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Future Forward: Fans

getty images / photo illustration by liz spangler

If you are 50 years old, you were among the first to grow up with dozens of cable channels. If you are 40, you came of age alongside the internet. If you are 30, you saw the emergence of the cellphone. If you are 20, your cellphone has always been a smartphone. If you are 10, you’ll soon use that smartphone to stream your favorite influencers.

Technology evolves quickly. It changes how we consume sports, and even who consumes sports — in stadiums and arenas, at home and in our palms.

The only thing constant is change.

In the pages that follow, we introduce a quarterly feature that will examine some of the changes expected to affect the sports business over the next 20 years. In Future Forward, we’ll look at technology, but also demography. At preferences and aversions. At influences and ideas. We’ll ask not only how, but who and why.

The series begins as all things do in the sports business, with the fans, and three D’s that bear particular watching — demographics, delivery and demand.

Chasing the next generation of fans

By Bret McCormick

Relying on a tech turning point

By Eric Prisbell

Fueling interest on their terms

By Bill King

First Look podcast, with Future Forward content at the 17:23 mark:

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: April 25, 2024

Motor City's big weekend; Kevin Warren's big bet; Bill Belichick's big makeover and the WNBA's big week continues

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy, ESPN’s Tim Reed, NBA Playoffs and NFL Draft

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with TNT’s Stan Van Gundy as he breaks down the NBA Playoffs from the booth. Later in the show, we hear from ESPN’s VP of Programming and Acquisitions Tim Reed as the NFL Draft gets set to kick off on Thursday night in Motown. SBJ’s Tom Friend also joins the show to share his insights into NBA viewership trends.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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