2024 Sports Media Predictions
The sports industry and its ties to the legacy models will increasingly become challenged ...
As 2024 approaches, the sports media landscape is set for significant disruption.
Driven by technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences:
Cord-cutting and the atomization of the sports fan will continue to chip away at traditional aggregation models
Not bound by borders, social media attention time is exacerbating this problem, drawing young viewers away from traditional sports media consumption.
Yet, live sports rights continue to be sold regionally and kept behind paywalls - placing rights holder and broadcasters in a challenging position fighting for access to a shrinking audience
We're likely to witness some big shifts.
DISRUPTIVE PLAY - Here are some predictions and trends for the coming year:
1. A New Model in Sports Properties Emerges: The Kings League Effect
Global Expansion of Emerging and Niche Leagues: The Kings League's success will inspire the creation of alternative sports leagues globally, offering unique rules and fan interactions across traditional sports, e-sports, and innovative hybrid formats. We’re already starting to see it in Germany with the creation of the Baller League.
Celebrity and Influencer-Owned Teams: Celebrities and influencers will increasingly own and promote teams, leveraging their massive followings for instant fan bases and heightened media attention.
Fan-Driven Content Creation: Fans will become active in content creation, with platforms enabling them to create and share their own sports commentary and analysis. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of this coming out of Saudi Arabia.
Traditional Sports Rights Models Upended by New Comers: Alternative leagues will challenge the conventional sports rights model, adopting flexible distribution strategies across streaming platforms, social media, and direct-to-consumer models. This approach will enable broader audience engagement and introduce innovative monetization models.
2. Creator-Led Sports Broadcasting: A New Era
Dominance of Influencer Networks as Distribution: Influencer-led platforms like Caze TV will become major players in sports broadcasting, from major events like the World Cup and the Olympics to up and coming properties like A7FL and World Chase Tag, attracting younger audiences in unprecedented numbers.
Athletes as Creators and Distributors: Top athletes will increasingly use their social media channels to distribute sports content, offering unique insights and perspectives directly to fans. This shift will see athletes not just as commentators but as key content distributors, challenging the traditional sports media distribution model.
Wave Sports & Entertainment - Kelce Brothers - Jason Kelce from the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about their games and share unique perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. Plus, entertaining stories from a combined 21 years in the league, off-field interests, and engaging conversations with special guests.
Playmaker - Partnering with Shaq on New Podcast Nework
33rd Team - St Brown Bro’s - Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions WR and Equanimeous St. Brown, Chicago Bears WR, take you behind the scenes of their team's games, react to NFL storylines, argue about video games and much more!
3. Hyper-Personalization in Sports Media
Customizable Viewing Experiences: Viewers will have extensive customization options, from selecting specific player cams to receiving personalized stats and analytics.
Personalized AI-Driven Content: Broadcasting platforms will leverage AI for personalized content, including player-specific feeds and real-time strategy predictions, revolutionizing sports consumption. (See Sponixtech immersive replay)
Predictive AI for Live Sports: Following Amazon Prime's AI initiatives, more networks will introduce predictive AI features for a more immersive and interactive viewing experience.
4. Decentralization and Diversification of Media Rights
NASCAR's Model: NASCAR's recent media rights deal, while beneficial for the organization, might not be as favorable for audiences. The deal's complexity and spread across multiple platforms could lead to fragmented viewing experiences.
NBA Deal Expectations: Similar trends are expected in the upcoming NBA media deal, where a decentralized approach could lead to a more complex landscape for viewers, with games spread across various platforms.
Netflix Goes Global - Netflix will use it’s global reach to incubate net new sports IP and potential bid on global rights packages (e.g., NBA in season tournament)
New Rights Windows Created: As properties challenge the conventional sports rights model, adopting flexible distribution strategies across streaming platforms, social media, and direct-to-consumer models, traditional leagues will pounce and begin to sell a “social rights” window, an “athlete rights” window, and “AI rights” window amongst others.
So in 2024, the rise of digital platforms, the growing influence of personal brands, and the integration of advanced technologies are poised to redefine how we experience, consume, and engage with sports and media.
Great stuff!