Gen Z, Gen Z, blah, blah, blah, Gen Z. Marketing and audience industries are obsessed with Gen Z. Everybody is trying to capture its attention, and soccer is not a stranger in the game. Gen Zers were one of the excuses used by the greedy men behind the infamous Super League, and I'm pretty sure they are also the reason behind the latest LaLiga idea: streaming the next Real Sociedad vs. Real Betis match through TikTok.
Real Sociedad vs Real Betis on TikTok
The event will be the first one in a big European league to be streamed on the platform, which is the favorite social media service among that coveted Gen Z cohort.
According to LaLiga, the game — the whole 90 minutes — will be streamed on Spanish territory through the official Gol TikTok profile (@goltelevision), in vertical format — 9:16 dimensions — and 4K. Mediapro is the company in charge of the broadcast, and they will have 30 people and a "special device" working to put this game on your phone screen.
"This is one more step for LaLiga in the quest to build new audiences and bring football to all viewers," said Alfredo Bermejo, LaLiga's director of digital strategy, who is not a man with a monocle, a pocket watch and a mustache, as I imagined.
For Real Sociedad and Real Betis, the game plan should not be affected by the way it is going to be streamed, but if I were a player, I'd start to practice and choreograph some viral/challenge goal celebrations, like those that Icelandic Stjarnan FC used to do even before TikTok even existed.
#Stjarnan goal celebration! So so good pic.twitter.com/H9m9bP1maF
— Kerry Hatate (@wee_kezza) June 22, 2015
C'mon, the game is going to be on TikTok, after all.
Let's hope, of course, the game doesn't end 0-0.
I don't have any idea how a Gen Z keeps tabs with dates, but if you are not a Gen Zer, bring a pen, open your Moleskine and write down: The game between Real Sociedad and Real Betis on TikTok is scheduled for Friday, April 15, at 3 p.m. ET. And don't worry, the game also will be broadcasted on old-school TV.
ESPN+ has LaLiga rights in the United States.