How Social Media Has Evolved the Sports Industry

Madeline Phillips
3 min readJul 27, 2020

As a society, we are constantly evolving, especially when it comes to technology. Now, we have the ability to access everything from the touch of our fingertips. This has had a huge impact on the sports industry and has made it more available for everyone around the world to keep up with.

ESPN is one of the largest sport networks in the world. Not only are they streaming everywhere, but they’re also on multiple social media platforms like Twitter. They are able to tweet about things that wouldn’t be put on their other platforms because of the simplicity. It gives the company an opportunity to work outside of their comfort zone.

Barstool Sports is another huge sports company that has a twitter account with a huge following. Although, Barstool sports is completely different than ESPN. ESPN is more on the professional side, while Barstool tends to sway more towards comical. They are more about posting funny sport videos or memes. But without the rapid growth of social media Barstool Sports wouldn’t be where it’s at today.

Instagram is a huge platform that a lot of people, including myself, use to entertain ourselves. This app allows so many different sources to post whatever picture they want with a witty caption. Sportscenter is another sports company that is now able to post news that normally would be on their channel to a social media site.

Social media is something that will always be changing and companies need to keep up with that. It’s like with the fashion industry the clothes are always changing, so you have to keep up with the new trends. In order for these sport companies to stay relatable they need to constantly keep up with their following and use their social media sites accordingly.

Staying relevant is something all companies need to do in our society nowadays. Back when technology wasn’t as advanced things were different, but the times have evolved. Although, I think the evolution of social media is so great for the sports industry.

In this article, the author discusses the sports industry and how social media’s impact will continue to grow with it. Teens are now able to follow their favorite athlete and watch their everyday lives. These athletes are what some kids dream about becoming, so having the ability to go to their Instagram page and view their way of life makes everything much more personal. Social media has also impacted the rise of revenue for stadiums, which is huge. Now, stadiums are having a full house because of the amount of advertisement done for the team through social media.

Overall, I think it’s amazing how social media has changed the sports industry. Growing up, I always watched sports with my family and now I am able to get ESPN notifications from my phone while at work during the 5th inning of the Arizona Diamondbacks game. Times have changed and it’s for the better.

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