The blending of user generated content and traditional media may take another step forward before we know it.
According to a report by John Ourand of Puck, YouTube piloted ManningCast-style viewing experiences led by content creators during last NFL season. In an interview with Janice Min of The Ankler, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan discussed his platform’s sports strategy.
“My son is a 17-year-old sports nut, but everything that he watches is through the lens of his favorite YouTubers and sports creators,” Mohan said. “The NFL recognized that, and when it came onto YouTube, despite them being the king of the hill, we aged down their audience, because we could actually allow that content to live alongside all of this other amazing creator-first sports content that was happening on YouTube. That was the flywheel that I was betting on, and that we’ve seen happen in Sunday Ticket, that gave me conviction to double down and do this live game as well.”
Mohan then described how the platform has seen success partnering with a Brazilian soccer league and content creators to develop co-streaming experiences where viewers can watch a game alongside their favorite creators. It’s a concept that YouTube has apparently piloted with its NFL Sunday Ticket package.
“We actually took that idea and did a pilot of that with NFL Sunday Ticket last season,” the CEO said. “So expect to see more of that type of creator innovation as well.”
Who knows, but that might be the future of live sports consumption. YouTube content creators are some of the most popular figures for Gen Z and younger audiences. Perhaps they’d prefer to hear their favorite YouTuber talk about a football game as it happens rather than Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. It’s certainly not out of the question. And for the leagues, who are struggling to attract younger audiences to watch traditional broadcasts, this type of alternative stream might be a way to earn more engagement from that demographic.