Episodes

Kahlen Macaulay: The Attention Economy

Kahlen Macaulay, Head of Sports and Media Partnerships, International at Snap, on why sports organisations must think like media brands and build fandom young to win the battle for attention.

 ·  The Business of Marketing  · S5 E109  · 36 min
Read the interview

"the concept of, like, focusing on sport is probably a falsehood."

The Conversation

Nearly two decades at the intersection of sport, media and technology, from an entry-level airtime sales role to leading digital partnerships at the International Olympic Committee and now Snap. Kahlen Macaulay argues that sport is now in the business of entertainment, and the organisations winning are the ones building fandom young and meeting fans where they already are.

He grew up in Vienna and Geneva and had planned to work for the United Nations. After graduating and a spell in a job he calls soulless, he reset his career around sport, taking an entry-level sales role at Talksport selling airtime to direct advertisers, which pulled him into sponsorship. He moved into media at ESPN on its digital sales teams, then joined a startup, Pulse Live, a digital service provider building websites and apps for the sports industry including the Premier League and World Rugby, his first real technology environment. He went on to lead the digital partnerships function at the International Olympic Committee, running what he describes as a flame to flame strategy to build always-on interest around the Olympics and the move towards a direct-to-consumer product. He joined Snap nearly seven years ago, where he leads sports and media partnerships for rights holders, teams, athletes, broadcasters and media brands.

In this conversation with host John Horsley, Macaulay argues that the amount of content has exploded to the point that sport is now competing in an attention economy, and that the leagues and rights holders that are growing have stopped acting only as governing bodies and started thinking like media organisations in the game of entertainment. He makes the case that younger fans are not less interested in sport, they consume it differently, so fandom has to be built early as a long-term investment that lifts commercial rights value later. He explains why creators are now an amplifier rather than a threat, why platforms should add value to fan conversations instead of interrupting them, and why augmented reality and the freedom Snapchat gives athletes are reshaping the live experience. Meet fans where they play, or miss out.

Key Takeaways

  • Sport was never the plan for Macaulay. Raised in Vienna and Geneva, he wanted to work for the United Nations, but reset his career around a lifelong love of sport with an entry-level airtime sales role at Talksport. From there he moved through ESPN, the startup Pulse Live building digital products for the Premier League and World Rugby, and the International Olympic Committee, where he led digital partnerships, before joining Snap nearly seven years ago to run sports and media partnerships internationally.
  • Sport now competes in an attention economy. Macaulay cites a Two Circles figure that the content created in 2008 would take about 15,000 years to watch, rising to 115,000 years by 2024. In that flood, governing bodies that once focused purely on the sport are being overtaken by those that think like media organisations in the game of entertainment, treating the competition for eyeballs as a core business challenge rather than an afterthought.
  • Fandom is built young, and Macaulay treats it as an investment rather than a cost. Younger audiences are interested in sport, he argues, they simply consume it differently, on their phones and around moments rather than the full 90 minutes. Reaching them early, where they already spend their time, creates lifetime fans, more appointments to view, more valuable commercial rights and more hooks for sponsors down the line.
  • Creators have moved from threat to amplifier. Five years ago they were kept outside the ropes and seen as infringing on IP; now Macaulay sees embracing them as upper-funnel marketing that grows the overall audience. He points to Jake Paul fighting Anthony Joshua as creators becoming the content, and to Snap sending fashion and music influencers to events, because young people are drawn to the blur of sport with fashion, culture, music and food.
  • Platforms should add value to fan conversation, not interrupt it, and augmented reality is central to that for Macaulay. Snapchat's strength is close-friend community, with a large share of Snapchatters using the app while watching live sport, and its lack of followers, likes and comments gives athletes a freedom to show up authentically. He argues that fun itself creates value, and that AR, from stadium cameras to try-on lenses, is the next big change in how sport is experienced.

Topics Covered

  1. 01 The attention economy in sport
  2. 02 Building lifetime fandom young
  3. 03 Creators and fan-made content
  4. 04 Augmented reality in stadiums
  5. 05 Leadership and mentorship in sport

Key Exchanges

05
01 Looking back across that journey, what have been the most interesting changes in how sport is produced, distributed and consumed?

have to think more like a, a media organization that is in the game of entertainment

When I started in 2008 the App Store had just launched and the iPad did not exist. A Two Circles stat sticks with me: in 2008 the content being created would have taken about 15,000 years to watch, and by 2024 that number was 115,000 years. The amount of content has exploded, which creates a battle for eyeballs. Governing bodies used to focus only on the sport. Now the ones really growing still maintain that, but they think more like a media organisation in the game of entertainment, and those doing it are winning.

02 What role do platforms such as Snap play in helping leagues, teams and sponsors reach those audiences?

the ones who really see the most success understand that fandom is created at a younger age

We reach nearly a billion people a month and 90% of 13 to 24-year-olds in over 25 markets, and they open the app 50 times a day. If you are not in that conversation, you are missing out, and the same is true for brands. The organisations that see the most success understand that fandom is created at a younger age and treat it as an investment in brand building. I appreciate cricket but never followed it, because I was not exposed to it young, whereas skiing and football are rooted in me forever. That lifetime fandom pays off long term.

03 Do you see that ripple effect across athletes as well?

we don't have followers, likes, comments, and so we have a freedom

Erling Haaland is a massive Snapchatter because he feels safe using it. On Snapchat we don't have followers, likes, comments, and so we have a freedom, deliberate since the start, that lets athletes be themselves without fear of reprisal. That is why we are seeing huge growth in athletes using it: it is them in an ice bath or having a steak or playing FIFA with their friends, rather than their polished selves.

04 And in a way that stays relevant rather than interruptive?

if you tip it over and you're not adding value, you're almost better off not doing anything

That is the key. Base everything on the value you are creating and the experience you are adding. This is an interesting line, because if you tip it over and you're not adding value, you're almost better off not doing anything, since it becomes a negative. But if you are adding real value and powering connection, it is seamless and almost easy.

05 Has that proliferation of content changed the way younger fans consume?

It's actually they are interested. They're just consuming it very differently.

There has been a natural evolution. Highlights are everywhere now in a way they were not even five years ago. There is a philosophy that younger audiences are not interested in sport, and we see the opposite. It's actually they are interested. They're just consuming it very differently. They are not always staying for the full 90 minutes, and if they are, they are on their phones messaging friends. That brings opportunities and challenges for anyone making attention-grabbing content.

S5 E109Season & Episode
36 minDuration
7 Years at Snap
350M Daily Snapchat AR users
17 Years in sports media

"if you're not in that conversation, you're really missing out"

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