BleedGopher
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per Rick:
On any given night, in living rooms across America, the television could be tuned to the big game, mom and dad glued to the action, children nearby. But as most any parent can attest, those children are likely to be virtually somewhere else - an app, a game, a social media feed, perhaps, lost in a smartphone where the scrolling never ends. The big game serves as background noise, if that.
The bulky and bankable U.S. sports industry, built on towers of cash and lucrative television contracts, is confronting a Generation Z problem. The nation's youngest cohort is fundamentally different from the generations that preceded it. Having grown up with smartphones in their pockets, its members eschew traditional television-viewing and subscribe to digital habits that make grooming a new generation of sports fans a challenge.
That challenge is being met with a sense of urgency in some corners of the sports world and a sense of alarm in others, according to interviews with team and league officials, social scientists, research analysts and marketing specialists who focus on Generation Z. Failing to hook young people might not devastate today's bottom line, but it threatens to muddle the future of every league, every team and every sport.
"If you lose a generation, it destroys value and the connective tissue," said Ted Leonsis, principal owner of Washington-based teams that compete in the NBA, WNBA and NHL. "It's what some of the big sports leagues are nervous about. Could we lose a generation because we didn't give them access and the products and services they want?"
www.chron.com
Go Gophers!!
On any given night, in living rooms across America, the television could be tuned to the big game, mom and dad glued to the action, children nearby. But as most any parent can attest, those children are likely to be virtually somewhere else - an app, a game, a social media feed, perhaps, lost in a smartphone where the scrolling never ends. The big game serves as background noise, if that.
The bulky and bankable U.S. sports industry, built on towers of cash and lucrative television contracts, is confronting a Generation Z problem. The nation's youngest cohort is fundamentally different from the generations that preceded it. Having grown up with smartphones in their pockets, its members eschew traditional television-viewing and subscribe to digital habits that make grooming a new generation of sports fans a challenge.
That challenge is being met with a sense of urgency in some corners of the sports world and a sense of alarm in others, according to interviews with team and league officials, social scientists, research analysts and marketing specialists who focus on Generation Z. Failing to hook young people might not devastate today's bottom line, but it threatens to muddle the future of every league, every team and every sport.
"If you lose a generation, it destroys value and the connective tissue," said Ted Leonsis, principal owner of Washington-based teams that compete in the NBA, WNBA and NHL. "It's what some of the big sports leagues are nervous about. Could we lose a generation because we didn't give them access and the products and services they want?"
Sports has a Gen Z problem. The pandemic may accelerate it.
On any given night, in living rooms across America, the television could be tuned to the...
Go Gophers!!
