Every day, we are consuming media left and right. Flyers, books, TV, radio, and now it is even easier to view with our cell phones at the touch of our fingertips. The sports industry has grown to be one of the largest industries in the world and it is reflected on these media outlets. Not only do these outlets allow for fans to follow a team, organization, or their favorite athlete closely, but it also allows for those athletes to be given a platform to showcase their skills and speak up for ongoing issues. Media has influenced the world of sports drastically and it will only continue to grow as we consume more and the industry expands. With how important this is, it also important to recognize the ways people are consuming media over the years.
How We Consume Sports Media – Past, Present, Future
Past
There have been some changes in how media is shared over the past five years and it hit a peak back in 2020. Once the COVID-19 pandemic took over the world, it also took over sports. All competitions from recreation to college to professional put a pause or end to their seasons immediately due to the virus. With no actual events occurring, this drove fans to stay at home and transfer their attention from going out and watching games, to viewing other types of sports media. This was a huge shift on users, but also on the sport professionals and changing how to capture their target audience again. I believe this was a strong point to note in the sports media timeline, as it greatly increased the number of online users on social media and their involvement in sports overall. This was also the time the social media platform, TikTok, became increasingly popular. This drove fans to learn more and become more involved and intimate with their favorite teams through short videos. Organizations and athletes came together to show past highlights, history of programs, and athlete recognitions. ESPN also played a huge part in this aspect of encouraging users to use their app for content until games resume.
Present
Although this world is ever-changing, I have found myself going back to the same media devices to capture my sports “diet” as of today. TikTok is still a huge platform today and controls most of the population’s views on certain topics, especially in sports. I use this more for seeing smaller moments that happened at games and video content. Another outlet I like to use is ESPN, more so for statistics on teams and athletes but also to watch any competitions. It is the easiest to access, especially for college sports in which I enjoy the most. I can follow different schools, individual teams and athletes while also receiving updates through notifications. X is also a good source for sports content. I typically use this to view trade deals and any immediate news. Another way I consume my diet are through the individual sport apps, such as MLB or NFL to concentrate more on a specific league.
Future
As we continue this discussion, it is worth noting what the next five years could hold in the sports media world. I believe users will strive away from watching cable TV and the sport channels that follow, such as ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, etc. Their apps and streaming services will still be popular, but for the cable channels they will start to fade in use. This also goes for radio shows as well, as that has already become a smaller population of listeners. I can see the need for a new social media app that is just for sports fans to post their opinions and connect with others, without other industries and topics budging in like our current media outlets. As far as change, I would love to see movement on the way athletes are portrayed through sports media and recognizing who they really are, outside of being an athlete. Many times, athletes are shunned for speaking out on tough subjects or personal experiences or are turned down all together. It is important to realize that they are more than athletes and in order to make the industry better, we must listen to the ones who help run it and it starts with the actual players.