Remixing Sports Broadcasts
Broadcasting sports on TV is big business. The NFL signed a 9 year $39.6 billion TV contract through 2022. The NBA extended their contract with ESPN and TNT through 2025 for $24 billion. And yet Millennials are moving away from traditional TV to consume sports content. According to The Whistle Sports Network, a digital media company, and Navigate Research, there has been a 16 percent decline in viewing of live sports for children from ages 6-17 in recent years.
New content is breaking through in place of established leagues at a much lower cost to fans. The premier of the BIG3 Basketball league, a 3-on-3 league, co-founded and hosted by Ice Cube, attracted 398,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1, placing it among the channel’s top 10 all-time basketball telecasts. Additionally, Whistle Sports recently partnered with the NFL in 2016 to create new branded content such as comedic takes, skills competitions, trick shots, and more, and to deliver it across multiple devices aimed at Millennial sports fans.
As these Millennial sports fans are moving away from traditional TV, they say that would be willing to pay for an over the top subscription in order to get the sports content they want. This is a huge opportunity for content marketing as Millennials are 112 percent more likely than the average viewer to share the ads they like. For Millennials, great content gets shared, regardless of the creator, brand, or intent. Instead of spending millions of dollars on traditional TV ads, brands may be better served creating fantastic content for mobile devices that inspire social interaction and creativity for the viewer.
For many Millennial sports fans, the game alone simply may not be enough. Increasingly they demand content they can rework, remix, and share easily. In stark contrast to the media landscape of their parents, where content creation was in the hands of the few, Millennials live in world where anyone can be a content creator.
Takeaway: Companies like Kiswe and SportsCastr.Live empower a participatory culture where sports viewing becomes a choose your own adventure—giving fans the ability to choose their camera angle, chat with other fans, and create their own highlights that are easily shared on social media. Leagues that are quickest to encourage this remix/participation culture for fans will gain the attention, loyalty, and spending power of the coveted Millennial fan.