How apps like Snapchat are rewriting the rules of sport
Last November, New York-based sports and media company IMG issued its annual Digital Trends Report, which explores the technologies and developments likely to shape the sports media landscape over the following 12 months. “The power of sports and creators, combined with social media, is a big opportunity to grab,” says Ellie Hooper, head of client […]
Last November, New York-based sports and media company IMG issued its annual Digital Trends Report, which explores the technologies and developments likely to shape the sports media landscape over the following 12 months.
“The power of sports and creators, combined with social media, is a big opportunity to grab,” says Ellie Hooper, head of client at Goat. “We know that the power of influencer marketing comes from the voice of the creator which people have chosen to trust.
WBD’s multi-regional coverage of the Olympics saw it offer not just official highlights but also double down on exclusive behind-the-scenes content, wacky must-see moments and a focus on the “showbiz side of the games” from the perspective of athletes, celebrities and fans.
Gen Z and younger viewers are using social media to interact with their teams “ There’s this myth that younger audiences are not interested in sports. That belief has now been debunked. Younger viewers are just consuming sports content in a different way.
“ There’s this myth that younger audiences are not interested in sports. That belief has now been debunked. Younger viewers are just consuming sports content in a different way.
With almost 4.9 billion people – 60% of the global population – owning sophisticated cell phones enabling instant access to the internet and social media apps, the living room TV no longer dominates the way in which viewers engage with that weekend’s big Premier League match or mass audience events like the Olympics.
The enhancement also gave Channel 4’s advertising partners an opportunity to reach sports fans, with commercial branding in and around what users see onscreen.
“Snapchat is in the business of making money, so we have to monetise our content,” he tells C21. “We serve video ads in there and we revenue share with our partners, whether that’s publishers or creators. “ “The power of sports and creators, combined with social media, is a big opportunity to grab. We know that the power of influencer marketing comes from the voice of the creator which people have chosen to trust. As social media apps transform how audiences consume sports content, C21 examines how Snapchat works with broadcasters, rights holders, brands and creators to monetise this paradigm shift.
“In the sports industry, there’s always the challenge of its historical need for immediate money in the bank, but the longer-term play is to think of it more as building enduring relationships with audiences. Once you make a Snapchat user a fan of golf or whatever, they’re going to be lifelong fans.
“Adam Hill playing with the AR lenses was an amazing moment of linear TV royalty and social media innovation coming together,” Harbinson tells C21. “That gamification element really took off and we had five million users during the games. We see Snapchat more and more not just as a broadcast platform but as a community builder.
With the all-too-familiar media mantra of ‘adapt or die’ ringing in the ears of legacy media execs, now is the time to harness the power of social media and shortform content before millions more viewers continue the inexorable migration away from terrestrial TV and streaming, never to return.
Those combined factors make Snapchat an attractive partner for agencies looking to bring brands, creators and influencers to the table.
During 2022, more than 285 million Snapchatters used its FIFA World Cup AR lenses so they could see themselves in the official shirts of their favourite national football team.
Before we drill into the ways in which Snap leverages and monetises that engagement with Gen Z, let’s first look at some research that helps to contextualise the rapidly shifting area of sports content consumption.
The same survey by Snap indicates that 55% of respondents believe that the way we consume sports has evolved drastically over the past decade. While older die-hard sports fans are fiercely loyal to just one team or favourite athlete, younger social-savvy consumers are less exclusive and more likely to find their way into sports through adjacent cultures, such as fashion, influencers, creators and brands.
Last summer, Channel 4 debuted ‘Snap-first’ programming from the Paralympics on the platform. The partnership aligned with the broadcaster’s Future4 strategy to prioritise digital growth over linear ratings. Content was delivered by Channel 4’s Leeds-based digital-focused 4Studio, while Snapchat and the pubcaster’s commercial team, 4Sales, shared sales rights on the shows.
With such exhaustive coverage of the summer’s major sporting spectacles on Snapchat, it’s no surprise that 65% of Gen Z users say that their interest in sports has grown in the past year. This article is based in part on interviews and sessions from Content London 2024.
Snap’s Summer of Sports campaign also saw broadcasters such as NBCUniversal (NBCU) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) make highlights from their Olympics and Paralympics coverage available through the platform. Arcadia, Snapchat’s AR Studio, partnered with NBCU to offer AR experiences to Snapchatters. The tie-in also offered real-time stats and introduced users to Team USA athletes and their Bitmojis (personalised Snapchat emojis).
Macaulay says that Snapchat offers both short- and long-term return on investment for producers, broadcasters, brands and creators.
There are two different types. The first, facial lenses, have technology that allows transformation of the user’s face. They can enable Snapchatters to engage with brands by ‘trying on’ make-up, jewellery and clothes. The second, world lenses, appear on the external camera and enable users to interact with 3D objects superimposed on the environment around them. They also allow product features to be displayed through the camera. Luke Whalley Senior director of international digital ad sales WBD Sports Europe
Joe Harbinson “ If you’re a sports industry executive reading this and becoming equal parts excited and terrified, great. This is the correct response.
“The sports industry knows it cannot fight against this audience trend, so in 2025 it will start to adapt to it – or it will lose ground to other forms of entertainment which do.”
“Sports dominate the big screen, but our phones dominate our attention. The trend we will see in 2025 is for sports to abandon the notion of ‘first screen’ and ‘second screen’ and put more emphasis into winning the battle for both screens at the same time.
“The Snapchat sports experience is very different to other platforms,” says Snap’s Macaulay. “There’s a much more fluid fandom around athletes, personalities, style and fashion that comes to life on the platform.
The report says: “Nothing is more sought-after by broadcasters than sports rights, but televisions are no longer anyone’s primary viewing platform. Smartphones have that crown. Joe Harbinson Distribution and partnerships senior lead Channel 4
During 2024, Snap ramped up partnerships with broadcasters and sports organisations to optimise a year packed full of major events, including the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, as well as the UEFA European Football Championship, hosted by Germany.
“That [strategy] means putting content where viewers want to see it and tailoring it to the audiences on those platforms. Our Paralympics coverage was a great example of how we did this.
Rak Patel this month starts his new role as Channel 4’s chief commercial officer. Heading the sales division, one of his key challenges is to expand into new areas of digital growth. Harbinson believes leveraging the power of social media apps like Snapchat, combined with branded content initiatives, will help the pubcaster diversify its revenue streams.
“There are brands now acting as commissioners and going out there to engage with production companies. Bringing brilliant UK creative talent to brands is a very authentic way to bring content to social channels and online platforms.”
Lewis Wiltshire
“Our partnership with Snapchat complements the storytelling on our own platforms, helping to connect millions of new fans with inspiring athletes, unmissable sporting moments and exclusive behind-the-scenes content that we know audiences new and old love.”
Technology is revolutionising sports, but we’re not talking about soccer’s highly divisive Video Assisted Refereeing, or the Hawk-Eye computer vision system commonly used in tennis and cricket. Instead, the smart phone is transforming the way in which audiences consume sports content.
Kahlen Macaulay
As part of Channel 4’s 2024 Paralympics coverage, the broadcaster’s Snapchat profile used the feature to let users try out multiple events through the AR lenses, with venues and sporting equipment overlaid on to the real world. Adam Hills, host of C4 chatshow The Last Leg, joined in the fun by trying his hand at disciplines such as archery and athletics.
Luke Whalley
The IMG report indicates they face a battle to command viewer focus, as audiences become more preoccupied with consuming shortform sports content on social media platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Founded in 2015, London-based The Goat Agency claims to be the world’s leading influencer marketing agency, delivering social-first marketing strategies and data-driven influencer campaigns for clients including UEFA, Formula E and Major League Baseball.
UK commercial pubcaster Channel 4 has been a close collaborator with Snap since 2018, when it was launched shows on Discover, Snapchat’s curated content platform. Shortform clips of Channel 4’s most popular programmes such as First Dates, Married at First Sight UK and Hollyoaks were made available via the platform.
“We have a dedicated social sales team, which is out there landing TV inventory deals, and that has now been folded under our streaming division, so we’re now selling linear, streaming and social ads as one package,” Harbinson says. “It’s become a full service.
“We have a really holistic way of working with all social platforms, Snapchat included,” says Joe Harbinson, distribution and partnerships senior lead at Channel 4. “Our Fast Forward strategy is supercharging our digital transformation on the way to becoming a digital-first streamer. By 2030, it’s our goal for half of our revenues to be from digital and we’re well on target for that.
“With Snap specifically, we wanted to make sure we did something quite different, which led to bringing our viewers and Snapchatters into the Paralympics with a very Channel 4 project using AR lenses.”
According to Snapchat’s Macaulay, a certain degree of complacency has contributed to the sports industry being somewhat slow to catch on to the trend for shortform.
Ellie Hooper
Beyond the Olympics, a weekly sports show was launched on Snapchat, localised for France and the UK, which showcases the best sporting content from the WBD portfolio including the biggest tennis, football and combat sports competitions.
It predicted that the household TV set will lose its crown to smartphones as the first screen through which viewers will consume sports content in 2025. The report suggests viewers’ phones will instead dominate their attention – a forecast that will come as bad news to the broadcast and streaming giants that are spending billions on securing live sports rights. Lewis Wiltshire Senior VP and managing director, digital IMG
“Next to that we have an effective sponsorship partnership and branded content team under Four Studio, which is working closely with creatives and agencies.
Kahlen Macaulay Senior manager of international sports partnerships Snap Inc
“Brands understand the lifetime value of fans and consumers. That philosophy creates revenue opportunities far into the future.”
Tapping into this paradigm shift can be daunting for broadcasters and producers from the legacy TV industry, but the rewards are potentially lucrative. By working with social media platforms, brands and creators, TV executives can tap directly into one of the most evasive demographics in the entertainment business. “ Our partnership with Snapchat complements the storytelling on our own platforms, helping to connect millions of new fans with inspiring athletes, unmissable sporting moments and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Now, the proliferation of social media apps and video-sharing platforms means that they have become less of a temporary distraction and more of a first-choice portal for viewers who want to engage with their favourite athletes and teams.
“Shortform content is now a primary way that many fans engage with sports, and rights holders must tap into its media and sponsorship value,” says Daniel Kirschner, co-founder and CEO of LA-headquartered Greenfly, a provider of shortform media software platforms for over 500 sports teams and 40 leagues around the world.
“If you’re a sports industry executive reading this and becoming equal parts excited and terrified, great. This is the correct response,” says Lewis Wiltshire, senior VP and managing director, digital, at IMG.
“There’s direct monetisation through our revenue share programmes, then there’s the brand pieces where you can bring commercial partners into content and monetise that.
“So, there’s a standard format that exists which is obviously more lucrative in different markets, depending on where our footprint is. For example, we’re absolutely massive in France, while in the UK 22 million people use the app. That’s a huge opportunity.
“In terms of content, the Snapchat app opens directly into a camera – encouraging users to create content. So it’s set up for creatives.”
“We work with organisations such as the International Olympic Committee, the Union of European Football Associations [UEFA] and the International Paralympic Committee to help them reach our young audience.
“There’s this myth that younger audiences are not interested in sports,” says Kahlen Macaulay, senior manager of international sports partnerships at US-based Snap Inc, parent company of social media app Snapchat. “That belief has now been debunked. Younger viewers are just consuming sports content in a different way, on their own terms as opposed to sitting down and watching a full two- or three-hour live sports broadcast. They’re instead consuming sports via shortform content.
“ With Snap specifically, we wanted to make sure we did something quite different, which led to bringing our viewers and Snapchatters into the Paralympics with a very Channel 4 project using AR lenses.
“Traditionally, sport hasn’t had to evolve and be progressive because they already sell out the seating and tickets as well as the sponsorship and broadcast rights, so why should they care?” he says. “Historically, sport has extracted value in the immediacy without forming relationships. But there are many more valuable and long-term revenue opportunities.”
“He got around 76 million views on social media while combined content from the actual PGA tour only got a million,” says Hooper. “That’s the power of influencers.”
By way of example, Hooper points to Bryson DeChambeau, who has been labelled “the MrBeast of golf,” due to his popularity on social media. The two-time Majors winner has almost 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube and went viral recently while attempting to make a hole-in-one by whacking a ball over the roof of his house into the back yard.
“There’s a paradigm shift in viewing habits right now and the way that Snap is leaning into that is unique.” Ellie Hooper Head of client Goat
Luke Whalley, senior director of international digital ad sales at WBD Sports Europe, says: “Our all-platform approach to distributing world-class coverage of the biggest events in the sporting calendar and telling the stories of the athletes competing is how we engage the widest possible international audience.
NCAA Track And Field Championships Qualifiers 2025. Here’s The Men’s List
With both the East and West First Rounds of the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships now complete, the stage is set for the Big Dance. All that’s left is waiting on scratches as attention turns to the national meet. Subscribe To FloTrack To Watch The Diamond League In 2025 2025 NCAA D1 Track […]
With both the East and West First Rounds of the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships now complete, the stage is set for the Big Dance. All that’s left is waiting on scratches as attention turns to the national meet.
Subscribe To FloTrack To Watch The Diamond League In 2025
2025 NCAA D1 Track and Field West Regionals Results
2025 NCAA D1 Track and Field East Regionals Results
From Ethan Strand to Makanakaishe Charamba to Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, this year’s championship fields are stacked with world-class talent. TrackTown USA is primed for what could be a historic few days.
In all, the top 12 athletes from each regional event have advanced to the Championships, totaling 24 qualifiers per event. Additionally, 12 relay teams from each relay event at each Regional will qualify for the Championships.
NCAA Track and Field Championships will take place in Eugene, Oregon, from June 11 to June 14.
Bradley runner Jack Crull is headed to the national finals. The fifth-year senior earned a spot in the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, set for June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon. He is one of 24 qualifiers in the men’s 1,500-meter run, with a time of 3 minutes, 47.31 seconds. Crull is the first BU track athlete […]
Bradley runner Jack Crull is headed to the national finals.
The fifth-year senior earned a spot in the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, set for June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon. He is one of 24 qualifiers in the men’s 1,500-meter run, with a time of 3 minutes, 47.31 seconds.
Crull is the first BU track athlete to qualify for nationals since Tiana LoStracco made the women’s 800 field in 2023. He is the first men’s athlete headed to Eugene since Daniel Gagne made the 1500 in 2017. He and Gagne are BU’s only NCAA outdoor finalists since 1955.
Crull advanced after his performance last week at the NCAA West First Round in College Station, Texas. He finished second in the first round heat and then fifth in the quarterfinal heat to advance — lunging to the line to defeat the next runner by .09 and earn the final spot in the semifinals.
Previously: Record 7 Bradley runners compete this weekend at the NCAA track and field regionals
Crull’s next race is the national 1,500 semifinals, scheduled for 6:21 p.m. CT on June 11. The finals are 7:12 p.m. on June 13.
Six other Bradley athletes competed in the first round at College Station, but did not advance beyond their first race: Jaxson Copelin (men’s 800) Jamie Phillips (men’s 800), Abigail Hancock (women’s 1500), Kaitlyn Sheppard (women’s 1500), Trixie Wraith (women’s 1500) and Nadia Potgieter (women’s 5000).
Volleyball Continues to Bolster Roster with the Addition of USF Transfer Jazeli Vandenburgh
Story Links
CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga volleyball head coach Julie Torbett Thomas added yet another piece to the team’s 2025 roster on Monday, when she announced the addition of USF transfer Jazeli Vandenburgh. Vandenburgh, a five-foot-eight DS/libero, joins the Mocs after helping to lead the Bulls to the 2024 AAC regular season title […]
CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga volleyball head coach Julie Torbett Thomas added yet another piece to the team’s 2025 roster on Monday, when she announced the addition of USF transfer Jazeli Vandenburgh.
Vandenburgh, a five-foot-eight DS/libero, joins the Mocs after helping to lead the Bulls to the 2024 AAC regular season title whilst competing in 24 total matches as a freshman. A native of Murrieta, California, Vandenburgh adds a much-needed depth piece to the UTC backrow, specifically in the areas of serving and serve receive.
“I am ecstatic about the addition of Jazeli Vandenburgh,” Coach Torbett Thomas remarked. “She is a fearless competitor on the court with an infectious personality off the court. Grittiness is an essential trait for a backrow player, and she epitomizes grit.
“I can’t wait to see how she positively impacts the players in the gym with her relentless work ethic.”
Vandenburgh’s most recent 2024 season saw her bring home hardware as a member of the University of South Florida’s indoor team, playing in 24 of the team’s 29 matches in a season in which the Bulls captured the AAC regular season title. She ultimately wrapped up her freshman campaign as one of seven players on the USF roster to record double-digit aces on the year, finishing the season with 32 digs, 11 aces and one assist.
Prior to playing at USF, Vandenburgh was a standout for Murrieta Valley High School back in her hometown of Murrieta, California. Despite a varsity volleyball career that was shortened due to COVID, Vandenburgh still made the most of her three seasons with the Nighthawks by finishing with a 62-29 (.681) record on the varsity squad.
Vandenburgh was tabbed as a First Team All-League selection in her final season at MVHS, while receiving multiple Varsity Defensive Player of the Year honors. She was also named to the 2023 Southwest Freeway All-Tournament Team her senior year and ended up receiving the 2023 Varsity Nighthawk Award to wrap up her career.
Jazeli “Jazi” Vandenburgh, born July 1, 2006, is the daughter of John and Niki Vandenburgh. She also has one brother: Talo. John (father) played college baseball at BYU (1990-92). Jazi currently intends on majoring in special education here at UTC.
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Follow @GoMocsVB on Twitter and @GoMocsVolleyball on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga volleyball.
Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here. Check out the Mocs on the Mic podcast here.
2026 PADDLE AUSTRALIA CANOE POLO TEAM OFFICIAL EOI’s – NOW OPEN
Paddle Australia is now calling for expressions of interest to support our 2026 Canoe Polo National Teams as they travel to the upcoming 2026 ICF Canoe Polo World Championships event to be held in Duisburg, Germany from the 15th – 20th September, 2026. To apply click HERE The Team Officials are responsible […]
Paddle Australia is now calling for expressions of interest to support our 2026 Canoe Polo National Teams as they travel to the upcoming 2026 ICF Canoe Polo World Championships event to be held in Duisburg, Germany from the 15th – 20th September, 2026.
To apply click HERE
The Team Officials are responsible for:
Providing administrative support to the team in the lead up to the tour.
Being a point of contact for Paddle Australia before, during and following the tour.
Being an onsite point of contact for the ICF (if required) while at competition.
Supporting athletes to achieve their best result in competition.
Team Officials may supported by Paddle Australia financially through the award of an honorarium before and/or directly following the event as negotiated with the successful applicant.
Martina Navratilova Refuses To Blast Gender Studies Feminists After Oregon High School TransG Track Drama
PublishedJune 2, 2025 1:31 PM EDT•UpdatedJune 2, 2025 1:31 PM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Lesbian Martina Navratilova has had enough of the biological males who are not only invading high school sports, but ending up on podiums. Navratilova, a raging Lib who supports every other Lib cause besides biological males playing biological females […]
Lesbian Martina Navratilova has had enough of the biological males who are not only invading high school sports, but ending up on podiums.
Navratilova, a raging Lib who supports every other Lib cause besides biological males playing biological females sports, focused her attention Sunday on the Oregon high school track championships where a transG was on the podium for the female high jump.
According to footage obtained by Fox News, Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School, stepped down from their spots on the podium next to the biological male.
Martina caught wind of all this and unloaded:
When Martina was reminded that the “transgender nonsense” was being pushed by middle class women who refuse to speak up and say enough is enough, Martina laughed.
“The world is misogynistic, the world is patriarchal and most of the rules are made by men. And all of the danger comes from men. Try again…,” the biological female tennis player snapped.
Martina changed her tune after being reminded of the East German athletes who were doped up to compete in Olympic Games.
“Makes sense… parents are to blame for a lot of this stuff. But then the parents believe the doctors etc etc,” she replied.
Martina wouldn’t respond when pushed on which political party pushes the transG narrative.
That would require Martina to admit that her precious Dems and their lunatic purple-haired trans Alphabet Mafia have them by the balls and unable to admit that this lunacity is out of control.
Martina knows it’s out of control. She tweets about it incessantly.
Yet, here we are with another transG stealing a podium spot from a biological female.
“Feminists never asked for this. At least not the great majority of us… never,” Martina added.
Uh, you sure about that?
British political leader Nick Buckley reminded Martina what the feminists have been up to lately. “Gender ideology is taught in Gender Studies, which came out of Women’s Studies. Taught by feminist, attended by feminists. It is a feminist problem,” he fired back.
Sadly, Martina hasn’t figured out just who is supporting this stuff.
“Ok- blaming women for males going into women’s sex based spaces. Again- it’s males who make the rules. Blocking you now. Will not stand for this bullshit. This is a left wing issue and but it is not caused by women. Goodbye now,” she concluded.
The theory that red-blooded American men are pushing for dudes with dongs to invade, and dominate, women’s sports is flat-out insane
The Libs at NBC News reported in April that “About 3 in 4 Gen Z men (72%) say transgender women should not be allowed to play female sports, compared with about half of young women (56%).”
Martina doesn’t want to face the facts on this one.
Even after being beaten over their heads since the day they were born that they should just be accepting of anyone who wants to play female athletics, Gen Z men are not supporting this nonsense.
And if we’re to believe the New York Times’ reporting, 79% of Democrats polled in January said biological males shouldn’t be playing in women’s sports.
Martina, do you see the disconnect between the number of Gen Z women who say it’s fine versus the Dems who say this is ridiculous?
Those gender studies women who won’t shave their legs are propping up this nonsense.
Martina will not have it. She swears this is men pushing this. Maybe one of these days she’ll open her eyes.
North Park reveals 2025 Spring Academic All-Conference Honorees
Story Links
CHICAGO, Ill. — North Park saw 60 student-athletes competing in the spring season receive 2025 Dave Wrath Academic All-CCIW honors, up from 58 in 2024. Track & Field standouts Thea Ring and Jereme Ombogo swept the Jack Swartz Award, once more, for the top male and female competing student-athletes. The Dave Wrath Academic All-Conference list […]
CHICAGO, Ill. — North Park saw 60 student-athletes competing in the spring season receive 2025 Dave Wrath Academic All-CCIW honors, up from 58 in 2024. Track & Field standouts Thea Ring and Jereme Ombogo swept the Jack Swartz Award, once more, for the top male and female competing student-athletes.
The Dave Wrath Academic All-Conference list comprises those individuals that achieved an overall grade-point average of 3.30 or above and have served at least one year in residency at their respective school. The award is named after the former Augustana College athletics administrator. Wrath retired in June of 2021 as the Associate Director of Athletics for Media and Alumni Relations, serving the Vikings for 40 years. In addition to his duties at Augustana, Wrath served as the CCIW Sports Information Director from 1996 to 2005 and was instrumental in establishing the CCIW’s Academic All-Conference Program in 2005.
Additionally, the CCIW announced all of the recipients of the Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference award. Each CCIW member institution selects two student-athletes (one men’s athlete & one women’s athlete) from each of the three sport seasons (fall, winter, spring) to be honored as Jack Swartz Academic All-Conference members. To be eligible, an individual must have an overall grade point average of 3.50 or above and have served at least one year in residency at their respective institution. The award is named after the former Wheaton College Director of Athletics and CCIW Commissioner. Swartz served in the Athletics Director role from 1975-1982 and as CCIW Commissioner from 1987 until his passing on July 11, 1997.
Ring, a Physical Education major with a 3.957 GPA, captured her second All-American honor of the academic year after cracking the top 10 at the NCAA Heptathlon. Ring was North Park’s Co-Female Athlete of the Year and placed in the top 10 of five different categories at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the Heptathlon.
Ombogo, a Marketing & Economics major with a 3.933 GPA, became a First Team All-American in the 200m, placing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 21.32. Ombogo, North Park’s Male Athlete of the Year, was named USTFCCCA All-Region in both the 60m and 200m this season.
A complete list of North Park’s 2025 Spring Academic All-CCIW recipients is below:
“In the sports industry, there’s always the challenge of its historical need for immediate money in the bank, but the longer-term play is to think of it more as building enduring relationships with audiences. Once you make a Snapchat user a fan of golf or whatever, they’re going to be lifelong fans.
The same survey by Snap indicates that 55% of respondents believe that the way we consume sports has evolved drastically over the past decade. While older die-hard sports fans are fiercely loyal to just one team or favourite athlete, younger social-savvy consumers are less exclusive and more likely to find their way into sports through adjacent cultures, such as fashion, influencers, creators and brands.
“The sports industry knows it cannot fight against this audience trend, so in 2025 it will start to adapt to it – or it will lose ground to other forms of entertainment which do.”
Lewis Wiltshire
“We have a dedicated social sales team, which is out there landing TV inventory deals, and that has now been folded under our streaming division, so we’re now selling linear, streaming and social ads as one package,” Harbinson says. “It’s become a full service.
| First Take
