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Sports leagues and teams are going all in on creators. The Chicago Bulls is no exception.
That’s because sports aren’t just about the live game anymore. It’s now just as much about highlight videos, player features, creator commentary and more, which are often viewed on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, rather than traditional TV.
Sports teams and leagues have been racing to adapt their strategies to reach these audiences, who are more likely to be young, casual viewers or families than hardcore fans.
“The NBA is a content business, ultimately,” Luka Dukich, vice president of content marketing at the Chicago Bulls, told us in an interview for the Scalable podcast.
Since Dukich joined the Bulls as its first-ever digital content manager in 2015, the content team has grown to 30 people from just three, making it the largest individual internal team. Two of those 30 employees are focused specifically on influencer marketing. Ten are dedicated to video.
The content division even has staff focused solely on its team mascot, Benny the Bull, which has its own YouTube channel with 148,000 subscribers. The Bulls’ main channel has 351,000 subscribers.
Long-form videos on YouTube are now one of the content team’s five organizational goals that all team members are working on, Dukich told us. Other priorities include creating quality branded content that drives revenue and player-focused storytelling.
“YouTube needs to be its own focus and it’s almost a separate workstream completely from other social platforms,” he said. That’s because watch time is measured in minutes instead of seconds, and people choose what they want to watch, rather than having content served to them.
For the Bulls, focusing on YouTube has meant a lot of testing and learning. They’ve tried everything from documentaries and behind-the-scenes videos about players to an hour-long Spanish language podcast with a former player. It has also meant switching from impressions to watch time to measure the success of their content.
Most recently, the NBA team hosted its first-ever creator takeover game with Jesser, a basketball creator with over 37 million YouTube subscribers. Dukich told us the partnership helped extend its reach even further and engage audiences who may not “have a league pass or watch the Bulls every night.”
During the event, Jesser made a half-court shot to win $10,000 toward charity and met with fans and players, who Dukich said were “genuinely stoked to meet him.” That includes 21-year-old Matas Buzelis, who did Jesser’s celebratory clap after hitting a shot in his next game.
That’s because many athletes are now creators themselves. For Dukich, this has been the biggest change he’s seen in the sports content landscape since he started at the Bulls. “Eleven years ago, you had to convince players why they would be doing this. Now, they’re coming in with their own platforms. They’ve grown up with it,” he said.
One thing that hasn’t changed: Catering to the Bulls’ longtime audience. Dukich said they still offer plenty of content for hardcore Bulls fans who might not “care about anything else and think this creator stuff is just BS.”
“I think the name of the game now is not being one thing,” he said.
Tune into our full interview with Dukich where he shares more insights, including what he’s learned from MrBeast and Red Bull while building the Bulls’ content strategy. The episode is available now on YouTube, Spotify or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
Much has been written about the verdict in a landmark social media addiction trial, which found Meta and YouTube liable for knowingly designing their products to be addictive. But less attention has been paid to what it could mean for creators.
The most extreme scenario is that Meta and YouTube could be forced to undergo a major product overhaul, which could disrupt how creators reach audiences and how they make money.
In the short-term, not much is likely to happen, especially as the companies have said they’d appeal the ruling. Several legal experts also told us that it’s most likely that the companies will pay the fines, make some small changes, such as stronger age verification, and then go back to business as usual.
But the lawsuit is yet another “wake up call” for creators about how little control they have over their audiences and income on social media, according to Danny Frenkel, a former Facebook executive who is now the CEO and co-founder of comedy platform Punchup Live. Creators have faced similar realizations with a potential TikTok ban in the US, or when Meta’s apps went down due to technical issues for nearly six hours in 2021.
Frenkel also said that it’s too early to say whether the lawsuit will cause any dramatic changes, but added this: “I see this lawsuit as potentially opening up liability on the platform side to what they end up showing.”
Tech platforms are currently protected by Section 230, which essentially says they are not responsible for the content they host. That allows them to set their own content policies and moderation guidelines and puts the responsibility on creators for their content.
To us, that seems like a long shot. There’s a reason why the social media addiction case went after these platforms' design, rather than the content they show: Section 230 has withstood many challenges for 30 years.
But the verdict does set a precedent that these platforms may no longer be shielded in the way they once were. It’s not out of the question that these social media giants will have to make changes to their platforms—if not in the US, then potentially in other parts of the world.
EU regulators told TikTok in February that it has to change features such as its infinite scroll and how it recommends content to users or face major fines, according to a preliminary ruling. TikTok now can defend itself. But if that happens, that would have a major impact on how creators, including those in the US, reach audiences there.
We dove deeper into this topic in this week’s podcast, embedded below, and available wherever you get your podcasts.
The Round Up
OpenAI acquired TBPN, the daily live-streamed tech show that rose to popularity on X. The move comes after the AI giant pulled the plug on its video app Sora—and its $1 billion deal with Disney. This acquisition shows the company remains interested in entertainment and creators, as we noted previously.
Under the terms of the deal, TBPN will remain editorially independent and control its programming, including which guests it brings on. Yet… TBPN will also help OpenAI with company communications and marketing outside of its show and report to Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Publicis Groupe acquired sports marketing agency 160over90 from WME in a $500 million deal.
Toonstar, an AI animation studio, will adapt some books from HarperCollins Publishers into original animated series.
The Washington Post announced its first creator-hosted show called “Let’s Talk Numbers” with JC Rodriguez. The show aims to help teach his Gen Z audience how to build wealth through man-on-the-street interviews about everyday financial decisions. It will be available on Rodriguez’s social media channels, WP Creator channels and the Washington Post’s Watch Tab. The news outlet is also partnering on the effort with digital media company ATTN.
Roblox launched makeup so users can customize their virtual avatars. As part of the launch, e.l.f. Cosmetics is partnering with top creators to develop looks inspired by their products.
Billion Dollar Boy is partnering with creator-focused fintech startup Lumanu to add a more efficient way of managing creator payments within the influencer marketing firm’s Companion platform.
Red Seat Ventures, the podcast talent company owned by Fox, is building a premium membership program for wealthy individuals and business leaders to access top-tier live events, Axios reported. It’s unclear which types of events they’re targeting or how it connects to the company’s talent business.
Creator Moves
Alex Cooper is premiering a new reality competition series on YouTube called “Unwell Winter Games” on April 6. Shot in Park City, it brings together 16 “polarizing” reality TV stars and influencers, including Dakota Mortensen, who's been in the news recently over domestic abuse allegations against his ex-partner Taylor Frankie Paul.
Bob Dylan launched a Patreon account, charging fans $5 per month for access to original short stories from the musician and letters he never sent. The launch has baffled some fans, while others have speculated about whether he’s using AI to write the content.
The Webby Awards announced its nominees, who range from Rhett & Link’s “Good Mythical Morning” series on YouTube to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. We were honored to be judges this year! Now, the general public can cast their votes through April 16.
A Message from Agentio
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Agentio enables marketers to buy creator-led ads as easily and efficiently as Meta or Google ads by automating matching, pricing, contracting, delivery and measurement— reducing campaign timelines from months or weeks, down to days. Trusted by Bombas, Olipop, Uber and more. Book a demo at Agentio.com.
Regulatory Woes
Australia said Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are not doing enough to enforce a ban on users younger than 16 on their platforms. The companies have said they’ve been complying with the ban. Australia’s historic teen social media ban has had ripple effects around the world, with other countries moving to take similar measures.
TikTok is seeking approval from the Brazilian central bank for a lending and payments fintech license, Reuters reported. It’s unclear whether TikTok wants to provide basic financial services to Brazilians like neobank Nu does, or whether it just wants to support e-commerce and monetization on the app in the country.
Talent Tracker
Kelsey Chickering joined influencer marketing firm Influential as senior vice president of strategy and analytics. Previously, Chickering was a principal analyst focused on social media, creators and media strategy at Forrester. The move comes as more brands are prioritizing data-driven approaches to support their investments in influencer marketing.
Annabelle Russell is Substack’s first head of partnerships for Australia and New Zealand. Previously, she spent five years at TikTok most recently as head of creators, publishers and content partnerships for ANZ.
Lauren Thermos is now president of YouTube duo Colin & Samir’s Publish Press, which publishes a newsletter about the creator economy. Previously, Thermos has held marketing roles at beauty companies including e.l.f. and Revlon. See our timeline showing how creators are hiring senior executives.
Danielle Ito is the new influencer lead at Lovable, a European startup that allows users to build apps and websites by chatting with AI. Her hiring comes as more AI startups are building influencer teams. Most recently, she led influencer marketing at Notion, a productivity software.
Fanny Baudry, the former executive vice president of business development at Wheelhouse, launched March July Media, where she’ll partner with media companies, platforms and other IP owners on strategy and growth.
Beau Jones was promoted to head of sports and broadcast media partnerships at Elon Musk’s X and xAI.
