Will the Web Save SportsCenter?

(This post is by Fouad ElNaggar)

Paul Kapustka recently wrote a post on how changing media consumption in the sports world could herald the end of SportsCenter. In a world where on-demand highlights are just a click away, I can understand his skepticism regarding the future of SportsCenter. While I agree with his assessment that the sun may be setting on the hour-long sports programming block, I believe that the innovations we are seeing in the “bite-sizeification of content” will lead to maintaining, or even increasing, the relevance of ESPN.

ESPN has done a good job of taking baby steps towards increasing the value of their content to consumers. They have realized that most people do not have two hours a day to dedicate to sports on a general level.

ESPN has made smart programming changes to deal with this reality. From the “Coming Up” bumpers going into commercials so that consumers could see past the commercial break to the redesign of the ESPN News ticker to allow easier tracking of how long one needs to wait for a relevant score, ESPN has demonstrated a commitment to cater to shifts in consumer desires.

As broadband penetration increased, they began populating their website with SportsCenter segments. They took an even bigger step when they started exposing segment queues on shows like Pardon the Interruption – giving a visual “fast forward” to let viewers determine if there were segments worth sticking around for. With a TiVo, anyone can pick the parts they want to watch and discard the rest.

So what does this move towards bite-sized pieces of professionally produced content mean to online video? I think there are three main takeaways:

1) Allowing the consumer to interact with and control programming will lead to increased engagement.

2) Video search and the aggregation of video feeds becomes more meaningful when professional content is broken down into well tagged and indexed segments.

3) New channels for targeting consumers will emerge, allowing content creators to more effectively monetize their inventory — which will inspire more professional content producers to create bite-sized media.

As for SportsCenter, I can envision a completely different user experience emerging in the next five years, becoming more of a personally programmed sports information experience. In a single location, I will be able to watch relevant video segments from SportsCenter, PTI, and local coverage of my favorite teams.

The information ESPN will glean from my queue will allow them to target me more effectively with advertising – I would be the first to fill out a form describing the products that generally interest me if it meant and end to the never-ending stream of commercials for male enhancement products. Once the experience is truly customized to my liking, ESPN will have me for a block of uninterrupted time – Stuart Scott will still have a job and SportsCenter will become my true “Sports Center.”

(Fouad works at Redpoint Ventures where he focuses on online media and consumer deals. He can be reached at felnaggar@redpoint.com.)