Hey everyone - welcome back for the 92nd edition of The SEG3 Report.

For this week’s edition: We cover Dizplai’s Anonymous Fan index, FOX’s launch of a Creator Studio & Goalhanger’s acquisition of Premier League archive rights - all of which dissect the upside for brands and IP owners when they start behaving more like creators.

Let’s dive in ⤵️

As we talked about in last weeks edition, one of the key takeaways from SEG3 LA was that UGC is becoming the centre of the experience - now with enough weight and clout that culture is beginning to orbit around it.

And so I was interested to this week read The Anonymous Fan index by Dizplai, which delved into the relationship between creators, platforms and sports organisations, and the value being left on the table by not behaving more like creators.

Here’s one particular stat that stood out from it:

76% of fans are anonymous to the organisations they support

According to the research, most rights holders only have first-party data on around 24% of their fanbase - with 1 in 5 only knowing 0-10%.

Now, this is something we have talked about a fair bit in previous editions (namely Edition 31 for anyone looking for some extra reading) - but nonetheless, looking at it through a creator lens is interesting because it reframes where the problem actually sits.

It’s not that creators are magically better at data than sports organisations - in fact, the report suggests both giants (brands/IP) and underdogs (creators) both know only around ¼ of their fanbases.

So what’s the difference?

It’s that the most successful creators don’t treat attention like the end goal - but instead treat it as just the start of the relationship.

Because to them, content is just the infrastructure; a necessity if you will, that keeps them front of mind and relevant with their audience, whilst also sustaining all other areas of their ecosystem (whether that be brand partnerships, memberships, merch, live events etc).

And this can now be the only logical way of thinking given the biggest reach channels (broadcast & socials) are the hardest ones to convert from anonymous to known; broadcast viewers (67%) & social followers (33%).

In other words, the places where IP is most often discovered are also the places where rights holders learn the least about who’s actually on the other side of the screen.

Now, combine this with another finding that 87% say they’re under moderate-to-high pressure from sponsors to deliver measurable fan engagement, and you can see why there is urgency to understand their fanbase on a deeper level.

So, how can that be done?

Make fans the asset you build the business around

As we covered in Edition 31, execs are expecting growth in D2C and digital products over the next five years, and basically no growth in media rights.

But for that to become reality, the tracking of known-fan growth will need to become a (or THE) core business metric.

The report suggests an audit, and I’d agree it’s a good place to start to figure out:

With that end goal in place, it’ll become much easier to design the fan journey so that the fan is always progressing towards becoming known - and for organisations that buy into it, it can provide a much needed north star for all areas of the business to aim towards to ensure long-term brand and commercial sustainability.

One of the clearest things that came out of SEG3 London last summer was how much the conversation has shifted when it comes to producing and financing content.

Creators are using UGC platforms to build audience, test ideas and prove demand at a speed that traditional players just cannot keep up with.

On top of that, and most importantly, they’re pulling in hours of watch-time without the marketing spend, while streamers are burning billions just to get noticed by the same audience.

That is unsustainable, and so it’s no surprise that many traditional players (including the BBC, Banijay & Channel 4), and now FOX, have launched creator initiatives.

This model gives them access to emerging talent, a low-risk way test new formats, and the ability to only put their full weight behind IP once there is proof that it is resonating. It’s somewhat of a no-brainer.

But what I also think is worth noting from this, is that Tubi (part of FOX) was the testing ground for this.

Through Stubios, they ran small, scrappy experiments (where of course not all of them worked!) to understand how Gen Z actually wants to discover content, who they want to hear from, and why creator-led formats were holding attention for hours without any traditional content marketing.

From there, and with the data to back up their assumptions, Fox Creator Studios becomes the next logical step.

And I think that’s a smart strategy; start small, challenge your assumptions, and then use those learnings to underpin your next project.

For those amongst you that are nostalgic about the Barclaysmen era, or enjoy reminiscing (or arguing) about goals, decisions, wins, losses and drama from the Premier League - you’re in luck.

Goalhanger, the owners of The Rest is Football podcast, have acquired the archive rights, which they’ll now be pairing with their talent lineup of Micah Richards, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and guests to get the inside stories to some of the most influential moments in Premier League history.

Combine this with the work they’re doing with LaLiga clips, and the upcoming show with Netflix for the World Cup, and it’s a great example of how rights holders can work with new media to get more mileage out of their archive - making it more evergreen - by attaching it to the right creators and talent.

People that can bring credibility, cultural relevance and provide distribution to both core audiences and entirely new audiences.

Goalhanger have done this particularly well, and by now combining this with footage from multiple leagues, they’re transforming themselves from a podcast network into a fully fledged media player.

Global picking up a stake in The Overlap is another good example that follows a similar playbook; the combination of strong personalities, a loyal audience, and now plans to turn it into something much bigger than just a weekly show (which you’d assume would also include acquiring clips and archive rights before long).

The takeaway being if you can’t give your archive the airtime it deserves, put it in the hands of people fans already trust, let them tell the stories in new ways, and suddenly old footage can be your ticket back into the cultural zeitgeist.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now everyone - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report, and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a colleague or friend!