How One Man Used His Love of Sports To Redefine 24/7 Sports Media Personalization is at the heart of how people consume media in this day and age.
By David Wither
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The way we consume sports has changed over the years. From the time of the radio and the time where you could only get the score in the newspaper the next day to 24-hour sports broadcasting, this is one industry that continues to evolve. Nish Patel started ClutchPoints, a sports platform that's a cross between Twitter, Reddit, and ESPN.
Users of ClutchPoints can view all the best highlights and enjoy the reactions of everyone there. This combines fact-based reporting with the emotion of actually being at the game. With the NBA as its centerpiece, this is one platform that has already experienced a huge amount of growth.
But it is one venture that has been driven by passion. That's why personalization is such a huge part of it.
Born Out of Passion
Sports fans come from all walks of life. There are no bonds between them because they are bankers, truck drivers, and everything in between. But the one thing that brings them together is passion. This is how Patel also got involved with the idea of ClutchPoints.
He was always passionate about creating some sort of company based on his love of sports. It was his hobby and it was his passion. That's why he began to follow his passion at Startup UCLA.
Since then, Patel has become an active part of the entrepreneurial scene at UCLA. He co-founded Bruin Entrepreneurs and has spent his time mentoring other student entrepreneurs on campus.
Even today, he is still passionate about the startup community, from the bottom up.
Building On What Came Before
It is important to remember that the idea of 24-hour sports is nothing new. The Baby Boomers were first introduced to the concept through ESPN. That allowed it to be turned into the juggernaut that it is today. But millennials and Generation Z have yet to experience that new revelation.
ClutchPoints was born out of the idea of doing that ESPN does not, as in adding a sense of community. It is not just about catching up with basketball games. It is about chatting with other fans and sharing in the emotion of the game. Your timeline is filled with highlights packages designed to take in everything at the game, from the shocked faces in the crowd to the anguish on the faces of the coaches.
Like any good business with a unique idea, it builds on what came before.
The Art of Being an Individual
If there is anything that defines the millennial generation, which now makes up most of the workforce at 75.4 million, it is the idea of being an individual. One of the main problems today is that there is no such thing as being an individual. The Baby Boomer generation was all about team efforts. Millennials want to be seen as unique identities.
Whether you agree with that or not, that is how it stands. Patel realized this and so he allowed people to make sure that they only get the coverage they are interested in. Full personalization allows people to receive news about the games they care about.
On the ClutchPoints platform everyone is a unique entity with the chance to share opinions and love their favorite teams. This was on display during the recent seven games that pitted the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers. People were able to discuss the games and chat with fans of both teams.
The Future of Sports Reporting Redefined
What makes this such a standout option is the fact that for the first time you can consume 360-sports on any device wherever you happen to be. What defines the current generation is the mobile revolution. The rise of mobile has made people picky when it comes to where they consume media.
In this 24-hour world, people demand to be able to catch up with their favorite games wherever they happen to be.
Crucially, the social media side has been fully integrated with the platform. Now this is a sports social media network, which functions as a news site and a place to chat. Fans from opposing teams are able to share and debate on the issues of the day.
This is primarily why most users choose ClutchPoints as their NBA hub.
Conclusion
Personalization is at the heart of how people consume media in this day and age. Any platform that wants to succeed has to be able to make people feel as if they matter. The user experience is what will separate good businesses from failures. That is why this gap in the market has opened up and it is why ClutchPoints has looked to fill that gap.
What do you think is the future of ClutchPoints and the world of sports broadcasting in general?