If you watched the X Games this past weekend, you may have noticed the different methods that ESPN used to promote the events. Last October, ESPN sold a majority stake in a private equity firm. ESPN can still stream the X Games, but the private equity firm now has a firm handle on where they want to drive the future direction of the competitions.
This year, they went all in on bringing influencers to try to bring more attention to the events. Stoney McBlaze was paid by them to break down the best tricks by acting like a pothead.
Yung Gravy was another example of this, as the pretty forgettable rapper shot features shredding with Tom Wallisch and then performed on Saturday night.
Suffice it to say, people who have grown up watching the X Games were annoyed with this style of promotion. The features about athletes’ stories were decreased, while the irrelevant stories about influencers at Aspen increased.
Todd Richards, the snowboarding icon that won multiple X Games gold medals, spoke in opposition to this latest iteration of X Games. Todd called out the ad agency approach of trying to reach younger people by using influencers to promote action sports.
What do you think? Did you like the new ways they promoted the games, or was it cringeworthy?
