Matchday Correspondent Aaron Davoren takes a look at matchday vlogs and the ever-evolving world of ‘Football Youtube’.
It’s evident that in recent years, the consumption of sports is evolving. Whilst traditional media certainly dominates authority by having the absolute vast majority of broadcast deals for consumers to watch games, there is certainly a market for sports content elsewhere. Youtube is a platform that younger audiences love to consume content, with football content on Youtube having exploded in terms of numbers and creators in recent years.
Mark Goldbridge, famous for his ‘watch-along’ streams where he reacts to a live football game, interacting with his viewers without actually showing footage of the match, recently signed a groundbreaking deal with the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL). The deal gives him access to rights and to stream twenty Friday night Bundesliga fixtures, combining his watch-along format with live, real game footage.
This deal signifies the growth of non-traditional media’s influence on the game of football. Also, how big brands and leagues are recognising the importance of getting ‘Youtube vloggers’ and ‘streamers’ as part of their brand’s package to catch and engage younger audiences.
Whilst Goldbridge is a controversial figure in the online football world, his numbers don’t lie. His live watch-alongs regularly surpass 30,000 - 40,000 concurrent viewers, figures lots of mainstream TV channels can’t compete with. The opening fixture of the Bundesliga season (his first stream of the new deal) reached close to 20,000 concurrent viewers with almost a quarter of a million views altogether. This blew away The Overlap’s 4000 concurrent viewers, another Youtube channel that is a part of this deal.
Match-day vloggers are another form of Youtube football content creator that have amassed huge audiences. AwayDays, hosted by Ellis Platten, is a leading channel in this field of content. What makes AwayDays so unique and popular is the fact Ellis often goes to matches from lower league clubs and less popular clubs across the world. This is something that traditional media rarely covers in its content and gives his channel a significant USP. What also catches the attention of AwayDays fans is the relaxed style he obtains in the videos. He often jokes around throughout the video, and the vlog format gives a sense of normality, as if you were going to the game with Ellis, himself, and his friends. This is the complete contrast to traditional media’s professional, but often robotic, style of content.
Youtube content is also growing in Ireland with the emergence of League of Ireland match-day vloggers and watch-along streams. Coinciding with the growth of the League of Ireland itself, League of Irish Ball provides a mix of watch-alongs, vlog content and talk shows. Irish Footy Vlogs is another similar style channel, who shines a light on both the Premier Division and First Division, even through the ‘dark’ days of the leagues. The channel has featured a match-day vlog at the UCD Bowl as the Students fell short in a 1-3 defeat to Bohemians in the summer of 2022.
As the decade continues, Youtube and online sports content is continuing to merge into the traditional media’s landscape and it’s ultimately a positive for the consumer.