Sports Influencers Edge Into Journalists’ Turf

I write The Arena column, where last week I took a deep dive into the increasingly central role that creators play in driving young audiences to live sporting events. For anyone who’s watched the Golf Channel, the NBA All-Star Game, or the Olympics, this trend has been brewing for some time.

The rise of influencers in sports coincides with the decline in traditional sportswriting. Sports Illustrated is a shell of its former self. The New York Times disbanded its sports section after it acquired The Athletic. No one I spoke with for my story questioned whether storytelling needs a digital refresh, but as content creators take a larger role at sporting events, there is a definite shift in which topics get covered.