With the recent ESPN layoffs, the landscape of sports media is shifting. While there are no layoffs with other major sports networks, I'd be remiss to say, it did make them pay attention and their eyebrows raised.
When I refer to the new media takeover, what I mean by that is, it's become the podcast age. So many people in the sports space are flocking to the podcast space to get their takes instead of listening to former athletes on major sports networks or former beat writers turned analysts on television.
Generations are shifting, sports rules have changed and the biggest component, athletes are controlling their narrative. They are telling their stories from their perspective, things that newspapers and sports networks aren't getting from athletes.
If you just look at the podcast space from basketball alone you have Gil’s Arena with former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, Knuckleheads with former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, All The Smoke with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, The Draymond Green show with four time NBA champion Draymond Green, Old Man and the Three with former sharpshooter and NBA player JJ Redick and many other podcasts.
What's happening is these athletes are getting their former teammates and current NBA players on their podcasts and getting content and dialogue from these players that is never shared with the media. That's content that becomes appealing to the average sports fan from the older generation to the newer generation.
Let's look at The Pivot with former NFL players in Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder. This show delves deep into people's stories of their lives, it's engaging, appealing to different audiences and they interview all walks of life from sports to entertainment and other fields. The show has been nominated for many awards.
Even former football players in Brandon Marshall, Terrell Owens and others have grown their podcasts and have guests that are appealing to their specific audience. There's a lot to be said with the “new media” age of sports and entertainment content.
Will the old media fade into the sunset, I don't think so. What I will say is, there needs to be significant adjustments in the sports and media space on how content is shown to audiences going forward.
The old media of Stephen A Smith, Skip Bayless, Michael Wilbon, Rob Parker, Chris Broussard, Colin Cowherd, Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen and others, will always have an audience because they're well-known and established in this industry. But if you notice, they all have podcasts. Some on their own and some that are produced by their specific networks whether it's Fox Sports, Roku or any others.
Now, the new media is catering to a certain audience and space. And YouTube garners and hosts a lot of the content posted. From full shows to short clips from the segments on these shows, it's a whole different landscape in how content is conveyed and posted.
It makes for a good clash of old school versus new school. Can you keep your audience versus building a new audience and adjusting to the times that we are currently in.
Twenty years ago, the talk would be can the little man make it to the big leagues of ESPN, FOX, CBS, NBC and other networks. Now that mindset has changed. Most podcasters are looking for the right corporate sponsor or a smaller network of FanDuel, Sports MGM and others to be paid to produce and host their show on their platforms.
The majority of podcasters have built-in studios in their homes, camera equipment, editing software, lighting to the point where you don't need directors, producers and staff to help with your show. Everyone has become well-versed, are multi-talented which garners more attention and potentially bigger paydays.
The dream for many is no longer to be at the big networks, the uncertainties are there if you move into that space. If podcasters can build an audience, the opportunities will come as time moves forward.
The new media space is here to stay, that's surely a given. The only thing is, the old media isn't going anywhere, they will continue to adjust and monetize differently in the foreseeable future…
