The Future of sports media is an ever changing industry with innovators constantly popping up to alter the game for the better. With sports more accessible than ever before to fans through streaming and social media, the media must stay in front of the curve and be prepared for anything that comes up. To discuss the changing landscape of the sports media world and where the industry is going in the future, Maverick Carter, Rachel Nichols, Gotham Chopra, and Paul Rodriguez connected at a very special Complex Con panel to talk about the industry.
If you're unfamiliar, Mav Carter is LeBron James' business manager, who helped the NBA star build his empire into what it is today. Carter was joined by Nichols, host of ESPN's popular NBA show, The Jump, Chopra, and Rodriguez, where they discussed the future of sports media. The wide-ranging conversation focused on Mav's work to change the sports media landscape, which he's done through his work with Uninterrupted.
Carter noted that his experience with the brand has fulfilled his dream to bring athletes closer to fans, but on their own terms. "You always have to let the content lead, that will tell you where the story should go," Carter said. Piggybacking off of those thoughts, Carter noted that fans are living in the greatest time ever for sports. Chopra hammered home Carter's ideas and noted that there's a real art to storytelling with what they do and that helps captivate the audiences.
With the sports media world changing, Carter pointed out that Uninterrupted is different from the likes of ESPN because they can really connect with athletes and go deeper than other outlets. "Sometimes ESPN has to go wider than they go deep, we want Uninterrupted to go deep," he said.
Professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez reiterated those thoughts, and mentioned that as an athlete, there's no better place to connect to fans. "A lot of the times the only time I was presented to the public was when one of my sponsors took out an ad in a skateboard magazine," Rodriguez said. While some of the ideas Carter and company have won't change media overnight, it's clear they're in the forefront of the industry and that isn't going to slow down anytime soon.
