The product of digitalization, social media video platforms, has been extensively used by people on a daily basis. People from all over the world use these platforms to share and consume content. Memes, lip-synced songs, and comedy videos are among the popular trends that keep users hooked on such entertaining digital platforms.Â
In today’s world, popular sports teams and competitions around the world have been also relying on social media video platforms to market and promote themselves.
Platforms such as Tiktok, ShareChat and Moj have been gaining a lot of attraction among teenagers and post-millennials. The sports leagues and teams plan to target the robust user base of the video-focused platform to create the buzz ahead of any major sporting event.
Through this collaboration, the sports entities not only get an opportunity to promote themselves but to also engage with their fans and followers. The sports organizations conduct polls, quizzes, contests and also provide a chance to meet with their favourite players through these digital platforms. Such initiatives by the sports entities through the digital platforms make their devotees feel connected to their favourite sport and team.
The social media video platforms also leverage the team and league’s exuberant fan following and receive massive exposure throughout the sporting event.
TikTok began as a short-form video sharing platform, primarily for lipsyncing and dancing videos, but has since evolved into a full-fledged video service with content for all types of viewers.
While many Chinese apps have failed to gain traction outside of China, most notably TikTok managed to break into the international market with the $1 billion acquisition of Musical.ly in November 2017. This resulted in an additional 80 million users, the majority of the audience being from the United States.
TikTok generated $1.9 billion in revenue in 2020, representing a 457 per cent increase year on year. Furthermore, the platform reached 1 billion active users in the same year.
TikTok is being used by over 600 million people in China every day, and it has been downloaded over three billion times.
TikTok has been associated with well-known tournaments such as Euro 2020, the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and, most recently, the 2022 Winter Olympics.
TikTok also collaborated with the Premier League clubs such as Leeds United and Burnley FC Women. Last year, TikTok as content partners, teamed up with the Formula 1 team, Aston Martin, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
ShareChat is an Indian social networking platform that allows users to connect with others as well as share videos, pictures, and status updates in their native language. This app also includes features like direct messaging and tagging. The app has over 160 million monthly active users. The absence of TikTok from India surely helped them immensely.
In addition, ShareChat’s short video sharing app, Moj, has reached 50 million downloads on Google Play. Moj was also the first homegrown app in the segment to reach the milestone in less than a month and a half. ShareChat and Moj have raised $266 million as part of its Series G round at a valuation of $3.7 billion.
ShareChat and Moj have partnered with many Indian sporting events over the years, including Prime Volleyball League (PVL) and Tata Open Maharashtra.
They have also joined forces with the PVL team, Ahmedabad Defenders. Moreover, Stars Sports teamed up with them in December 2021 to promote the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). ShareChat has also partnered with the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) as a content partner in August 2021.
With the overnight success of such entertainment platforms, sports teams and tournaments globally have found a new platform for connecting with their followers.