Decision-makers at major U.S. leagues and teams understand, however, that while the current media rights model is a cash cow, it is likely the biggest obstacle to reimagining the live viewing experience to cater to the next generation of potential fans.
“Live game consumption is where we do the worst at bringing the product to the younger audience because we've set up a structure over decades that can't just be unwound in six months,” said Chris Marinak, chief operations and strategy officer at MLB.
Marinak, who reports directly to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, said the league envisions a future in which fans can subscribe to one product to gain access to every second of the league’s games. That service, he said, would offer users an algorithm-driven, whip-around experience personalized to their interests, bouncing from a favorite team’s game to a favorite player’s at-bat to a record-breaking moment.
The league is in the process of building the technology to power such an experience, leveraging Google’s machine learning technology via an already-established partnership. The bigger hurdle, it seems, is that the league’s media rights are shared by three national partners and an army of regional sports networks all intent on preserving exclusivity.
“From a rights standpoint, the last thing that needs to be sorted out is this idea of local versus national,” Marinak said, “so we can get to a world where, if I'm a subscriber, I can get whatever content I want to get.”
Mavericks owner Cuban has also been thinking about new formats for live events. In an October interview with Megyn Kelly about the NBA Finals’ decreased ratings, Cuban noted that, while the sport drives tremendous engagement among young people on digital platforms, many of the league’s young fans don’t watch cable television, where most of its games are shown.
In an email, Cuban shared his own vision for incorporating segments of live NBA games into the “AI curated, personalized streams” that social media has popularized among young people.
Short (form) and sweet
In addition to watching fewer live games, the latest Morning Consult research shows Gen Z sports fans are also consuming non-live sports media less frequently than fans from other generations.
Thirty-eight percent of Gen Z fans indicated that they watch sports highlights at least once a week, roughly the same as the share who said they watch live sports weekly. By comparison, 43 percent of all sports fans and 49 percent of millennial sports fans said they watch highlights at least weekly.
ncG1vNJzZmiooqR7rrvRp6Cnn5Oku7TBy61lnKedZK6zwMico56rX5yyr3nZZp2urKWnsm67xWajoq6VYsCxu9Gtqg%3D%3D