MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
Only 53 percent of Generation Z (born 1995-2010) identify as sports fans. This compares to 69 percent of Generation X (1965-1981) and 63 percent of the overall adult population, according to a 2020 Morning Consult poll cited by panelists at today’s Sloan gathering. And 39 percent of Zoomers say they never watch sports on television. Right off the bat, of course, these data most certainly vary by sport. Basketball’s gains are likely baseball’s losses, for example. As games get longer, too, many Gen Z’s say they don’t watch live telecasts and prefer to digest highlights from their devices and at their convenience. These are serious diagnostics for the multibillion dollar sports and media sectors.
Folks like Matt “NaDeSHoT” Hagg, CEO of esports company 100 Thieves and former professional Call of Duty player joined Christine Wixted, Twitter’s Global Content Partnerships Manager, and Blake Stuchin, the NFL’s VP of Digital Media Business Development and others to consider how best to attract young people to sports and retain their interest, fan loyalties, and money. Panelists urged that leagues and teams provide greater accessibility to athletes’ lives, helping fans learn more about the players on a personal level, for example, by sharing in their gaming and esports experiences. “It’s all about players being fully formed on social (media),” one of the panelists said. Ugh!
It’s “Back to the Future,” however, since this was Roone Arledge and ABC Sports’ “Up Close and Personal” impetus 50 years ago. Besides, at the risk of sounding old, a little of this goes a long way. There are many of us – and yes, maybe it’s largely Boomers and some Gen X folks – who don’t need to be distracted with content of dubious value. Of course, today’s panelists would rightly say that they are far less interested in Boomers like me, anyway.
The group also called for, and is living proof of, being more creative before, during, and after games and broadcasts, largely on Twitch, TikTok, Twitter, and nontraditional broadcast platforms. Many fans don’t need or want ever-heightening snark, silliness, and outrageousness designed to encourage social media interaction. That said, I confess to enjoying the social-media-fueled Nickelodeon-CBS broadcast of an NFL Wild Card game in January. It was clever, not stupid. It’s fun to learn, as well, that the most searched terms during the broadcast were “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “green slime.” Now that's a sports partnership.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com.