A thread about ESPN/Disney and the future of College Football broadcasting

Gaming is one of the ways kids socialize nowadays. My son is a college student, stays busy with all types of club sports and other social Activities(going out/partying) but still gets on his Xbox and plays fortnight and other popular games with friends. It’s a mainstream thing now. Has very little interest in watching college or pro sports(unless he’s betting on a game). Most kids prefer to sit and watch other professional gamers play their favorite games on YouTube as enjoyment rather than watch tv or a movie. That is the new reality with younger generation.
 
ncyj said:
Gaming is one of the ways kids socialize nowadays. My son is a college student, stays busy with all types of club sports and other social Activities(going out/partying) but still gets on his Xbox and plays fortnight and other popular games with friends. It’s a mainstream thing now. Has very little interest in watching college or pro sports(unless he’s betting on a game). Most kids prefer to sit and watch other professional gamers play their favorite games on YouTube as enjoyment rather than watch tv or a movie. That is the new reality with younger generation.
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SAD
 
WracerX said:
I think sports are reaping what they have sown. They priced people out of the stadiums, so they lost a generation of kids. It’s not that people are staying home because the experience is better. People are staying home because they can’t afford to attend games. No more little Johnny going to the stadium with dad. Now dad is at home but Johnny is on his phone in another room. There is no connection with the team.

Is the experience better at home? Yes, but they have lost the once a season trip down to the park to take it all in. And without that, kids aren’t interested in watching at home.
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I'm in my 40's now but I don't think this is correct. I didn't go to my first GT game until I was in high school. I became a fan because my grandparents were fans but they never went to games. Watched on TV. And there was no HD back then. I became a GT fan in 1990 which I think is your biggest cue to who becomes fans, people love winners. My first piece of GT apparel was a baseball jacket that was passed down to me, cost was not a barrier

But as far as "going to games" my dad and his family are big georgie fans. I went to probably 2-3 games in Athens every year from the time I could walk until I was 9. Even still went to a few games there in my teens to cheer for whoever uga was playing.

But I think today, kids are more attracted to "players" than "teams." I don't think that's entirely new but fantasy sports has certainly contributed. That and media focuses on personalities more than they used to. My kids favorite athlete is Ronald Acunua Jr and we can't understand a word he says but they love the swagger!
 
WracerX said:
I have teenage kids. We live in the south and the school is upper middle class/ lower upper class. The school is about as diverse as America in general, except swapping hispanics with asians (all kinds).

They have an esports team that has won the state and competes well every year. The overall support for that team is somewhere between women’s soccer and cross country.

Maybe esports will displace traditional sports, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
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The watchers of e-sports will likely never be in the stands of a stadium but in the view count on a live stream or replay video. This is where the advertisers get the exposure they are after.
 
Buzzilla said:
The watchers of e-sports will likely never be in the stands of a stadium but in the view count on a live stream or replay video. This is where the advertisers get the exposure they are after.
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There will definitely be a market for eSports in a stadium. In fact, it's already happening.

League of legends crowd:

1689870376956.png


Dota crowd:

1689870468561.png


Counterstrike crowd:

1689870513327.png
 
rocky top buzz said:
But I think today, kids are more attracted to "players" than "teams." I don't think that's entirely new but fantasy sports has certainly contributed. That and media focuses on personalities more than they used to. My kids favorite athlete is Ronald Acunua Jr and we can't understand a word he says but they love the swagger!
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Social media also contributes to this a lot. Athletes can (and do) speak directly to fans and build a brand for themselves via social media, leading people to feel a personal connection with them.
 
andrew said:
The meme of gamers having an aversion to normal sports and spending all of their hours in front of a screen is also pretty outdated.

Gaming is a pretty mainstream hobby at this point for anyone mid 30s and younger as opposed to being the domain of social outcasts and children like in the 90s.

It's very common to like both gaming and sports, and it's not rare to hear sports talk on video game streams, or to hear pro athletes talking about video games.
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Sure, you will find some cross section in the Venn diagram of mainstream pro sports and gamers/e-sports fans. But I think most of these in this cross section are types that 20 years ago would have been hard core fans of college and pro sports on television exclusively. So instead of gaining new fans of traditional sports from those that were exclusively gamers, you are finding new gamers from those that were exclusively traditional sports fans.

In other words, the number of exclusively traditional sports fans is eroding and the entertainment market share of gaming and e-sports is growing with or without those who also have interest in traditional sports. Put a different way, the number of traditional sports entertainment consumers, pro and college, isn't growing and very likely is declining.

This article is from January 2020, before all of the events of that year hit the fan: The Decline Of Football Is Real And It’s Accelerating https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerp...is-real-and-its-accelerating/?sh=465b7b6a2f37

Given what happened in 2020 and the following years up till now, this situation undoubtedly has become even worse.
 
andrew said:
There will definitely be a market for eSports in a stadium. In fact, it's already happening.

League of legends crowd:

1689870376956.png


Dota crowd:

1689870468561.png


Counterstrike crowd:

1689870513327.png
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That is impressive. Not sure they can fill arenas on the regular like traditional sports did in the past, but still, that is a surprising number of people filling a large space to watch people play video games on a giant screen.
 
Buzzilla said:
Sure, you will find some cross section in the Venn diagram of mainstream pro sports and gamers/e-sports fans. But I think most of these in this cross section are types that 20 years ago would have been hard core fans of college and pro sports on television exclusively. So instead of gaining new fans of traditional sports from those that were exclusively gamers, you are finding new gamers from those that were exclusively traditional sports fans.

In other words, the number of exclusively traditional sports fans is eroding and the entertainment market share of gaming and e-sports is growing with or without those who also have interest in traditional sports. Put a different way, the number of traditional sports entertainment consumers, pro and college, isn't growing and very likely is declining.

This article is from January 2020, before all of the events of that year hit the fan: The Decline Of Football Is Real And It’s Accelerating https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerp...is-real-and-its-accelerating/?sh=465b7b6a2f37

Given what happened in 2020 and the following years up till now, this situation undoubtedly has become even worse.
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That is fair. In general, the number of options for entertainment, including gaming, has increased, and to some extent that will necessarily cannibalize previously dominant forms of entertainment.

Kind of like how we'll never seen a series finale pull MASH numbers again simply because there are so many shows out there now.
 
Buzzilla said:
That is impressive. Not sure they can fill arenas on the regular like traditional sports did in the past, but still, that is a surprising number of people filling a large space to watch people play video games on a giant screen.
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Yeah, things have changed, gaming is a pretty social activity now and all kinds of people participate in it.

I reached Platinum 2 ranking on Street Fighter 6, a game I literally practice for, last night. Tonight I'm going out drinking with friends. Sunday I'm playing basketball. And in October I'm going to Miami for the Tech game with some college buddies... who also game. So it's not just room dwellers anymore.

And while it may sound weird to go to a stadium to watch people play video games against each other, when you think about it it's not any weirder than going to a stadium to watch people throw a leather ball through a hoop against each other.
 
I remember one example that reached into the mainstream. Remember during early covid times, NASCAR didn't hold races for a bit, but instead they broadcast drivers racing against each other using the iRacing sim. Millions watched.
 
Good thread. I’m learning a lot. Which means I’m old and out of touch.
 
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
 
midatlantech said:
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
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midatlantech said:
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
Click to expand...
midatlantech said:
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
Click to expand...
midatlantech said:
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
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Damn. Your son sounds like he's living the dream.
 
andrew said:
Damn. Your son sounds like he's living the dream.
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He wanted to be a game designer and after spending a day with Warner Brothers, they offered him that gig. This was 12 years ago. He turned it down realizing he liked big picture stuff. I’d love some Atlanta company who wants in this world to hire him and bring him back east…but unlikely.
 
Once all the boomers and gen xers die off we'll see what happens. They are the generation raised on TV/cable. The generations after that don't know what it was like pre-Internet.
 
midatlantech said:
He wanted to be a game designer and after spending a day with Warner Brothers, they offered him that gig. This was 12 years ago. He turned it down realizing he liked big picture stuff. I’d love some Atlanta company who wants in this world to hire him and bring him back east…but unlikely.
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Cox Media
 
midatlantech said:
Some of you may know my son. In college he was webcasting LOL tournaments and was hired by Fox IGN. He broadcast and set up tournaments. 6 weeks into his job he ran a Vegas LOL tourney. In only four weeks or so, they sold 3500 rooms at their hotel and plus another 1500. He was given the penthouse.
The semi finals and finals was so raucous the five man teams couldn’t communicate to each other and the audience was asked to tone it down often. Because of this my son visited The LA Forum, they were going to bus everybody to LA next time. 6 months later LOL announced their “15,000 seat stadiums in every city”. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s closer.

Ps my son is an athlete, can shoot in the 70’s in golf now, plays basketball, Rock climber, etc.

Also for you fortnight guys, he ran the $1M charity event with the NFL and fortnight during Super Bowl Week.

Anyway, college football is destroying itself, not kids playing esports. TV is destroying it too. Games used to have this wonderful ebb and flow that you could only feel on site. Now, it’s run three plays… commercials. It sucks at the stadium.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I wasn't implying everyone that is a gamer is a room dweller with no athletic predilection. It may be a "gamer meme" but that wasn't what I was basing my comments on. I was making an observation of the millennial and younger generations that I have seen in public. And that sample size contains a large population that are either grossly overweight or under nourished, generally weak in appearance and very likely not into athletics as participants or fans. Their interests appear to be something else. I live near a large university so I see a fair number of them. This observed sample size may not be representative of the majority of "young people" and obviously there are a number of exceptions to these observations such as your son.

Just reporting what I see. Not intended as an insult toward anyone's favorite gamer, millennial or gen-Z'er.
 
Buzzilla said:
FWIW, I wasn't implying everyone that is a gamer is a room dweller with no athletic predilection. It may be a "gamer meme" but that wasn't what I was basing my comments on. I was making an observation of the millennial and younger generations that I have seen in public. And that sample size contains a large population that are either grossly overweight or under nourished, generally weak in appearance and very likely not into athletics as participants or fans. Their interests appear to be something else. I live near a large university so I see a fair number of them. This observed sample size may not be representative of the majority of "young people" and obviously there are a number of exceptions to these observations such as your son.

Just reporting what I see. Not intended as an insult toward anyone's favorite gamer, millennial or gen-Z'er.
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For something that's not intended as an insult you're certainly saying a lot of insulting things about a group of people you admitted up front you know "practically nothing about."
 
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