Today’s guest columnist is Rick Allen, CEO of ViewLift.
Every generation holds multitudes of sports fans, but they don’t all engage in the same way. This is particularly true of Gen Z—the under-24-year-old digital natives who live and breathe through their smartphones and other non-TV devices.
Regardless of the sport, there’s debate about how much Gen Z wants to consume or even care about it. Each league points to supportive data, but it may be a fandom very different from their elders’.
LaLiga President Javier Tebas quotes a PwC study showing that 60% of Gen Z (more than other generations) are indeed interested in sport, and 60% of the user base on TikTok (the youngest-skewing social network) consumes soccer content.
Sports track other Gen Z interactions: streaming the action and engaging through favored social media platforms. As Mark Beal, author of Engaging Gen Z, has pointed out, “Gen Z consumes sports content unlike any previous generation.”
People from 13-24 in the U.S. “consistently rank Instagram, YouTube and TikTok as their ‘big three’ for content consumption, including sports content,” Beal said, “and that percentage is increasing by each quarter.”
No team or league should cater exclusively to a single demographic, and many of the digital tools described here will appeal across the generational divide. But there are tactics that prove particularly effective in engaging Gen Z:
1. Be where the Gen Z’er is and on their chosen distribution channels
Leagues and teams should begin with streaming via Gen Z’s preferred platforms, then add targeted sponsorships. David Jackson, EA Sports’ VP of brand, said their sponsorship deal with LaLiga provides growth and scale that benefits both: “We’re offering access to 150 million very hard to reach Gen Z football fans, and LaLiga offers access to the incredible IP that it has, but also the innovative pursuit … to reach more parts of the world.”
2. Show you care about your Gen Z fans
Gen Z’s interest is often participatory—perhaps managing a fantasy team or watching (or playing) the e-sport version of the traditional game. Taking part can include interacting with teams and friends, through social media or a watch party. It can also mean playing at their own level—even if club, co-ed, and non-contact. Not all those who play a sport will become adult fans, but it provides a far more likely path.
That path is two-way: Sports are increasing their youth appeal by covering traditional games in ways that resemble video games, which were once feared as competitors. Gen Z fans appreciate personalization, gamification and socialization even in their traditional sports experiences. Enable this through fan-generated content: memes, art and fiction, podcasts, blogs, and quizzes shared with other fans or athletes, like the NFL’s Instagram account #FanArtFriday. Interactive gamified content lets fans participate communally, like the FIFA World Cup’s Snapchat feature, Snap Games.
3. Put the athletes at the heart of your coverage and interactions
Social media—especially for Gen Z—is optimized for short-form video like game highlights, and behind-the-scenes stories that make heroes on the field more accessible.
Take Drive to Survive, the Netflix F1 documentary series. Producer Paul Martin has called it “Game of Thrones in fast cars.” The series attracts Gen Z appeal by being digital, diverse, interactive and creative. It is not just a show about cars but a show about people, stories and emotions; even if the athletes are inside a F1 car that cost tens of millions to build, fans identify with the driver even more than they may covet the ride.
Any sport can increase appeal by showing the human element of its athletes and staff. Today’s leagues are giving their athletes—who are Gen Z’ers themselves, or barely older—more room to exhibit their personalities than past commissioners would ever have allowed. As an example, the NHL understood the power of social media early and invested in a training program for players to use social to build their personal brands.
4. Provide Gen Z with the technology and data they want
Gen Z’s interaction with sports data has transformed traditional fandom into an immersive and dynamic journey. This generation thrives on the narratives that numbers provide, enhancing their emotional connection to players and teams. As the first generation to grow up with comprehensive player data at their fingertips, Gen Z’ers are not just passive viewers; they’re empowered analysts who find joy in dissecting the game’s intricacies. It is no surprise that predictive tools, powered by data, become a powerful stabilizing and engagement mechanism.
Baseball continues to use data as social currency to build GenZ’s perhaps surprising love of the sport. And every sport has tracked how relevant player data increases fan engagement; at ViewLift, we are working right now with clients in hockey, basketball and fighting sports to pioneer new graphic methods of presenting these insights and giving fans ways to utilize their new knowledge.
5. Change the way you cover the big game
Sports businesses need to re-examine how they communicate with potential fans and keep them engaged. Gen Z consumers are much more likely to participate and interact with a sport before and after the game. Use social to drive Gen Z fans to stream pregame shows; they’ll stay for the game itself. After the game, use social, data and the fan community you’ve helped nurture to engage Gen Z fans fully, through highlights and player reactions.
Meeting Gen Z halfway
Gen Z finds sports compelling and does, in fact, care about it—but on its own terms. Old norms are irrelevant, particularly how people are “supposed” to watch and follow sports: on the living room TV. This generation has grown up in the digital realm and now communicates, plays and pretty much lives there. Sports organizations must find ways to engage Gen Z fans in their world and across their interests, showing they care about that part of their audience and what drives them. If leagues and teams do that, then the next generation of fans will channel the excitement of sports in its own unique ways.
Allen is the CEO of ViewLift, a streaming and monetization platform whose sports clients include the NHL, Monumental Sports, the Vegas Golden Knights, the PFL and leagues and teams around the world. Allen previously ran the for-profit arm of National Geographic and Sporting News. He served in the Clinton White House.