ZogSports reposted this
I have not thought about Badminton since 9th grade PE, but the Olympic-level competition is electric. Same goes for indoor volleyball and a dozen other sports that get zero coverage on linear television. While total viewership has stagnated, digital audience's share of Olympic viewership had increased from ~30% in 2012 to >70% in 2020. NBCUniversal finally got its act together in time for Paris and signed partnerships deals with Meta, Overtime, Roblox, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok. The shift to social platforms should be a top-of-funnel dream for the long tail of sports organizations and athletes that rarely reach an audience of this size. Social enables more seamless tie-in to the story-lines and athletes that could generate fandom far beyond the Olympic games. I would watch the national volleyball championship if it were served up to me (bad pun intended). I would follow the major athletes and attend a ticketed event in NYC. I may even join a ZogSports league to stay active during the bleak winter months in the Northeast. All of this reinforces fandom to Volleyball - NBC is an after thought. Are these sports organizations set up to remove friction and capture new fans? And on what platform?