The Future of Sports Broadcasting - FT Raptors Producer Dan Gladman

Sports broadcasting is a field that has been greatly affected by the digital age of social media. In a world where content is readily available to any average consumer, the need for typical sports highlight shows has become increasingly unnecessary.

Titans of the industry such as ESPN and TSN have not been immune to this trend. Both companies were forced to release hundreds of employees in recent months.

Dan Gladman is a veteran of the broadcasting world. After working as Font Co-ordinator for the Toronto Raptors, he has propelled himself into a Producer Role for Raptors Television Broadcasts. Basketball and the Toronto Raptors specifically is something that Gladman has a true passion for.

“If I wasn’t producing the Raptors game I’d be sitting at home watching it.”

“For me it’s such a labour of love.”

Gladman also has plenty of broadcasting experience outside of live events. He serves as a full time panelist on NBA TV’s “The Hangout” alongside Akil Augustine.

While the average sports highlight or update show may be slowly reaching its extinction, Gladman believes certain arms of sports broadcasting will always be immune to any changes in technology.

“Live Sports. That isn’t going anywhere. If anything it’s getting stronger and stronger.”

New variety style sports shows and commentary panels similar to “The Hangout” are constantly trying to break ground in the industry. It’s just a means of finding the right method to showcase these unique programs.

“The content is there, the content is being produced and being consumed. It’s just a matter of finding the niche to get it out there”

“A lot of it is becoming that do it yourself model. Come up with some sort of method to get that content out there.”

Social media has introduced a flurry of different ways to share content globally. The difficulty lies in finding the most accessible and most direct means to do so. The most popular social media platform seems to change every few months.

“It’s just a matter of keeping up with the technology, there’s an idea that you and I haven’t thought of yet that three years from now someone is going to make a hundred million dollars.”

Over the past two decades Dan Gladman has witnessed significant progress and periods of transition in the broadcasting industry. Needless to say he has first hand experience on the current status of the field.

“I don’t know if I can say the industry is declining. I think it’s just changing.”

The future of sports broadcasting may be unclear at the moment, but that’s sports. It’s always evolving, and completely unpredictable.