X Games Joins Growing List of Sports/Properties Pivoting from Events to Seasons

The just-concluded Winter Olympics are a reminder of the power of the one-off spectacle. Comcast enjoyed some of its best ratings for the Games since 2014.

However, there is one critical shortcoming to the ‘eventized’ model capable of spurring mass cultural engagement. The target audience for many of these sports/properties prefers regular seasons.

“We know that younger fans want continuity,” Annie Lokesh (SVP, X Games League Business Operations and Strategy) said. 

That’s a big reason why X Games recently announced a shift away from the standalone event model it has thrived on since its founding by ESPN in 1994 and towards a two-season (winter, summer) team setup, starting this spring. The action sports property understands sustaining relevance in a crowded media landscape requires more than highlight-reel moments.

“We recognize the power of growing household names through athlete storylines, having content and media access between events,” Lokesh said.

Moving to a season set-up will position XGL to generate more non-sports programming (see: NBA’s success with content featuring workouts, fashion and food). The introduction of a team format is designed to spark new rivalries and narratives fueling further fan interest and engagement.

The other reason for the pivot is economic. There is a direct path to increasing enterprise value through frequency.

On the surface, X Games’ decision to become a league is a curious one. Its event-centric model isn’t broken.

January’s X Games drew 50,000 fans in-person and ratings on ABC and ESPN rose 48% YoY, including doubling within the sub-17 demographic. 

“Aspen blew it out of the water,” Lokesh said.

And it’s not as if there is a dearth of emerging sports properties for fans to follow and support, including Shaun White’s Snow League. 

But Lokesh, who joined X Games one year ago from the WNBA commissioner’s office, explained there is a desire to ensure to be sure the property evolves enough to meet Gen Z and Gen Alpha tastes.

X Games will still tour various cities (the first summer season features stops in Sacramento, Japan, and one TBD). The key difference moving forward is each competition will be amongst teams, in addition to the individual athletes. Cumulative season-long scoring will determine the league’s champions.

A league structure should facilitate better, more predictable competition. Athletes, who used to have to pay their own way to events, will now have their travel paid for.

Drafted athletes will receive salaries in addition to winning prizes for performance.

And the hope is that its newly introduced team structure will spur regional fandom (i.e. rooting for X Games Club Tokyo) and enable the property to develop loyalties that can deepen over time.

The expectation is fan support for individual athletes will remain unchanged.

The shift is expected to have wagering implications too. Sports gamblers simply don’t bet on events, with the exception of horse racing. The Kentucky Derby does more gambling volume than the Olympics.

While it remains to be seen if fans will bet more heavily on X Games moving forward, the pivot has already begun to pay off on the gaming front. XGL inked a deal with Stake.com to be its official online casino and sports betting partner. The arrangement includes in-game betting odds, original athlete content, and livestreams on Kick.

For MSP Sports Capital, which bought the majority of X Games in 2022, the shift represents a clearer route to long-term sustainable revenue growth (think: more live event inventory for media partners). 

The demographics of action sports suggest XGL will continue to receive plenty of attention from younger viewers. So, the season format should also enable advertisers to reach them more frequently (and partnership dollars to rise).

And the belief is there could be a path for the firm to 10x its ROI just by selling teams.

While the purchase price was never disclosed, ESPN reportedly sought $50 million for X Games. For context, newly founded leagues with far less brand equity have reportedly valued franchises between $50–60 million (think: SailGP and PWHL).

Long-term, XGL would like to have 10 summer league and 10 winter league franchises. CEO Jeremy Bloom has said some are already under contract. New title sponsor MoonPay, has the option to buy two teams and invest in the league.

Of course, X Games isn’t the only sport or sports property shifting to a season model. This year, the barnstorming Savannah Bananas will participate in the inaugural Banana Ball Championship League (six teams, 60-game season). 

Track (Grand Slam Track), swimming (International Swimming League), and curling (Rock League) are other historically eventized sports taking a league approach. 

But the move from spectacle to season doesn’t come without risk. Action sports lack the overarching governing body needed to establish standards, enforce rules, and coordinate schedules (think: BMX and skateboarding have independent sanctioning bodies that may not schedule events in coordination with XGL’s preferred calendar).

X Games may also find challenges navigating an overlapping sponsorship marketplace. XGL will need to find a way to command partnership dollars without cannibalizing existing stars’ pacts.

And it’s possible the season structure could diminish some of the Games’ magic (see: NBA adding the League Cup event to liven up its regular season). After all, the Olympics may be, in its own words, “the greatest show on earth,” but when is the next time you’re scheduled to sit down and watch bobsleigh?

That is the tradeoff inherent in sport. Scarcity drives intensity, continuity drives habit.

“The shift is overdue and the timing definitely intentional,” Lokesh said. “The league allows us to execute repeatable, scalable assets that sponsors and fans recognize…not just one-off events.”