Guests

Sierra Sohn — Author of “Where The Hell is My Money Going: A Gen Z Perspective” exploring Gen Z fandom, shareability, and what young audiences expect from the sports experience.

Chinelọ Ogogor — Author of "Emerging Technologies for Sports Training, Biomechanics, and Injury Prevention" exploring biomechanics and the science-driven technologies elevating athlete performance and recovery.

Ava Nichols — Author of "From Heartbeats to Headlines: The Communication Power of Athlete Health Data" exploring wearable tech, health data, and how technology forges new digital relationships between fans and athletes.

Host: Fred Cook, Director, USC Center for Public Relations

Discussion Breakdown

Why Sports Matter to Gen Z — 0:00

Shareability, Pop-Ups, and the New Fan Experience — 1:00

The Taylor Swift Effect & Cultural Momentum — 3:00

The Price Problem: Where Is Gen Z’s Money Going? — 4:30

AR Moments, Collectibles, and Immersive Stadium Touchpoints — 5:30

Wearables, Data, and the New Language of Sports — 7:12

Parasocial Accountability & Athlete Transparency — 8:30

Data Accuracy, Misinterpretation, and Competitive Edge — 9:15

Biomechanics: Science Meets Sports — 12:50

Is Tech an Advantage or the New Baseline? — 14:35

Fan Interaction: Live Polls, QR Codes, Betting, and Streaming — 16:11

AI in Sports: Prediction, Sentiment, and Betting Trends — 17:43

Will Sporting Events Start to Look Like Concerts? — 19:49

Cross-Cultural Collaborations: F1 x Hello Kitty & Swifties x NFL — 21:50

The Future of PR in Sports — 24:08

Communicating Value vs. Setting Prices — 27:29

Closing Reflections: Sports as a Shared Cultural Space — 28:21

Key Insights

1. Gen Z Is Redefining What Makes Sports “Worth It.”

Sierra highlights that younger fans aren’t just buying tickets — they’re buying culture, exclusivity, and shareable moments. Experiences inspired by music and entertainment (Easter eggs, AR, photo ops) are central to keeping Gen Z engaged.

2. Wearables Create a New Digital Relationship Between Fans and Athletes.

Ava explains how devices like Oura, Apple Watch, and WHOOP let fans “train like their heroes.” But access to athlete data also raises issues of accuracy, perception, and competitive intelligence.

3. Biomechanics Will Become Table Stakes for Performance.

Chinelọ connects science and sport, showing how individualized biomechanical training can turn role players into high performers. Teams that don’t adopt these tools may quickly fall behind.

4. AI Adds New Storylines, Not Fewer.

From US Open prediction models to sentiment analysis, students argue AI doesn’t kill excitement — it creates more to follow, debate, and engage with.

5. PR’s Role Expands as Sports Become More Technological and Cultural.

Communicators must translate data, tech, culture, and fan psychology into clear stories. PR becomes the bridge between the science and the spectacle.

A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.

Host: Fred Cook
Executive Producer: Ron Antonette

Season 7 Producers: Joe Carreon and Anvi Mahajan
Production: Camille Culbertson, Jack Gisler, Toma Battino
Editorial: Joey Cha, Ivan Feng, Natalie Lopez, Grace An, Emmy Snyder
Social Content: Angelina Tran, Hailey Evans
Growth: Van Luu, Shaan Dhaliwal

Follow the USC Center for PR (@usccenterforpr) on Instagram and LinkedIn. 
Follow Fred Cook on LinkedIn. 
Find all our reports at annenberg.usc.edu/cpr.

Download the 2025 Relevance Report at

 annenberg.usc.edu/relevance