How Regional Sports Networks Engage Gen Z Fans
With the highlights-first orientation of Gen Z sports fans, serving up a slate of live game broadcasts isn’t enough for regional sports networks (RSNs) to reach younger cord-cutters and cord-nevers, sign them up, and keep them engaged. This means thinking outside the broadcast box and deploying alternate strategies via clips, replays, player spotlights, social, and other types of game- and team-adjacent programming, as Space City Home Network GM Jim Colasanto and NESN CMO and CDO Ahmed Darwish explain in this discussion with ViewLift VP Global GTM Strategy Chance Mason in this clip from Streaming Media 2026.
Reaching Younger Fans
"Let's talk about streaming for younger fans," Mason begins. "A lot of folks look at streaming as a way to tap into a younger demographic, engage that fan, get them following the team, et cetera. Do you find that there's a younger demographic willing to pay or willing to subscribe or engaging with NESN or with Space City versus looking at social platforms to get all their clips? How are you managing that ecosystem to get their time, get their attention and build a relationship?"
"Obviously, it's important across the board for all media companies, especially in sports, to bring in younger fans and maintain fandom," Darwish says. "And we all know that media consumption has changed so much since we were growing up. We know that the streaming audience is younger, but it's also a matter of making sure that our efforts and our marketing and our user engagement also reflect that and bring in that audience as well. This year, we've done a really nice job with our marketing campaign going into baseball season where that was one of the big pushes that we made. How do we reach people that we wouldn't otherwise reach? Because traditionally, you'd advertise on broadcasts and you'd advertise on specific channels about the start of the season. And in fact, the sentiment years ago was, 'NESN doesn't even have to advertise.'"
Today, getting word out about why younger fans should watch NESN is, well, a whole new ballgame. "Everybody knows the Red Sox are on NESN, but there are people that didn't grow up with NESN, and so we have to find ways to reach them," Darwish says. "Whether it's influencers, FAST, social, or other channels, it's a matter of making sure that we're reaching them and bringing them into the fold."
The real challenge--in Houston as in New England--Colasanto agrees, is reaching the "cord-cutters and the cord-nevers.That is the younger audience. And I think we're giving them that ability to now see the channel and see what they haven't been able to see before and connect with our teams."
Reaching Fans Via Other Local and Regional Sports Events
Mason asks if promoting special or one-off events plays into the new strategy. "Are there any special projects or other cool stuff going on to increase reach?"
"We're always looking at new ways to reach fans," Darwish says. And he says the critical question remains, "How do we get ourselves in every New England home?" One approach is promoting sports beyond the network's core offerings. "Maybe somebody isn't a Red Sox fan or a Bruins fan yet, but they're a PWHL Boston Fleet fan or a collegiate hockey fan who's into the Beanpot or Hockey East. And so how do we make sure that we're giving opportunities for those people to engage and then maybe get them interested in baseball or [Bruins] hockey?"
Colasanto says SCHN is looking at similar additional content opportunities beyond the staple Rockets and Astros games. "We're in Texas. Texas high school football is big." he says. "So we do a big high school Texas package that gives those viewers and those fans chances to watch it along with the Houston Rodeos. The rodeo in Texas is really big. We have 20 live nights of Houston Rodeo and it's a different audience. It gives different viewers the chance to see the channel, to watch Rockets and Astros as well. We're a 24/7 network just like NESN and there's 24 hours in a day. You've got to fill a lot of it. And so it's other content besides just those teams."
Personal Connections and 'Sox Appeal'
"What would you say is the most popular content outside of your teams?" Mason asks.
"I know what's most well known, at least in New England," Darwish laughs. "There was a dating show that was done almost two decades ago in Fenway Park called Sox Appeal that the fans keep bringing up that we should bring it back."
"Was that organized by you guys?" Mason asks.
"NESN produced it and put it on," Darwish confirms. "But nowadays, one of the things that we've been very deliberate about that is unique to being an RSN--I'm sure Jim and Space City are doing this quite well--is that there are things happening all the time with the teams that we cover. When something happens with your favorite team or the team that you follow, whether it's a trade or clinching the playoffs or whatever it might be, where are you going to go? So we've been very deliberate about this. We'll go live, we'll give you the coverage immediately for the things that matter when it comes to the teams that you follow. And so we have a lot of surround programming that we use as the avenue through which we deliver immediate and topical programming related to the teams."
Colasanto agrees that "behind-the-scenes content" is critical, and cites Space City's Mother's Day show as an example. "We had each player call their mom on their phone, and we recorded it. It's behind the scenes, it's not the game. It's these personal connections that we're able to get and do. And I think those are the things that are connecting the audience with the teams and the players. Even re-airs--I was amazed how many people go back and watch the games, watch the highlights, even the post-game. They'll just want to see certain things that they didn't see and they can watch it when they want to watch it. Those aspects have grown exponentially on the DTC app."
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