Younger generations and their media consumption patterns have already changed a lot about our business. A new column in Delaware North’s “Future Of” series suggests that the bounty of live sports rights could dry up by 2030 as Gen Z’s tastes start to matter more to business leaders.
The report suggests that live rights will still have value, but leagues will be making even more money on short-form video rights.
“Only a small percentage of Gen Z — and an even smaller proportion of Gen Alpha — will watch a three-hour live sporting event, preferring video highlights on YouTube, TikTok and other outlets, usually curated by social media stars.”
The change may not be sudden. After all, millennials are the next generation of decision-makers. The upper end of that generation is in their 40s and behaves more similarly to Generation X in their media consumption.
Still, we can already see evidence that Delaware North is onto something. Front Office Sports’ Doug Greenberg points to the ratings of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It was the least-watched opening game for the event in 15 years.
Todd Merry, CEO of Delaware North says it may not look as simple as his company’s prediction reads.
“It’s a complex issue because you might have to buy the live rights to own the short form rights,” he told Greenberg. “So they are gonna be linked, I think, for a long while.”
