Weekly Column: The Creator Economy Is Reshaping the Sports Business

In this week’s column, California Sports Lawyer® CEO and Managing Attorney Jeremy M. Evans examines how the creator economy is reshaping the sports business and why the future of sports media may belong to those who connect most directly with their audiences.

The truth is, the current market for ideas has never been bigger. The age of today is one of massive amounts of information. The problem is setting aside the time to research versus scrolling aimlessly.

You can read the full column below. (Past columns can be found, here).

The creator economy is comprised of 200+ million individual social media influencers, former or active professional athletes, actors, and in general, people with a following that help drive or share the news, products, and advertising. These influencers, as a broad title, can also work for major companies, distributors, and news networks, but because of social media can have individual reach into their digital communities beyond the employer or brand partner. Social media, in other words, has leveled the playing field on how news is distributed and consumed.

Entertainment, media, and sports organizations historically relied on hired broadcasters, newspaper distribution, and radio to get the message out to people. Today, the creator economy may consist of writers, podcasters, and other personalities that are often independent and without oversight. The people themselves are the newsmakers.

One result of the individual as the newsmaker or news sharer is that it has created a fragmented environment for fans and the general public. People cannot access information in one or three places, but many places. A person could hear the news from X, Instagram, Facebook, or some other social media platform, while also watching the news on one of those platforms or a streaming platform.

People today often trust personalities of the newsmakers and news sharers more than institutions and in many ways the trusted personalities that were once the face of a traditional network or business have separated themselves to become independent. There is now a further step occurring where professional sports teams, college athletic departments, and other established businesses have partnered with trusted personalities to reach targeted audiences. It is a reversal of power where the personality drives the engagement that the network craves.

Sports provides several examples of this shift. Athlete-led podcasts, creator-driven sports brands, and independent digital media companies have demonstrated that audiences increasingly follow trusted personalities as much as they follow leagues, teams, and networks. What began as alternative programming has evolved into a meaningful part of the sports media landscape. The result is that creators are no longer simply covering sports. They are becoming influential participants in the sports media ecosystem.

The fragmentation is a concern for consumers, but the cost is still less than cable and watching habits have changed. People purchase cable less, but stream more live sports, movies, and series. The result is that there is a lower-cost for audience acquisition and greater engagement than traditional advertising. There are also new sponsorship and revenue opportunities because social media, podcasting, and streaming platforms have created new opportunities in their ecosystems. The personalities become strategic partners rather than marketing vendors, which creates more trust between the “promoter” or “sponsor” and the consumer.

Creators taking on the news making and news sharer roles comes with its challenges as well. For example, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines require disclosures and added responsibilities for influencers. There are also intellectual property considerations involving the use of league footage, team trademarks, athlete likenesses, and sponsored content. As creators become businesses unto themselves, contractual rights and ownership of content become increasingly important. Second, there is the concern of being first with less thought towards being right. However, the creator economy independent personalities are not without guardrails. "Community Notes" on various platforms along with fact-checking, and in general the public and other feedback and commentary does create a fairer environment to news, ideas, and sponsorships.

The truth is, the current market for ideas has never been bigger. The age of today is one of massive amounts of information. The problem is setting aside the time to research versus scrolling aimlessly.

The future of sports media may be defined less by who owns the broadcast rights and more by who connects directly with the audience, authentically. Success will belong to organizations and talent that understand audience behavior, consumer interests, and legal risk. Networks have never needed talent more than they do today as creators continue to build independent businesses and communities. In today's sports economy, audience trust may be one of the most valuable assets of all.

About Jeremy M. Evans:

Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. An award-winning attorney and industry leader, Evans is based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.