My sports media consumption diet consists of catching glimpses of college football and basketball games, while sitting on the couch at a friend’s house. It also consists of phone calls from my mother, that is usually accompanied by complaining about the Pittsburgh Steelers losing or the Dallas Cowboys winning. The way I consume sports content has morphed over the last 5 years due to me being around a lot more people who watch and participate in sports. I remember watching the super bowl when I was in middle school in 2011, the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers with my family. Not an eye misplaced from the screen, as the house erupted with shouting when the Steelers lost. Now, we can find out in a tik tok or have to pay a subscription service to even see the games. 

The changes I predict in the next five years for sports is that almost every individual sport will be behind a paywall. Either you have to download Hulu, or Netflix, or DirectTV streaming, you are going to have to pay a service to view any type of sports game. As for the strategic communication aspect of sports, social media will continue to be a driving force for extra money and exposure for athletes. I believe that formal write-ups and editorials of athletes will eventually cease and we’d be stuck with fast viewing content online. If I could change one thing about the sports communication landscape, I’d lessen the amount of social media sports pages that steal content for the sake of posting. I feel the existence of these profiles cheapen the sport’s experience by lacking appropriate or relevant captions and conversation around the true beauty of sports. There is no substance or valid sensible critiques, only what’s deemed as important in those moments. The lack of original content on these profiles makes it a less enjoyable experience, to the point it does not feel official.