Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…

Before we get into the stat line and today’s question -- I have something I want to put into your brains that I’ve been thinking a lot about. 

A few months back, I had on Josh Walker President of Sports Innovation Lab, and he discussed the fluid fan concept - that essentially sports has to go where the fans are and change the entire experience. It’s not just a buy ticket sit in seat world, it has to be fluid and follow the fans through social communities, immersive experience, and more. This is one of my favorite episodes, I loved talking to Josh.

And, this past week, it really got me thinking about the future of sports and how everything will change. Not just because of COVID, this need to develop and change was emerging anyhow, COVID just sped everything up. 

Look at the news from the world of entertainment this week -- Warner Brothers announces they will concurrently release all of their 2021 movies in the theater, and streaming on HBO Max. This will likely start a wave where you’ll see other studios align with other streaming services -- but let’s apply this to our world, sports.

Just like the movie world uses the theater model, sports has a main outlet for its programming -- traditional network and cable TV channels. Sports leagues have long term deals with broadcast partners and it is a major source of their revenue.    

But, we may start to see a similar model expand to sports -- taking live events and simulcasting them in multiple places - not just CBS and ESPN… but social channels and more. Look to these changes, see what opportunities they present, and how fan engagement changes. 

Right now, I’m looking to the entertainment world and eSports to set the trends the sports industry will follow. eSports is better at capturing and engaging young viewers, and entertainment is incredible at finding revenue streams -- sports will follow these models, so keep an eye on those fields. 

Ok - let’s get to the stat line…

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Three data points that help inform us as to the strength of the sports industry as provided by WorkInSports.com the #1 job board for the sports industry. 

Stat #1 -- 16,730 active sports jobs on WorkInSports.com -- this is pretty much flat from last week, but that’s a lot of jobs. 

Stat #2 -- 1,666 new active sports jobs added in the past 7 days, which is a 35% increase from the previous week -- which isn’t all that surprising, a big uptick from Thanksgiving week when most employers aren’t posting jobs. 

Stat #3 - that is an average of 238 fresh new active sports jobs added each day of the week -- 

which is pretty awesome. 

Ok, let’s get to three fresh new jobs that sound awesome and are currently live on WorkInSports.com -- 

Job #1 -- Production Trainee for the NBA -- I love starting gigs like this. You guys know my affinity for big-name employers, when you get something like this on your resume it stands out for life. You learn the best practices of the industry and are ready to take on the world. This position is part of the NBA Emerging Media group which focuses on identifying, creating, distributing, and publishing content for the NBA's social and digital platforms and its many domestic and inte...