Streamers Against The Machine, A Media Drama

…But none of these stories are pranks. I wouldn’t do that to you. NCAA Volleyball is headed to Wrigley Field on September 6. The SEC and Big Ten will face off in the home of the Cubs! Too big for the United Center, I see you! 

Tommy Hilfiger is basically becoming a sportswear brand, and they’ve tapped Travis Kelce as their latest collaborator. The brand hopes to nail a “Prep Made Current” vibe, but I don’t know what that means, and neither does my colleague Dan, who covered the news in SportsVerse, and whom I consider to be a Writer Made Current (I guess). 

If you need a reason to up your screen time, Cooper Flagg says you should be using Crunchyroll. Also great if you’re trying to wean yourself off social media — become addicted to a different app! 

Heated Rivalry is getting an unofficial off-Broadway musical. And why shouldn’t it? Gay romance hockey content is all the rage. 

It’s a Hard Knock life in Seattle this summer. Because champions never rest, as the post says. Probably why I will never be a champion. Anyway, time to start bothering mom and dad for that HBO Max login. 

“Go Off” is a special edition of our daily newsletter, featuring my thoughts, takes, and general vibes, presented to OffBall readers every Wednesday.

I’m going to start with a disclaimer that I am not of the streaming generation (or maybe I am but I choose not to identify as such slash I don’t know the math on cutoffs), so the moment I start to sound like “old man yells at cloud,” let me know. 

Over the past few weeks, multiple streamers have either been beefing with traditional media or kicked out of spaces they were invited to by the leagues/organizations putting on the sporting events. Some say we may officially have a streamer problem. 

Streaming isn’t my favorite thing in the world, but I’ve dabbled (StudBudz 72-hour marathon, anyone?) enough to know I can understand the establishment’s reticence to welcome some streamers into this space with open arms. But I — as a somewhat reasonable human with a heart for “people trying to make it” — also know that multiple things can be true. 

Our first beef happened during the WNBA’s marathon CBA negotiations. A streamer called Venom claimed traditional journos like Front Office Sports’ Annie Costible attempted to cancel him. You can watch the video if you’re curious, but basically he felt that she and the other legacy media memebrs weren’t welcoming to him being outside the hotel during negotiations. It’s a classic tale of the old guard vs. the new guard, and I understand both of them. 

Two things can be true: The first being that it can be isolating when you’re getting started and want to enter a new space and it’s great when people are open and welcoming to you as you do that. The second thing being you can’t walk up to strangers (especially reporters in this context, who have been waiting for hours outside in the cold) with a camera in their face, say you’re streaming, ask them questions, and expect them not to pause a little. 

Now, in our second case, we have Twitch streamers Sketch and Lacy at the men’s NCAA Elite Eight. Traditional media members know you are not supposed to post lengthy footage of games. Traditional media members also know the NCAA is especially copyright-vigilant, especially in this case, where they’ve spent over $1 billion a year for tournament rights. 

The streamers were kicked out of the event. 

Michael Cohen calls this phenomenon “the instinct gap” which I think is an apt name. He says there’s an entire generation of creators who don’t understand sports media as an institution. Things like broadcast rights and exclusivity go over their heads. 

And it’s not a judgment or condescension, it’s the way they’ve grown up consuming, so they can’t really be blamed for being unaware of some of the rules. Plus, the thing about streamers is that many of them have thousands or even millions of diehard fans. How those fans spend their time and money is key to a sport’s success (now and in the future), so if we’re leaving them out of the conversation, it’s likely they won’t engage in sports anymore. 

Some of them are even dipping their toes into team ownership, like KSI with Dagenham and Redbridge. Streaming is here to stay, no matter how you feel about it. You could even argue legacy media and streamers need each other at this point. 

So, I’m not solving any world problems here by bringing all of this up, but I do think there are learnings to be had by all parties. The NCAA probably didn’t realize they needed to warn the streamers because this is uncharted territory. And in the case of Venom vs. Annie, Annie didn’t consent to being filmed. 

Like everything in life, the crux of this is that a little communication goes a long way. I don’t have real advice because this isn’t a therapy newsletter (that would be the blind leading the blind), but maybe send this to a Gen Z (or Alpha) friend who might find value in it. 

Then go outside and smile at someone. In a normal way, obviously. Don’t be weird! 

Lexie Hull launched a beauty brand with investments expert Sarah Guller, and at first, this news gave me pause. Do we really need another celebrity beauty brand? We’re kind of saturated, I thought. 

However, upon further review, I think FORTA might be genius. It’s been a few months (years?) since a celebrity launched a new beauty brand. It feels like they’re late to the party here at first glance, but actually, the dust has settled on all the other brands, and it’s kind of a perfect time to launch this one. 

Plus, she’s an athlete, which is important. Not only is she going where no other athletes have gone before, Lexie (with Sarah) has specifically created makeup that stays on while you play. 

Lexie says most brands try to enter sports through partnerships, but “plugging an athlete into a campaign isn’t the same thing as designing products around the realities of living an active life,” she told People Brands and Things. 

Makes sense to me. What say you?