In early February, Pulse Sports hosted a panel session at AfricaNXT, the premier gathering of innovators from across Africa and the diaspora. The session was titled Sports Media in Africa: Exploring the Continent’s untapped opportunities and Potential. It was hosted by Ephraim Adiele, Head of Content at Pulse Sports, and we had Janine Anthony, Sports Business & Media Expert, Debbie Larry-Izamojie, CEO, COO, Brila FM, Biola Kazeem, CEO of Sports Derivatives and Maxwell Kalu, Founder & CEO, African Warriors Fighting Championship.
The session was a deep inquiry into the evolution of sports and sports coverage in Africa, Africa’s rapidly expanding market, and how organizations in sports and sports media can drive the industry forward. Here are some insightful paraphrased quotes from the panel speakers:
“Sports organizations need to realize that on newer platforms it will take time to build a following. The need to be open-minded to the fluidity of these platforms, and also open to collaborating with content creators to help them go further.”
Janine
“In Nigeria, the number 1 platform for getting sports content is still radio. Newer platforms have to build more structure to become more sustainable, to be able to remain relevant. Have a plan and stick to that plan.”
Debbie
“What we’ve been doing so far is telling these stories. The key thing more than anything is storytelling.”
Maxwell Kalu (talking about what has helped his organization become more visible and attract more viewership.)
“How the government can help the development of sports and sports media along]: It’s really a focus on development, and on the provision of the necessary facilities for sports. This is really the main way the government can play a role.”
Biola
How are we making radio more appealing to newer generations?
“What we try to do is to make our content about the fans. If you don’t make it about the fans, you’ll lose their attention.”
Debbie
What type of content is attractive to young people these days?
“New formats like watch-alongs are doing well. Also, we’re finding that non-sports-related content from sports athletes is attractive to our audiences. People want to know what you’re doing beyond sports.”
Janine
“We’re losing talent and talented athletes because we’ve just focused on the major sports.”
Janine
“Before we start looking for new sports, we’ve not done enough work in storytelling for the main sports that we have right now.”
Biola
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