Trying to win the World Cup with TikTok & Samantha Miller

TikTok doesn’t want to compete with broadcasters for eyeballs, its global head of sport Rollo Goldstaub said on the most recent episode of the Broadcast Sport Podcast. 

Speaking alongside creator Samantha Miller, who has over 860,000 followers on the platform, Goldstaub said, “We’re not looking to compete with broadcasters. We’re looking to compliment what they have and show the world where the game is to watch in full.

“We had the Messi cam in the MLS with Apple, where it was viewed six million times and that was just a fixed camera on Messi. So fans who wanted to watch the whole game could still go through to Apple to watch that.

“This is the same story with the World Cup. The first 10 minutes shows a piece of the game but not the entirety, and I think that’s a really great place for TikTok to play in, to grow fan bases and then convert through to the third party, the broadcaster.

“Overall that’s our role in sports right now as a whole, especially in audiences that broadcasters or leagues aren’t traditionally reaching. Whether that be female fans, younger fans or those who just aren’t turning on their TV in the same way.”

Goldstaub was referring to TikTok’s deal with FIFA, which sees broadcasters able to stream the first ten minutes of World Cup fixtures with a link to see the full game on their platforms. 

Miller, who has also worked as a presenter and commentator as well as creator, added on broadcasters that they should use TikTok to show viewers what its like to be a broadcaster at the World Cup, rather than just following the sport. She said, “I think the broadcasters have so much access that they’ve got this amazing scope to show people what it’s like being a broadcaster. Not everyone knows what that entails and they have the opportunity to show the behind the scenes and what they get up to.” 

However, that isn’t all that the pair covered in the 30-minute podcast, also giving detail on the role of the creator correspondents that TikTok is sending out to the Americas, of which Miller is one, and covering topics such as their content plans for the tournament as well as what the future of sport content on TikTok could look like. You can listen to the full episode below or any major podcast platform. 

In terms of the creators that will be sent out to cover the tournament for TikTok, Miller explained their role, “The power of TikTok [was shown]when I started. I was getting messages from people around the world saying, ‘I can’t actually go to the games myself, but I feel a part of it through your content.’

“That’s always stuck with me, and I think back to that and [say], ‘How can I make people that aren’t able to be there still feel like they’re a part of the journey?”

She added on her content plan, “I’m quite off the cuff and I don’t plan too much because I think football can be unpredictable. You never know where you’re going to end up, what you’re going to see, moments that can happen. So I like to leave it a bit loose depending on what’s going on at the time.

“But I do have a plan with TikTok, which matches I’ll be going to and how much content I’d like to create.I’ll have a brief plan of what type of content that is, how many pieces of content I might want to make leading up to the game around the atmosphere and then actual reactions to the game post-match.

“So I’ll always have sort of like a rough plan, especially because I know my audience and what they like to see. 

She continued, “Then I feel like once I actually get into the tournament spirit and start to see things going on in the fan parks or meetups or anything like that, you always end up making content that you didn’t expect.

“That is one of the most significant things about content, that sometimes you don’t know what’s going to happen and something can surprise you. The main thing is showcasing the tournament, showing what I’m up to behind the scenes and getting everyone involved on TikTok and them seeing it through my eyes. So it’ll be a bit spontaneous but a bit planned at the same time.” 

As well as sending out creators, TikTok is working with athletes playing in the World Cup, and Goldstaub expects content from the players themselves to play a big part on the platform. “We’ve been working really closely with 300 athletes and retired legends to show them how to maximize their content during the World Cup.

@lamine.yamal#FIFAWORLDCUP♬ sonido original - Lamine Yamal

“We’ve already seen superstars like Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal use World Cup effects. We have some official ones in partnership with FIFA, and there’s this brilliant video of Yamal where he’s saying the names of the players and you have to say them right to get to the next one. It gets to [his name] and he says it and the effect doesn’t work, it doesn’t go through. I think it’s on something like 500 million views.

“Numbers are a bit crazy sometimes, but for people to watch that one piece of content half a billion times is quite remarkable. I’d love to see more and more of that authentic storytelling from athletes. We’ve seen it at the Women’s Euros, players like Mary Earps, who was fantastic previously.

“I’m curious to see whether that will come through whilst the tournament’s on.”

You can hear the full conversation, as well as other recent episodes of the Broadcast Sport Podcast, below, and subscribe to the Broadcast Sport Podcast on all major podcast platforms.