00
changing. Younger generations prefer
rather than an entire game across
linear television. It’s a second screen
world where fans prefer following global
stars (think: Messi, LeBron) to local
teams. And we’re way past cord cutting—
Gen Z and millennials consume sports
when they want and how they want.
While the traditional big five (basketball,
football, baseball, hockey, and soccer)
dominate the American sports world
and continue to be the focus of
legacy media, younger fans want to
be entertained with eye-catching feats
of athleticism, no matter the discipline
or location. In a social-first world,
what matters is if it looks good and
if it entertains.
HERE WE ARE NOW, ENTERTAIN US:
W A V E . T V
01 THE RISE OF NON-TRADITIONAL SPORTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Gen Z’s are as interested in non-
traditional sports like skateboarding
And if they do love basketball, that
doesn’t mean they only consume NBA
content. Gen Z wants a great Euroleague
or streetball highlight as much, if not
more, than a soaring Giannis throwdown
or Damian Lillard dime. Non-traditional
sports programming drives the success
of social first sports media platforms.
While McKinsey found that 56% of
millennials are likely to stream sports,1
they aren’t only watching traditional
sports broadcasters like NBC Sports
or ESPN. Viewers regularly cop to
using streams found on Reddit and
other websites.
U nder-the-radar
M ai
ns tr
ea m
Archetype GIANNIS
Archetype FIBA
Leagues / Athletes / Teams
N O N -T R A D I T I O N A L S P O R T S AC C O U N T E D F O R 8 4 % O F V I E W E R S H I P AC R O S S WAV E .T V ’ S C H A N N E L I N S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0
WAVE.TV BY THE NUMBERS
84%
56% O F M I L L E N I A L S A R E L I K E LY TO ST R E A M S P O R T S
W A V E . T V
02 THE GREATEST SPORTS MOMENTS IN 15 SECONDS
Gen Z likes sports, but they love the
highlight. In a mobile-first and social-first
world, a clip’s entertainment value
trumps watching an entire game from
start to finish. Look no further than the
current cohort of social-first sports media
brands that allow users to watch what
they want when they want, without a
subscription. This is the new VOD.
But Gen Z is half as likely to watch live
sports as millennials. 2 More than their
older peers, Gen Z gets current on a live
game via highlights on social, second
screening their way to context.
Everything is Red Zone now.
“ IF YOU’RE GOING TO WATCH SPORTS ON TIKTOK, INSTAGRAM, OR FACEBOOK, ONE THING THAT YOU CAN DO IS PAUSE AND COME BACK. IT’S VERY MUCH A VOD EXPERIENCE. THAT’S HOW WE CONSUME SPORTS NOW, AS OPPOSED TO WATCHING A GAME FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE FINAL WHISTLE. ” NICK CROOKS VP Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at WAVE.tv
G E
N Z
M IL
LE N
IA LS
03 RATINGS ARE DOWN , BUT FANDOM IS UP
Across the board, 2020 has been a tough
year for sports on television. The NBA
Final posted the lowest recorded ratings
in history, while nearly all sports —major
and minor—saw declines in ratings
compared to 2019. While some of this is
pandemic-related, declining television
million subscribers3 between 2013 and
2019. Sports Business Journal ran an
article headlined “Time to Panic Over
Declining Viewership” in 2016, NFL ratings
fell in 2018, while NBA commissioner
Adam Silver talked about losing viewers
in recent years. 4,5
fans and 18% of NBA fans report watching
three–plus hours of non-game content
a week. Even Major League Baseball,
saddled with the oldest demographic of
any major sports league, has 15% of fans
who consume three–plus hours of non-
game content on a weekly basis. 6
Just because Gen Z isn’t watching full
games doesn’t mean they’re not fans.
Their version of the game is watching
highlights, bloopers, interviews, trade
digital platforms.
DECREASE IN TELEVISION RATINGS 2019 TO 20207
STA N L E Y C U P F I N A L S
N B A F I N A L S
U S O P E N T E N N I S
C O L L E G E F O OT B A L L*
W N B A*
-61%
-49%
-45%
-30%
-16%
-13%M A J O R L E AG U E S O C C E R FA N S
N B A FA N S
M A J O R L E AG U E B A S E B A L L FA N S
FA N S C O N S U M I N G 3 + H O U R S O F N O N GA M E C O N T E N T P E R W E E K
26%
18%
15%
Gen Z prefers athletes to teams and
leagues. “You see this shift in sports
where kids are following athletes first,
then they’re following clubs, and then
they’re following leagues because they
want that one-to-one connection with
the athletes, or athletes that they admire,”
Heidi Browning, chief marketing officer
for the NHL, told Morning Consult.
Like Connor McDavid storming up the
ice, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated
this trend. The lockdown and slowdown of
sports in general created the opportunity
for athletes to give their fans a more
intimate look into their lives than ever
before. Your favorite player’s IG or TikTok
chronicled their day-to-day life at home,
inside the bubble, in the locker room,
providing unfiltered access previous
generations couldn’t have imagined.
P S G ’ S J O R DY N H U I T E M A A N D H E R B OY F R I E N D, B AY E R N M U N I C H STA R A L P H O N S O DAV I E S , L A U N C H E D A YO U T U B E C H A N N E L T H AT G A I N E D 5 0 0 K F O L LO W E R S I N A M O N T H .
ATHLETES > TEAMS > LEAGUES O N S O C I A L , T H E W O R L D ’ S M O ST P O P U L A R AT H L E T E S O U T PAC E T H E M O ST P O P U L A R T E A M S A N D L E AG U E S 8
TOTAL FOLLOWERS*
500M100M 200M 300M 400M
C R I ST I A N O R O N A L D O
L I O N E L M E S S I
L E B R O N J A M E S
A T
H L
E T
E S
R E A L M A D R I D
B A R C E LO N A
M A N C H E ST E R U N I T E D
T E
A M
S
U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E AG U E
N B A
E N G L I S H P R E M I E R L E AG U E
L E
A G
U E
The key to modern sports consumption is speed.
In today and tomorrow’s media ecosystem,
content goes viral fast. The companies that
win are the ones that can capture the zeitgeist
authentically. They develop brands, packages, or
channels quickly, scaling up as fans fall in love or
pulling back if they fail to catch fire. Social-first
brands excel in this world, giving the audience
the programming they want now, while legacy
media struggles.
BreakAnklesDaily The game has always been and
always will be about breaking ankles.
6.27M Total followers/subscribers (across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat)
5.41M Total followers/subscribers (across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
WAVE.TV BY THE NUMBERS
TOTA L WAV E .T V F O L LO W E R S / S U B S C R I B E R S AC R O S S A L L C H A N N E L S .
65,000,000 PHENOMS Meet the women defining sports.
752K Total followers/subscribers
1.38M Total followers/subscribers (across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat)
W A V E . T V
06 COVID-19’S AFFECT ON SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT
COVID-19 threw the second-screen
it caters to everything young fans
want: highlights, archival footage,
lives. We’re watching together, apart,
and it’s not going to stop even when
the pandemic is over.
“ REGARDLESS OF GENERATION, SPORTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A FORM OF ESCAPISM AND CAMARADERIE FOR FANS. GEN Z IS NO EXCEPTION.
THEY ARE JUST AS ENGAGED WITH SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT AS PREVIOUS GENERATIONS, BUT THEIR CONSUMPTION PATTERNS SKEW TOWARDS SOCIAL PLATFORMS AND HIGHLIGHTS RATHER THAN LIVE BROADCASTS AND TRADITIONAL TV.
THEREFORE, USING TV VIEWERSHIP AS A BAROMETER FOR THE STRENGTH OF FANDOMS IS SIMPLY WRONG. ” BRIAN VERNE CEO, WAVE.tv
W I T H T H E N B A S U S P E N D E D I N M A R C H , L E B R O N J A M E S H I T U P I N STAG R A M L I V E F O R T H E F I R ST T I M E . C O M M E N T S A N D L I K E S P O U R E D I N F R O M C E L E B S (S H AQ U I L L E O ’ N E A L , D E V I N B O O K E R , K E N G R I F F E Y J R . , TO M M Y C H O N G) A N D FA N S . T H E K I N G P L AY E D C A R D S W I T H H I S FA M I LY, D R A N K A G L A S S O F R E D W I N E , A N D C H E E R S E D T H E A U D I E N C E .
OT THANKS FOR READING
2. morningconsult.com/2020/09/28/gen-z-poll-sports-fandom
3. nextlevel.finance/updated-espn-subscribers-and-espn-revenue-explained