Can live sport win back Gen Z?

In the UK it's way too expensive to watch live football, Premier League greed will reap what it sows eventually.

The holy trinity 68 said:

But you are not everyone. It is 100% due to cost and people preferring to watch on illegal streams that aren't included in the statistics.

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True, and neither are you. I disagree cost is all that is stopping gen Z watching the PL. It’s boring, predictable and lacks entertainment. They have so much more choice then I did for example to fill their time. To say it’s 100% due to cost it just a very limited view on it.

Bertie Wooster said:

I'd agree with much of that.

Finance is an issue though as well, obviously. As when it's expensive, it's an even less appealing option above all the other technology options. But all those other technologies aren't cheap either, so it's not as if it's through poverty and many of those people can't afford it. It's through choice, and choosing things that give more instant entertainment value than a 2 hour football match, a 9 hour / 5 day Cricket match, etc.

The shorter concentration spans, and demand for instant entertainment, means many younger generation aren't as fond of sitting through a full game that might well be pretty dull when in that time they could have watched so many different things on Tik Tok or YouTube - or interacted with people on social media, etc.

So even for many of those following it, watching the best bits on the Internet, and reading what others say about it (fan sites, celebrities, etc) is more appealing than committing the time to watch the whole game.

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They‘d rather watch 2min clips of Goldbridge ranting about a player than watch it themselves and make their own decision.

Cost obviously comes into it but those who think that’s the only reason are delusional.

Ollie Derbyshire said:

I disagree cost is all that is stopping gen Z watching the PL. It’s boring, predictable and lacks entertainment. They have so much more choice then I did for example to fill their time. To say it’s 100% due to cost it just a very limited view on it.

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Yep.

I think those saying it's all because of the cost are doing so mainly to deflect the blame solely onto the greed of TV networks / the PL, rather than also acknowledging that its as much to do with changing societal preferences and an increase in technological choice that coincides with / has caused a reduction in attention span.

So many things that require patience and commitment of time and concentration are deemed old fashioned and becoming anachronisms or changed beyond recognition, as the sought after younger demographics much prefer entertainments that's shorter and more instant. Just look at the newer formats of sports that are introduced to try and address falling attendances or viewing - they're making them ever shorter and with more gimmicks to try and grab the attention of 'the youth market'.

Football is less accessible than it used to be but it’s also less of a spectacle. There’s less flair, less individuality, less characters and less drama. People want to see end to end action, mistakes, players trying things. They want to see rivalries and passion. It’s funny because these are all things which are derided by football purists these days, who emphasise systems and efficiency. It’s robotic football and robotic players.

It has become a game for purists and statisticians, where the focus is on possession and stifling the opponent. It really isn’t all that great to watch. I also think the money in the last 10 or 15 years has further widened the disconnect between fans and the game, and the corruption elements probably won’t help either.

Ollie Derbyshire said:

True, and neither are you. I disagree cost is all that is stopping gen Z watching the PL. It’s boring, predictable and lacks entertainment. They have so much more choice then I did for example to fill their time. To say it’s 100% due to cost it just a very limited view on it.

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Most 18-24 year olds are either at University or just starting out in employment, therefore they cannot justify/afford £40 per month on football. Especially when in the UK, to be able to watch most of your clubs matches, you need a Sky Sports subscription and TNT/BT subscription.

The holy trinity 68 said:

Most 18-24 year olds are either at University or just starting out in employment, therefore they cannot justify/afford £40 per month on football. Especially when in the UK, to be able to watch most of your clubs matches, you need a Sky Sports subscription and TNT/BT subscription.

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My point is I don’t believe it’s purely due to the cost that that demographic is watching less live football. There is a lot more competition for their time now a days to bother watching not just football but sport in general for the entirety of the event.

Kids are not interested that much, or have better things to do. My kid loves to play footbal but you want see him sitting to watch a game on TV. 90 min is probably lifetime for him.

Juicy Juiced said:

Kids are not interested that much, or have better things to do. My kid loves to play footbal but you want see him sitting to watch a game on TV. 90 min is probably lifetime for him.

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Yeah my nephew is football obsessed but I don't think I've ever watched a game with him

sglowrider said:

Young people’s interest in watching sporting events is waning, threatening a business model built on broadcasting rights.


A YouGov report last year found that just 31 per cent of global sports fans aged 18-24 watched live matches, compared with 75 per cent for those 55 and over. Instead, younger viewers were more likely to watch highlights clips or interact with star athletes via social media, while a large portion engage with their preferred sports through video games.

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Football is not different from society. Kids and youngsters nowdays are not on the same level as older people when it comes to pretty much everything.

With that said, football has become its own problem. Those in charge have been chasing money instead of taking care of traditions and people.

Young people are priced out of doing pretty much anything these days unfortunately - they're drawn to free, short stuff cos it's one of the few things they don't have to pay money they don't have for.

It's really not surprising, half the sports these days have sold out to paid services and such. So younger people are not exposed to the sports as much, and as a result don't follow them as closely. If your parents don't have those services, odds are your not going to every start paying for a subscription for a sport you haven't been raised watching.

The holy trinity 68 said:

Most 18-24 year olds are either at University or just starting out in employment, therefore they cannot justify/afford £40 per month on football. Especially when in the UK, to be able to watch most of your clubs matches, you need a Sky Sports subscription and TNT/BT subscription.

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It’s closer to 100 if you want decent broadband as well (they do), me and my wife are the target market for football as we both love it and she has weekends off.
Both of us are debating whether to just get a fire stick now

Zen86 said:

Football is less accessible than it used to be but it’s also less of a spectacle. There’s less flair, less individuality, less characters and less drama. People want to see end to end action, mistakes, players trying things. They want to see rivalries and passion. It’s funny because these are all things which are derided by football purists these days, who emphasise systems and efficiency. It’s robotic football and robotic players.

It has become a game for purists and statisticians, where the focus is on possession and stifling the opponent. It really isn’t all that great to watch. I also think the money in the last 10 or 15 years has further widened the disconnect between fans and the game, and the corruption elements probably won’t help either.

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This is very much true.

It just isn’t particularly entertaining anymore for the most part.

Dargonk said:

It's really not surprising, half the sports these days have sold out to paid services and such. So younger people are not exposed to the sports as much, and as a result don't follow them as closely. If your parents don't have those services, odds are your not going to every start paying for a subscription for a sport you haven't been raised watching.

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In Bosnia is 10e, for EPL, SeriaA, La Liga, CL, EL, CL and cup from epl, seria A, la liga and kids couldn't care less.

They are just not interested like we used to be.

Ollie Derbyshire said:

Main reason its in decline:
1. Social media
2. Short attention spans; due to no. 1
3. A lot of kids follow players and not clubs; generally on no. 1 not by actually watching games
4. The overall quality is poor
5. The entertainment level is low; due to no. 4 and having the majority of leagues being dominated by the same clubs

From own experience it’s not about the cost of watching it live or live on TV anymore, kids just don’t want to ‘waste’ their time watching full games full stop when they can see the best bits on tik tok and learn names and teams by playing fifa. It’s just not a big deal to most teenagers anymore.

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I think this whole attention span thing is total nonsense.

Just because their attention span is elsewhere doesn't mean they have a short attention span, they just find it interesting.

how do you convince a young person to have any interest in this robotic, uncompetitive cheat parade. with the nauseating soundtrack of the media. No wonder they're all playing video games

Hammondo said:

I think this whole attention span thing is total nonsense.

Just because their attention span is elsewhere doesn't mean they have a short attention span, they just find it interesting.

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I can tell you mine definitely have short attention spans.

Juicy Juiced said:

In Bosnia is 10e, for EPL, SeriaA, La Liga, CL, EL, CL and cup from epl, seria A, la liga and kids couldn't care less.

They are just not interested like we used to be.

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Exactly, it was sport sport sport when I was that age, totally different now. And I don’t blame them one bit.

The holy trinity 68 said:

Most 18-24 year olds are either at University or just starting out in employment, therefore they cannot justify/afford £40 per month on football. Especially when in the UK, to be able to watch most of your clubs matches, you need a Sky Sports subscription and TNT/BT subscription.

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Thing is it's not even 40 quid anymore, you need multiple subscriptions to get the full experience and can easily go into 3 figures with long contractual requirements.

Zen86 said:

Football is less accessible than it used to be but it’s also less of a spectacle. There’s less flair, less individuality, less characters and less drama. People want to see end to end action, mistakes, players trying things. They want to see rivalries and passion. It’s funny because these are all things which are derided by football purists these days, who emphasise systems and efficiency. It’s robotic football and robotic players.

It has become a game for purists and statisticians, where the focus is on possession and stifling the opponent. It really isn’t all that great to watch. I also think the money in the last 10 or 15 years has further widened the disconnect between fans and the game, and the corruption elements probably won’t help either.

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I agree with this. Watching a game as a neutral is fecking boring. The lack of characters is a killer too. All monotone footballers

Lay said:

I agree with this. Watching a game as a neutral is fecking boring. The lack of characters is a killer too. All monotone footballers

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The only time I watch a non-United game is if I happen to be in the pub. I haven’t just watched a game at home for a good few years. The NT tournaments are more interesting, I appreciate them more these days as it’s a bit more passionate and chaotic.

If audiences go down and the TV revenue eventually follows suit does that mean we might see a more even playing field between the teams from countries who currently have large TV deals and those who don't? After all, TV money from subscription channels played a part in the larger population countries of Europe becoming more dominant. Other stuff happened too of course, but that contributed and quite a lot too.

Or would everyone's money go down proportionally with the gaps remaining?

It could be a positive to me, or at least a silver lining if the first of those happened.

I'm another who now doesn't watch much besides United and no other live sport either. I'm certainly older than Gen Z, just old enough to be late Gen X. I know people say that life gets in the way as you get older, but I do have the time to watch a fair bit more than I actually do. Would rather do other things instead.

When I was in that 18-24 bracket if I was at home I'd scour the TV channels for as much live football as possible, and if there was no football on any other live sport I could find. Wasn't always 100% watching it as I'd be on my laptop at the same time often, but it was on. For some daft reason I am still subbed to Sky sports despite hardly ever watching it.