The upcoming Olympic Games are trying to attract a young audience. Broadcasting rights are a source of huge revenue, yet surveys show that only a minority of young people watch sport via live streaming. So how to reach Generation Z? With almost half of the world's population planning to watch the sporting event of the year, the organisers are trying to come up with new, modern ways: they have invited a number of influencers to Paris and have enlisted the help of pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
Watching the sporting events is gradually moving to the internet and social networks. Three billion people watched the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 across TV and the internet. But they broke one record: on digital platforms owned by official broadcasters, the videos had a combined 28 billion views. That's 139 percent more than the previous Summer Games in Rio in 2016. During the upcoming Games in Paris, which start in less than two weeks, the figure is likely to rise again. And no wonder.
After all, research by YouGov last year revealed that only 31 per cent of fans aged 18-24 watch live sports, compared to 75 per cent of those aged over 55 - and it's safe to assume the gap will be even wider for teenagers. Younger viewers prefer highlights and interacting with athletes via social media. A large proportion of them also engage in their preferred sports through video games.
The International Olympic Committee is therefore trying to engage young viewers in a variety of ways. For example, through attractive content, the Games are again adding popular sports such as skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, breakdancing and 3×3 basketball to the programme this year. These are intended to reflect the interests of Generation Z, which even according to the committee itself is more urban and inclusive.
The younger generation also favours lifestyle-focused sports content, according to the YouGov report. This is also why influencers will converge in Paris to give their followers an exclusive behind-the-scenes and private look at athletes, competitions and other programming. One of them will be thirty-one-year-old American model Haley Kalil, who shoots funny videos on the network and who has 5.7 million followers on her Instagram. She will take centre stage at the Olympics thanks to media company NBCUniversal. But Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and Overtime, a media company aimed at Generation Z sports fans, will also bring their allied creators to this year's Olympics.
"From the athletes to the food to the various celebrations, content creators will offer their fans a unique and engaging perspective on this summer's global gathering in Paris,"
Gary Zenkel, head of NBC's U.S. division focused on Olympic coverage, explained the move.
Further evidence of the efforts to engage young audiences is the new official trailer for the Games, which features well-known singer Sabrina Carpenter, the author of this year's hit song Espresso. It is the latter that plays in the background of the video as the pop star chats with a virtual bird and gushes about the upcoming Olympics.
Source: cc.cz
