Rethinking rights for the social-first generation.

Imagine launching a new sport format or new competition today. A fresh take on volleyball perhaps, with innovative scoring and heightened jeopardy. Your target audience is under 30. The SAME people that spend a third of their day on social video and gaming platforms, the same people who consume more content than ever, and who expect to collaborate rather than just spectate.

Would you package up your rights into the usual broadcast bundles?

That would be folly. For social-first sports consumers a new distribution plan is needed, that better suits Gen Z and A’s engagement habits. It doesn’t mean abandoning existing fans, but it does mean dual strategies.

DID YOU KNOW that Generation Beta starts being born next year??

We need to get a move on.

1. Forget exclusivity

The old model was about scarcity. The new one is about ubiquity. It is oft said, your content should be “in front of your audience where they are” and that means in a format that suits each platform. In an attention economy if you’re not there, you’re anonymous. That’s bad.?

Each platform needs a bespoke strategy that is complimentary to the whole, but that services the specific 'need-state' of the fan whilst they’re there in that moment.?

TikTok gets vertical, fast-paced content, challenges and meme-based content. It can accelerate discoverability for a team, athlete or competition and a place to show that you're current, and listening.

YouTube gets deep analysis, increasingly longform, adjacent content for hungry fans to immerse and go deep. YouTube and/or Twitch does live alt commentary streams well.

Streaming (going big on sport as appointment-to-view) and traditional broadcast do feature, but they’ve slipped in the pecking order.?

2. Embrace the creators

Broadcast partners ARE NOT your most important storytellers anymore. Not if you want to engage a cohort born in the mid-90s or later.

Your creator network is.?

This is a group for whom sports content means something entirely different to their parents.?

Follow the NBA’s lead ????, give creators some rights. Let them remix, reinterpret, and redistribute your content. They understand their audiences better than traditional media ever will.

Creator rights should be part of the rights mix from now on.?

3. Make fans part of your product.

Generation Z and A doesn't just want to watch – they want to participate. Build fan content creation into your strategy. Let them be part of the story - it’s time to let them in. Their engagement isn't just about consumption, nor should be considered a way to take their data and monetise them, it's about allowing them to contribute too. Think two-way, not one-way.?

Who wouldn’t want a marketing army creating noise around your product if you gave them some access to the toolbox??

4. Think in transmedia

Content isn't just the game and direct derivatives. It's:

• athletes and their stories
• player reactions
• crowd moments, super fandoms
• behind-the-scenes drama
• skills challenges, training sessions,?
• strategy discussions, technical details
• fan hot takes, analysis from different experts?
• memes and trending content

Each layer needs its own rights structure, its own distribution strategy, its own narrative, its own monetisation model.

And there it is, the inevitable “what about the money?" question asked by those thinking back to those big cheques and juicy broadcast deals. It’s an uncomfortable truth - but holding onto outdated distribution models for short-term gain is rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

New revenues will come through:

• Platform-specific ad rev share
• Creator economy integration
• Direct fan monetisation, digital and physical?
• New digital sponsorship real estate
• 3D immersive experiences
• Fan community marketplaces
• It's no longer one big cheque. It's a thousand smaller amounts that add up to something more sustainable.

So, next time rights strategy is discussed, consider rights that enable rather than restrict. That connect rather than protect. That amplify rather than control and that allow conversation rather than one-way broadcast.

There CAN be new structures that better fit consumption patterns and that are sustainable.