-- by Josh Suchon
The end of the Olympics, traditionally, was the end of seeing
those Olympic athletes in our lives. Some would re-appear four years later at
the next games. Some would appear on a Wheaties box. Most were never heard from
again.
That could be changing for a couple reasons:
* The staggering increase in sports networks requires
programmers to find more content, and not just from the traditional Big Three
of team sports (football, baseball, basketball).
* The explosion of social media allows athletes to connect
directly with their fans, and allows them to direct those fans to their games
in person or on television.
Despite annoying fans everywhere with tape-delayed coverage,
NBC Universal set records with massive ratings in the 2012 London Games. It
didn’t seem to matter that the audience knew the results. They watched, watched
in groups, sat through commercials, and sat through sports they previously
neglected.
It proved a strong market exists for these so-called niche
sports. What the next three years and 49 weeks will prove is whether that
market exists year-around, or just once every four years.
There should be plenty of opportunities for fans of Olympic
sports to keep watching their new favorite athletes, or learn more about these
less popular sports.
