A recent Harris Poll suggested less than half of Americans miss watching sports on TV amid the pandemic, but ESPN Senior VP & Editor-At-Large/ESPN Content Rob King is not concerned, saying, "When there is fresh live sports, featuring the most popular entertainers on the planet, the audience will appear." King, speaking as part of an editorial roundtable during Part II of SBJ: The Road Ahead Virtual Series, said, "I honestly believe that we're talking about habit at this point. People don't miss it because they adopted other habits. There's a lot of consumption of news: cable news, particularly at the moment. There's a lot of consumption of streaming." SBJ's John Ourand said one challenge for leagues is drawing in the casual fans who "have now had about four months to find something different to do." In regard to MLB, Ourand said, "If everything goes well, it's going to be a 60-game sprint. People are going to get it and watch it. But it's going to be impossible to compare the passion around that with last season or next season." SBJ contributor Shira Springer believes the 60-game season will be an "advantage to drawing in the casual fan," because the normal 162-game season "can kind of drag and grind on and can be a turn-off to people." The 60-game season provides an "easy access point to the game, which may actually, in the end, help the sport."
VARYING DEGREES: The same Harris Poll also suggested Americans are generally pessimistic about the ability of sports leagues to complete their seasons, and Springer said her level of optimism is "right there along with the polling data." Springer: "I am not that optimistic. I just think there are so many variables and so many obstacles." She added there also are "larger concerns about the optics" of players and reporters getting tested daily. Springer: "What if you have people who can't get test results while the MLS and NBA are getting quick test results?" Ourand said his optimism "really depends on not even the day, but the hour." The ability for leagues to be flexible is important because "there are going to be some things that happen to derail them." Ourand: "It's how these leagues and teams are able to work the way around that. And I think that the leadership is such that they're going to be able to do it." King: "I just, at the moment, choose optimism."
STAYING POWER: In light of the Black Lives Matter movement and more athletes having a voice on social justice issues, Springer said one of the things that "makes it sustainable is the empowerment that the athletes are feeling." Springer: "What we're going to see, and what I think is interesting to watch, is how the power dynamics are going to shift in sports because of this movement. And people who may not have previously felt empowered are going to feel empowered. But also, that power is going to mean something." King said one of the things he learned while producing the ESPYs this year is "ally-ship is as material as activism." King: "This is not going to be a movement. This is actually going to be a demonstration of commitment to change. And in that respect, it forces those of us who cover these athletes, those of us who follow them as fans, to hear a more consistent message than we've ever heard."
