TikTok和YouTube如何重塑体育观赛体验

Sports ratings are soaring, but for younger audiences, leagues, teams and media networks are increasingly forced to meet those fans on social media. Live sports attracts the lion's share of viewers even as cable subscriptions plummet. This has translated to record costs for the right to air games. The NBA, which just came off its most watched final series since 1998, is in its first season of an 11 year, $77 billion deal.

This agreement followed the NFL's own record media rights deal valued at $111 billion. But while the final series between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, much of the focus has shifted to digital platforms, especially for younger generations and potential new fans. The five game series set a record of 15 billion views and counting on social media, the most ever for an NBA finals and nearly triple the previous record set in 2025.

ESPN saw an increase of 38% new streaming users over the age of 46, while the youngest cohort between 17 and 25 was up just 8%. The same applied for YouTube TV and Fubo. This is why, as the leagues have made an effort to ink more deals with streaming and tech platforms, they're also trying to reach younger audiences in new ways. One of the companies leading the charge to capture a younger audience is Roblox. Several leagues and major sporting events have partnered with the company to bring team jerseys and content to the platform.

For example, in 2023, Roblox collaborated with Paramount for the Nickelodeon broadcast of the Super Bowl. It became back then, the biggest brand event on Roblox, 70 million visits in 30 days. It was huge. In its 2025 annual report, Roblox said Gen Z and Alpha spent 168 minutes per day on the platform, while the same demographics dedicated 120 minutes on TikTok, 98 minutes on Fortnite and 71 minutes on YouTube. So we can be that partner that's driving the value of these younger and more likely to be female fans, the ones that broadcasters are struggling to reach and drive them towards their business.

There was research to show that 42% of all TikTok sports fans who watch content are more likely to then tune in for the World Cup. We have a preferred platform agreement with FIFA, where it allows broadcasters around the world to post more content on TikTok, and it also allows them to livestream the first ten minutes of every match. You can click through and choose to watch more, and that could be then leaving to to go out to that streaming service.

Several industry experts I spoke with don't think this shift is a threat to the traditional media partners, or the valuation of rights deals. Still, this has opened the door to new players like Amazon, Apple and Netflix. Even YouTube has become a huge competitor with traditional media outlets. It does tons of highlights, programing and creator content around sports. Last September, the platform even streamed an NFL game for the first time.

Some sources tell me they think it's only a matter of time before TikTok throws its hat in the ring. But TikTok doesn't foresee that as its next step yet. I think right now we're really happy operating in this space of almost like part of the game. So we've talked about the FIFA World Cup first ten minutes, but we've had the Messi ISO-cam streams with Apple for MLS. And obviously that's just the camera fixed on Lionel Messi.

So not the full game. And the user can go choose to then then watch on Apple. I think that's a really great place for for TikTok to be playing in, because we get to promote the full match live, we get to promote the broadcaster, but we also get to give users something really amazing and interesting to see. The point for the leagues and media companies is to meet fans where they are, but this social media push could cost them the same TV views they're chasing.