Sports Matters 2022 | How sport must change to engage younger generations

Sport’s ability to capture the attention of younger generations is a matter of existential importance to rights-holders, marketers, media companies and all other parts of the industry ecosystem. Today, the competition for that attention is greater than ever and comes from all corners of the digital media landscape – from TikTok, from YouTube, from Twitch, from Netflix, from gaming, and myriad other alternative sources of screen time and entertainment. It is far from clear that sport will grab as a big share of attention among Generation Z and younger generations as it did among Millennials and older generations.

SportBusiness organised a panel to discuss the challenge at the Sports Matters 2022 conference in Singapore, on September 27. Asia-Pacific editor Kevin McCullagh led the discussion, with a panel composed of:

  • Acacia Leroy, head of trends, Culture Group
  • Ravi Maan, head of marketing, Lion City Sailors FC
  • Phoenix Hou, director of business development Southeast Asia, Nielsen

Highlights include:

2:38 – Acacia Leroy on Culture Group’s assessment of the characteristics and attitudes of younger generations, and how they differ to older generations

6:41 – Insights from Nielsen on younger generations’ affinity for sport

9:39 – Ravi Maan’s challenge in ‘making Singaporean football cool again’

12:44 – The panellists discuss the potential for Web3 technology to engage younger fans

19:41 – Acacia Leroy on what sport can do better to engage younger female fans

22:17 – Using crossovers with fashion, music and other areas of culture to engage young fans

 

SportBusiness was a Presenting Partner of Sports Matters 2022. Sports Matters was one of six tracks at the 2022 All That Matters conference, alongside Music Matters, Gaming Matters, Digital Matters, Marketing Matters and Web3 Matters. All That Matters is produced by Branded, the Asia-based firm that creates, produces and commercialises online and offline multimedia platforms that connect, engage, inform and entertain consumers.