An overflow of content won't solve the enshittification of sports marketing

So how did we end up here? And what’s the cost of this apparently nil-sum content game?

The precarious tightrope that rights holders are obliged to walk means they have to commercialize those rights by generating new sponsorships and driving new content strands. The result is an acceleration in the volume of content driven by contractual obligations.

Yet rights holders are also meant to protect the value of their products—a value that’s currently being chipped away by an endless stream of clips, highlights and post-game interviews. All this churn comes at the expense of creativity, social media talent - and, fundamentally, consumer engagement. The result is the enshittification of sports marketing. Let me explain.

So much for creativity

Most of the content in this volume play is organic – and organic reach is falling so the rights holders have to keep producing more and more to get half as much reach. This is the nil-sum game.

Not to mention, they’re shouting into the same hurricane as TV, newspapers and other media, prioritizing speed over judgment and adding to the noise rather than cutting through it.

This is leading to the creative death spiral I mentioned. That snap editorial decision of ‘clip it’ to feed the media machine is hardly leading to memorable content.

So, what is memorable sports social content? What should it be? The best content amplifies the fan experience – and even permeates wider culture to bring in new fans. It should be additive so that the brand adds to the team or athlete and vice versa.

It should also be culturally led, like all the best social moments – but engaging in the proper creative thinking to seize the zeitgeist is hardly feasible when a rights holder is insistent on producing several hundred pieces of different social content. Every. Single. Day.

So much for talent

The domino effect of this creative burnout. A sports team might be putting out 15,000 pieces of content every month, usually pushed out by mid-level content managers. They’re required to be everything from graphic designer, video editor, DoP to copywriter, every day of the week for a volume of content that is completely unsustainable (and I’ve spoken to several who are basically burnt out after a year).

The pressure to be a creative powerhouse - to come up with that single iconic insight, that moment that will capture and keep audience engagement - on top of the churn is unrealistic and at its worst, adds to the creative wasteland.

Change the game

It’s time to reassess how we approach social media marketing in sports. The focus has to be on protecting and enhancing the core identity of the sport itself—which is often the on-field action, the stars of the game, and the cultural impact it has outside of the sport.

Recent social algorithm changes are also demanding a new approach. TikTok prioritizes entertainment, yet sports bodies seem to be focused on clipping every single piece of the action, commoditizing the on-field action and destroying the sanctity of live sports.

But right now, any value, any authenticity and any entertainment are being lost. The volume game is winning amid a tsunami of clips and highlight reels from all corners of the media ecosystem. Some rights holders are even turning to generative AI to keep up the volume without realizing that the ongoing drop in organic reach isn’t something any AI tool can fix.

To change things, we need rights holders to make a strategic shift (as the new algorithms are demanding) and be brave enough to create fewer, bigger, better pieces.

It can’t be a question of ‘everyone else is doing lots – we need to do even more’. They need to slow down, reprioritize and get back to the basics of what makes quality content. They also need to protect the overworked talent behind it.

Budgets need to shift back to building real value through engagement – creating iconic moments rather than spending budget on a falling level of performance. They need to be authentic and share the clips and highlights that are truly meaningful. Or even better, work with fans, influencers and creators to augment those moments on your behalf.

It’s time to turn off the noise. If we don’t, audiences that are already blasé will be put off completely. And then no one will win, which is not something any sports fan should ever want to hear.