On top of co.vid, reckoning over racial and social justice, wokeness, Karen’s and a rapidly evolving media outlets, pro sports leagues are wrestling with yet another massive crisis: teens and young adults giving up on the game.
Essentially, irrelevance.
According to ESPN, while 96% of teens 12-17 still identify as sports fans, just 34% report being “avid” fans, down from 42% a decade ago.
Fewer young adults bother sitting through hours of live game coverage, threatening the value of a rights package estimated at nearly $50 billion by 2024.
There are many reasons for this.
- Youth athletic participation rates have long been declining.
- In a tough economy, fewer families have the money to support their kids’ athletic careers, or to buy pro sports tickets and merchandise.
- Games are too long for the gnat-like attention spans shaped by mobile phones and social media.
- And young adults used to participatory media—playing video games, making videos, posting comments and connecting with others—find a typical spectator experience to be too passive.
The leagues realize their future rests with Gen Z. They know that if they don’t connect with consumers in their teens, they’ve lost them forever.
What are they doing, and what can business owners learn from this?
- Serve short videos on digital platforms. Leagues realize that Gen Z viewers won’t sit through a three-hour game, but they will seek out game content on social media. And many young viewers might not even have a cable subscription to see games on ESPN, Fox Sports or TNT.
The NBA leading the way: it has 148 million social media followers, more than all other leagues combined, and earns 43% more views on social media vs. three years ago. Its official YouTube channel has 15.4 million subscribers, who have access to nearly 34,000 videos. It’s almost certain that more young people saw LeBron James and his fellow Lakers win the championship on social media than on ABC.
- Give fans a way to join the game. Digital natives don’t just want to see LeBron win the championship; they want to win alongside him. Now that gambling is legal in more states, pro leagues and individual owners are partnering with betting operators. All of the leagues are now on Twitch, and they’re also collaborating with video game companies, esports tournaments and fantasy leagues, to allow fans to play the game digitally alongside their idols, and feel more of a stake in the outcome.
Both of these points are a blueprint for you to connect with your prospects and clients no matter what your target demographic is.
Short videos? No one wants to sit through a 5 minute video. But they will sit through 5 one-minute videos. Have you tried Tik-Tok yet? A video series on YouTube or Facebook? You need to be fishing where the fish are swimming.
Give your clients or patients a way to join your game. Do you have a way for them to become a part of your world? Newsletters (print, not digital) are a great start. Shock & Awe packages, diagnostics, quizzes and gamification will also engage prospects and retain clients.
