Apple TV+ this season. MLB is targeting an international market as well, as “games will be available to Apple TV+ users in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom,” (Porter). As we’ve seen time and again, the draw of being able to watch whatever you want *wherever* you want has been key in getting eyeballs on all of these new streaming services.
DeleteWorks Cited
Pompliano, Joseph. “The Internet Killed Our Attention Span, Wrecking the Sports Distribution Model in the Process.”, Huddle Up, 30 Sept. 2020, https://huddleup.substack.com/p/the-internet-killed-our-attention.
Porter, Rick. “Apple Enters Sports Arena with Major League Baseball Streaming Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2022, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/apple-major-league-baseball-streaming-1235106716/.
Silverman, Alex. “The Sports Industry's Gen z Problem.” Morning Consult, 29 Sept. 2020, https://morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom/.