Organized sporting events aren’t just about highlights and box scores anymore. As the worlds of sports, entertainment and culture collide, Bleacher Report wants to be known as home base for all the attendant conversation and commentary.
“I think what we see now is people are really engaged in sports moments and they don’t traditionally see those moments now during a three- to four-hour game broadcast,” says Bleacher Report President Rory Brown. “This is the audience we want to speak to.”
Fresh off a re-launch of the Bleacher Report brand and an app refresh, Brown explains that the company continues to acquire young fans because its approach differs so much from that of traditional legacy sports coverage in this interview with Beet.TV at the Digital Content NewFronts.
While the 18-34 demographic is the company’s strike zone, “At the same time we’re even getting folks younger” as they figure out “who they are as sports fans,” Brown says. This can be the result of someone acquiring a smartphone for the first time.
“We’re growing up with this fan base and we really do see ourselves as the leader of sports culture specifically for the modern sports fan.”
Bleacher Report has some 4.3 million followers on Instagram, ADWEEK reports.
Now age 34, Brown recalls growing up watching SportsCenter and game highlights on TV because those were the only sources of information available. But it’s a whole different ballgame now, mainly due to fan interaction via digital channels.
Even though the Super Bowl will always be the Super Bowl and one NBA game is still “a very engaging linear experience,” the conversations happening on social media in particular are a locus for fan engagement.
“And Bleacher Report is the place where that’s happening,” says Brown. “It’s a no brainer for people to bring their brands and dollars because we’re engaging them outside of just that exclusive live window.”
This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of the IAB’s Digital Content NewFronts 2017. The series is sponsored by the IAB. For more videos from the #NewFronts, please visit this page.
