Metro deputy head of video Conor McCormick and senior sport journalist and producer Jack Vasey speak to the Broadcast Sport Podcast
Metro has hit some impressive numbers with its video content recently, and deputy head of video Conor McCormick and senior sport journalist and producer Jack Vasey spoke to the Broadcast Sport Podcast about reaching big audiences without the backing of a major broadcaster or rights holder.
You can listen to the full conversation in the links through this article, as well as listen and subscribe to the Broadcast Sport podcast on all major podcast platforms.
The organisation, launching from an almost standing start two years ago, has reached four million TikTok followers across its news, sport, entertainment and gaming channels, with sport alone now over 700,000 and hitting 35 million views on its most viewed video.
Being on the ground at events is seen as key to Metro’s strategy, Vasey explaining, “The most viral video is 35 million views alone, of Jake Paul basically flicking the nipple of Anthony Joshua. It’s one of those things that yes, the video itself goes viral, but to be in the right place at the right time and getting that initial content is what separated us.”
He added: “Our biggest success of the year was the Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua fight in Miami. We were on the ground every day for a week, speaking to talent, at the weigh ins, at the press conferences, and the fight itself. We saw 90 million views across our sports pages on that coverage.”
However, it isn’t as simple as just being there and making sure you capture what’s around you. As Vasey noted, “Many people wanted to see Anthony Joshua knock Jake Paul out, but there’s only a certain amount of times you can run with that line.” Going behind-the-scenes and finding the stories around the sport is vital for a organisation without media rights.
McCormick expanded on the publisher’s process, which includes building up its presenters into recognisable figures who viewers will stick around to see. He said, “I think we’re able to provide value when we’re consistently recognisable faces on screen regularly.
“Over time, [viewers are] going to be more mindful to give your video a chance, even if it’s to the 10 second or 20 second mark… because they know they’re either going to be getting some kind of entertainment or some kind of analysis or insight.
“So that’s what we really try and do. Get Jack and Charlie [Barclay] on screen as much as possible and deliver high quality content.”
Constant experimentation is also a feature of Metro’s channels, even if it’s at the risk of failing. Vasey said: “We want to take risks and we want to try new things. Not everything is going to work, but we need to be able to pivot quickly when they don’t. So a very blunt way of putting it is if you’re going to fail, fail fast.”
McCormick added, “When you do create a new format, it very, very rarely hits hot straight away. You have to look at the more granular data, things like retention rates, watch times, when people are scrolling away, to see if there is a diamond at the end of the tunnel.
“Essentially, what we try and do is give it a handful of tests, between, say, six and eight, and see how it performs. The we get together what’s working about it, what isn’t, and then either get rid of it and move on to the next or see what changes can be made.”
You can hear more from McCormick and Vasey in the full episode of the Broadcast Sport Podcast, which is available below and on all major podcast platforms.
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