Broadcast Sport speaks to Ci Michel about bringing the volleyball social platform back and what’s next
Last month, VolleyVerse was re-launched and volleyball content once again available to its 2.5 million followers and subscribers, thanks to former player, Olympian and now commentator and pundit Ci Michel.
The channel will once again be providing volleyball fans with behind-the-scenes content, deep dives into volleyball culture, watchalongs of the world’s biggest volleyball matchups and opportunities to engage directly with Michel and other players and insiders.
Volleyball has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, shown by the growth of Volleyball World streaming service VBTV, which specialises in live content, and former player and now commentator Michel is keen to jump on the trend, “The channel existed a few years ago, and the whole idea was to just kind of create a community for the sport. It fell by the wayside a bit, and now we’ve decided, with volleyball exploding, that this is the perfect time to try and create something that the fans can take ownership of.”
“Volleyball World, which is the main platform for a lot of international matches, was only launched four or five years ago. It’s relatively new, but it has millions of users, but there isn’t a hand-in-hand fan version of that.”
These fan, and former player, platforms have become a big part of the sport content landscape over the last five years, with the popularity of football fan channels AFTV or The United Stand or podcasts such as ex- and current England cricketers Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler’s For The Love Of Cricket gaining large followings. Michel agrees, “It’s a missing piece that other sports have. Where there’s that user-generated content or those YouTubers, pundits, people that love the sport but aren’t necessarily broadcasting it, who are talking about the sport and growing it? That second layer of the onion?”
While some of these platforms are increasingly professional in their output, Michel is keen to bring more of a grassroots feel to VolleyVerse, with supporters directly contributing to the content. She explained its content strategy, “A lot of it is going to be me creating content from the inside. I’m going to be at events. I do a lot of commentary, so I’m friends with a lot of players, and I can provide that insider view. At the same time, we will also be relying on the community to create some content. We want it to be like an open feedback loop, more of a grassroots style than just talking at the viewers.
“They can also feedback to us what they want to see more of, what are they most interested in? How can we get them closer? How can we bridge that gap between the broadcast and these famous players and Olympians, and the average viewer who loves the sport?”
The focus, at first, will be on Instagram, with content focusing on the Italian league, where Michel used to play and now commentates, her home US leagues, and the Turkish competition, due to its passionate fanbase.
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There will be an experimental tinge to the content for some time yet, and generally, Michel is eager for, “it to be something that hasn’t been done in our sport before.” Content can range from serious analysis to trying to decide which position Bad Bunny would play in if he was a volleyball player, and she’ll wait to see which fans flock to more: “I love doing the behind-the-scenes at an event, getting to kind of see behind the curtain and see players off-court and not wearing the jersey, but it might be that fans are like, ‘No, we just want podcast style,’ or, ‘No, we just want you to react to videos of silly things that happen on Reddit.’”
A podcast is also, “on the list,” of projects, and looking forward, Michel isn’t worried about aiming high. “I would love for it to be a household name among volleyball fans and enthusiasts. I would love for us to be the leaders in the creative space.”
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