Abstract:
Beginning in early March 2020, sport in the United States entered an unprecedented period of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The postponement,
suspension, and cancellation of live sporting events impacted every professional
and amateur sport organization, from the National Basketball Association to the
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, high school sports to college
football, and even esports leagues. Although the abrupt cancellation of live
sporting events was disruptive, it did create opportunities for the production of
new media and consumption opportunities for sport leagues, teams, and their fans
through different types of sport media broadcasts. This commentary examines
how the U.S. sport industry developed media content strategies using new, mixed,
and rebroadcasted content, across multiple broadcast and streaming platforms, to
provide sport consumption opportunities to fans who were largely quarantined at
home. This research contributes to the existing scholarship on live and rebroadcasted mediated content, while providing guidance to content owners and rights
holders facing uncertainty in the marketplace.
