Sports videography developments in a modern social media landscape

Written and designed by Mason Polmanteer

 

                          Overview of video in today's social media

 

Sports videography has made an intense jump in the modern media landscape. Content creators are on seemingly every sideline, and short-form video feeds are on seemingly every app. You can scroll through an endless stream of videos on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and even Twitter has a tab solely for video content. There is an endless number of places for aspiring sports video creators to have their work be seen.

     The trend in video prominence was initiated through the steady rise and fall of different video apps – YouTube, Vine, musical.ly, and now TikTok have all been at the very top of the social media industry at different points over the past decade or so. This has curated a social media audience accustomed to rapid and expansive access to new and unique video content. This trend has made its way into the sports world as the new adults among the target audience have these curated tastes to a greater extent.  

     To understand the importance of video today, we must know the history behind it. To the left is a timeline marking historic milestones as video rose from novelty to necessity.

     Note how technology that screens video has increasingly become more portable. This marks a change in the position of creators and audiences; rather than the spectacle of video being powerful enough as it once was, the modern social media landscape pushes creators to create a spectacle of their own to stop scrolls and drive engagement. Placed among thousands of other videos in front of millions of other eyes, the pressure to stand out in this once-niche market has grown, and the industry is taking notice. 

Photo via Forbes (no photographer specified)

                             New applications and advancements of sports video

 

Big money always turns heads. Pair it with the latest trends, and fireworks go off on the internet. This was the case when the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers included a content-creation-curated studio in their 250-million-dollar practice facility; a 1,300-square-foot studio, lined end-to-end with LED lighting. The studio serves as a home base for all content creation for the team’s media personnel. Its prominence in the football facility signals shifting perspectives among executives and media managers. Video has always been a priority for sports, obviously, with watching the game being the greatest pleasure of a sports fan. Creative and compelling content, however, is what keeps fans around for the long run, and solidifies them for when maybe the highlights aren’t coming in floods. This move by a dynamic franchise like the Chargers to further invest in this type of content in sports is indicative of its significance moving forward.   

    This notion is backed by sports broadcasting expert and consultant Scott Savlov, who, in 2022, stated that “social media is essentially moving the business forward in new ways” because it influences sports broadcasting and video to curate towards social media at the same time. Now, in 2025, we can see the fulfillment of this through the continued dominance and growth of short-form video. 

     This notion is further backed by sports broadcasting expert and consultant Scott Savlov, who, in 2022, stated that “social media is essentially moving the business forward in new ways” because of its influence on the look of sports broadcasting and video. Now, in 2025, we can see the fulfillment of this through the continued dominance and growth of short-form video. 

     This growth was prominently seen in the production of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The sporting event was historic, breaking viewership records by millions; the always-entertaining highlights coupled with compelling video content truly immersed viewers, putting forth various personality-promoting pieces. Providing this engagement outside of the actual game action bridges the connection from teams to their audience beyond sport, which can promote further investment. This was evident in this World Cup example that saw such a sharp rise in viewership from the previous cup and ultimately supports the continued investment into similar video content. 

     Social media platforms have already adapted to the rise of this video content, as previously discussed. Because of this, it is key for content creators to be smart in how they share their content to be the most efficient. Because of the trending, common layout for short-form video scrolling seen on social media (e.g., TikTok, Reels), videos can often be repurposed across platforms, maximizing reach and providing cohesion easily. We see this commonly with the fun personality features or highlight compilations put out by teams meant to create virality, draw new fans, and start a buzz. The relatability of the content can capture and retain attention quickly in personality videos, just as much as an eye-catching effect can keep a viewer on a sports mixtape. It can also mimic user-generated content, making athletes and teams appear friendlier and more relatable. Either way, these pieces are perfect for the fast-moving, modern social media landscape. While social platforms often have distinct differences, the simplicity and wide use of this interface concept make it optimal for video content viewing, and a propelling force for video content overall.  

     Along with these platforms, companies that create different equipment for creators (e.g., camera gear, audio recording gear) have begun to optimize their products to best meet the demands of a social media-centered workflow. In other words, creators have an arsenal of tools to capture, sort, and share content in real-time to meet the expectations of real-time social media audiences. This allows for some intricate corner-cutting during the production process, whether it be finding the exact highlight and angle for real-time content or every single shot of the moment for a recap later. Regardless of the application, this type of organization is another step forward in optimizing workflows in this growing industry. 

                                                                            

                                                                            Job growth

 

This area has continued to steadily grow throughout recent years. Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, video and film editors and camera operator roles are steadily increasing annually with thousands of new openings and are projected to maintain over the next decade. To the left, the graph shows the projected growth at the same time (2023-2033) in other roles related to sports media. 

                                                                                                        Wrapping up

 

     This overall growth in sports media is representative of the changing media landscape with the next generation of athletes and fans. We are being introduced to an entirely new generation of content creators. Whether it be for an athlete’s ventures, team-associated activities, or work for the league in general, a new avenue of media has been broken wide open as of late, and audiences can’t get enough. Viewership has continued to climb for those who have gone all in, indicative of how impactful this content can be. And with social media platforms constantly optimizing to best suit content trends like short-form video, it is hard to see this form of media fading away anytime soon. 

     Below is one final figure, a comparison of two highlight-related videos I could discuss on my social media. The key difference is the break from traditional media to produce something different, creative, and engaging for social media audiences, trying to do more than simply show what happened, but tell a story and convey a message. This matches what fans are looking for in creative and meaningful content, and the superiority in viewership proves this. The links for the videos are at the bottom of this page.

For context, the first post has over 700K views, while the second post has just a fraction of that. Click to watch.