Research / Insights on current and emerging industry topics

Sports media is losing Gen Z. How can they win them back?

January 16, 2023 Suzanne S. LaPierre – Independent Media Reporter

Live sports has long been a mainstay of must-see programming. But with the fragmentation of sports media distribution and evolving content consumption habits, even this staple might be losing its hold – particularly among younger audiences.

Gen Z is less interested in live in-person or televised sports events than any other adult demographic, according to recent research by Morning Consult. The survey responses from people ages 13-25 reveal that, in addition to attending fewer live games and watching fewer of them on broadcast or cable, only 2 in 5 Gen Zs have a favorite team that they follow. So, how can sports content providers change tactics to appeal to them?

The warning signs

Here’s a look at some warning signs revealed by the study:

38% of Gen Z responders agreed with the statement “I don’t have a favorite sports team” compared to 25% of adults in general.
Only 25% of those Gen Zs who do have a favorite sports team watch “all or most” of that team’s games, compared with 37% of adults in general.
47% of Gen Z have never watched a live professional sports event in person (compared to 41% of all adults), and 60% have never watched a college game in person (compared with 53% of all adults).
Only 28% of Gen Zs watch sports events live on broadcast or cable compared with 47% of adults overall.
Of Gen Z’s who haven’t watched a sports event on TV in the last couple of years, 57% said it’s because they are just not interested. 20% said the games are too long.

Gen Z fans relate differently to sports media

So, what does Gen Z like when it comes to sports entertainment? Streaming video wins this generation’s attention. Significantly, 32% of Gen Zs said they watch live sports via a licensed streaming service, compared to only 25% of all adults.

Gen Z sports fans can also be reached via their favorite social media platforms. Four of the top five media platforms where Gen Z gets their sports news are social channels, the survey found. YouTube, Instagram and TikTok were the top platforms Gen Z cited as places they look for sports news.

31% of Gen Zs looked for sport news on YouTube compared with only 21% of all adults.
26% of Zs used Instagram for this purpose compared to only 12% of all adults.
24% used TikTok for sports news compared to only 8% of adults overall.

In contrast, Facebook, ESPN, and ESPN SportsCenter were much less popular among Gen Zs than they were among older adults looking for sports news.

Expert advice

Experts recommend tapping into youth advisers or advisory panels to report Gen Z’s preferences, peeves, and trends to those in sports management and marketing.

When it comes to attending live events in person, lower ticket prices, flawless Wi-Fi, and community spaces are cited as factors that can help attract younger adults to arenas. Student-focused marketing may include discounted bundles of tickets and swag, theme nights, and hyping the fan experience in the stadium, such as the celebratory entrance of players to the field and tifos occurring in the stands.

Personalities and influencers

In an interview with Mark J. Burns, Snapchat creator Jack Settleman recommends hiring a special personality to connect with fans on social platforms, and utilizing SnapChat and YouTube thoroughly. Since Gen Zs rely heavily on social media, stadiums need to have excellent Wi-Fi to attract and keep teens and young adults who expect to be able to multitask and share experiences in real time. Settleman emphasizes the importance of excellent Wi-Fi during stadium events: “(Make) sure every NFL stadium has perfect Wi-Fi — that is so crucial. My first question when I go to a stadium is, ‘What is your Wi-Fi login?’ I’m always a bit nervous. I can’t post content. I can’t text my friends. I can’t follow along on Twitter.”

Recruiting the help of content creators and influencers on trending social platforms is also advisable. While following athletes and teams on social media may not directly translate into cash for the sports industry, Morning Consult found that 45% of Gen Zs report having purchased clothing sponsored by an influencer or celebrity. Other kinds of sports merchandise, event tickets, and subscriptions may benefit from this type of marketing as well.

Young sports fans expect integrated, immersive, and flexible experiences that respect their time, budgets, and preferences. They seek live connections over social platforms whether they are at home or in stadiums. There are still plenty of Gen Z sports fans; they just have different ways of relating to sports content than their predecessors.

Industry-Research | Video

Using content analyses to guide streaming business strategy

January 10, 2023 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

There are over 300 streaming video services in the U.S. – and that number doesn’t include FAST channels. Consumers have a plethora of OTT services and access points across connected devices. So, how do media companies attract and retain viewers in such a large and fragmented marketplace? Parks Associates partnered with SymphonyAI Media to identify core analytics to help guide market strategies in the OTT ecosystem. Their new report, Optimizing Video: Enhancing Content Performance for OTT Success, looks at data solutions to best optimize content investment and performance.

Marketplace snapshot

According to Parks Associates, 87% of U.S. internet households now subscribe to one or more streaming video service, and 20% subscribe to eight or more OTT services. Consumers are adding new hybrid-model and FAST channels to their viewership mix. Netflix and Disney+ are two examples of media businesses launching ad-supported business models to attract new viewers to monetize content.

New niche streaming services are also popular among select audience segments. While appealing to a smaller audience, they offer unique and often obscure content. Sixty-one percent of consumers added other subscriptions in addition to the big three – Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. Interestingly, very few consumers have an exclusive single-service subscription.

Content continues to be a key driver of subscriptions, with 48% of consumers referencing content availability as the primary reason for subscribing to an additional service. However, while churn appeared to stabilize last year, nearly half of streaming subscribers leave one service for another multiple times within a year.

Content performance

Media companies continually invest in content to attract, engage, and retain viewers. Content analyses offer a direct link to profitability. They are essential to understand viewership and forecast the revenue generated by a specific property, series, or partnership. They also help assess workflow efficiencies and revenue opportunities across SVOD, AVOD, and FAST.

Internal data necessary:

Content data – genre, series, season, episode, asset I.D.
Distributor data – terms, avails, distributor I.D., distributor type
Revenue data – subscribers, transactions, units sold, forecast
Advertising data – impressions, CPM, fill rate, minutes streamed

Measuring content performance helps quantify consumer engagement. Each of the essential analyzes offer important metrics and insights to assess performance across business operations.

Content performance provides a foundation to assess spending on content. It allows objectivity when looking at program performance.
Assessing workflow metrics, from managing content libraries and editing ad breaks to costs associated with programming FAST channel schedules, offers insight into revenue optimization and deal terms.
Predictive content analytics are important to understanding what to charge or pay across the customer lifecycle. These analyzes assess the consumer value of the content investment and provides insight into pricing strategies.
Content ROI assesses content value across different business models ‒ subscription, ad-supported, and even transactional. It allows media organizations to understand and optimize the impact of business decisions on financial metrics.

Analytics are essential to evaluate content performance and optimize operations across revenue models ‒ ad-supported and subscription businesses. Investing in automating, standardizing, and normalizing data structures in an organization are important next steps to streamline the analytic processes.