A New Era of Balls?
Balls To Us?
In the last decade or so, a clamour of voices has arisen around sport. They assert that many sports the way they have always been, are losing relevance. It may not be a din that drowns out that last bastion of pure, unscripted fandom just yet. But there have been numerous attempts to inject new energy, refresh and even reinvent certain sports. Anyone anywhere on the fringes of the space (and its fans) would do well to take notice.
In the frequent debates about the purity of sports versus the unabashed yet much needed commercialisation, lies a middle ground where exciting efforts are underway at making sports and entertainment come together in ways only these times can imagine. I plan to explore the space, and this week is my first piece, on The Baller League coming up in March in the UK. ⚽
Jump right ahead to it, if that’s of most interest to you, it anchors this missive.
Curated/Cuts showcases a multitude of iPhones in another memorable Music Video from the band that has made a habit of them. Plus there’s a little food orgasm you might remember, Netflix’s new brand spot and Open AI’s new design system.
➕ some entertainment quickies from China’s box office, Jiostar & Coldplay, Apple TV+ & Netflix, Deezer and more!
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Lets kick off with the quick hits.
Quickies
China’s Box Office in the Chinese/Lunar New Year period reached a staggering $1.3 billion. Animated fantasy adventure sequel Ne Zha 2 from director Yu Yang led the way, and has already almost reached half a billion dollars itself. All the top films were Chinese. Worth noting that the China Film Administration ran a promotional scheme this past December to offer subsidies of ~$83M to moviegoers through February. · Sohee Kim · Nancy Tartaglione ·
Squid Game S2 is a smash. So is S1. Wait, what didn’t we know that? Well, S1 is the second most watched show for Netflix last month (behind, of course, S2). The two combined delivered a billion viewing hours in January. Like-for-like, S2 has brought in 1.2bn hours in 5 weeks, while S1 achieved 1.75 in its first five weeks, as it became a global phenomenon. Owl & Co and Hernan Lopez have- as always- a good breakdown here.
Disney+ Hotstar’s exclusive live stream of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour concert in Ahmedabad, India attracted 83 lakh/8.3m views with 16.5 crore/ 160m minutes of watch time.
Apple’s critically acclaimed series Severance kicked off season 2 recently. Parrot Analytics estimates that the first season generated over $200 million for Apple, exceeding the revenue generated by other popular Apple TV+ shows like Slow Horses and The Morning Show. It says Severance has been particularly successful in driving subscriptions in EMEA and Latin America.
Music streaming service Deezer launched a new AI detection tool, then revealed its new tech has already discovered that roughly 10,000 ‘fully AI-generated tracks’ are being delivered to its platform every day. That amounts to about 10% of the daily content delivered to Deezer! CEO Alexis Lanternier also said the company plans to “exclude” fully AI-generated tracks “from algorithmic and editorial recommendation.” Promising words.
“Every company could learn something from Netflix’s commitment to making the experience of using its service better, and not in ways that just benefit Netflix. You see, Netflix seems to know the most important thing about building products, which is that you benefit most when people who give you money for your service actually enjoy using it. They stick around and continue paying for your service for a lot longer when you respect them and build features that consider what they really want”. Well said, Jason Aten in Netflix Will Now Let You Download an Entire Season on Your iPhone
“In the race to dominate this technology, the greatest risk isn’t falling behind. It’s losing control entirely.” The Guardian has a view on the global AI race in this editorial.
Curated/Cuts.
1. The band OK GO is very well known for its wildly creative music videos. Here’s their latest, featuring the small matter of 64 iPhones. Frontman Damian Kulash stated that the song is about having a split-screen view of the world and the future: on one hand, you're watching the world crumble but one the other, you have to be optimistic for the next generation. I can work with that!
It took eight days and 1,043 takes for the band to shoot the 64 one-shot videos used in the music video for ‘A Stone Only Rolls Downhill (watch).’
The idea of this video is ‘split screen’ but instead of having that be a digital thing across one screen, we literally shot 64 one-take shots on phones. Once all the takes had been filmed, all the phones were laid out on the floor and shot as “one big practical film.
2. Netflix brand spot: Netflix has released a brand spot for 2025, as promised late last year. Netflix is not necessarily known for its pure brand campaigns, usually treating its product and its titles as the primary vehicles to build awareness. Last year, they released “Its So Good” featuring Simone Biles, Cardi B and Giancarlo Esposito, which was meant to be the start of a new phase of branding. It would appear this is the next drop, a spot which could be described as an elevated slate reel. Its plush and thrilling, though seems vaguely familiar in the pay tv/ legacy media space. Have a look.
Wieden + Kennedy · Megaforce · ICONOCLAST ·
3. Deli Orgasms revisited: Its When Harry met Sally, again! For anyone who loves that great rom-com from the 80s, here’s a spot that lays on all the nostalgia with Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal and that deli scene. Plus, a twist on the cameo which I think works pretty well!
4. Open AI’s new design/brand refresh dropped some hours ago. Take a look below at the motion piece. Remember, this is a brand that exploded into public being barely a couple of years ago, before which it was a research lab, not a consumer facing entity. Its offerings have been, shall we say, pretty ad hoc from a visual standpoint. Steady, but never gave the sense of being something crafted for a memorable experience. This brand identity is possibly its first real shot at it. The black dot/circle seems to be a central motif, the intertwined logo remains, and there’s a sans font, the same feel that we have seen but sharpened, cleaned up and maybe made more coherent, while it still feels like a relatively unadorned place for research.
(continues)
And here is my main piece for the week. Future or fun, or both? Read and let me know what you think.
Reimagining Sports
Increasingly, more voices insist that traditional just won't cut it anymore in the world of sports.
Football. Basketball. Golf. Pickleball. More new formats and approaches are emerging than probably at any other point in sports history. Almost always aiming for faster, more fun, more engaging, more flexible, more personality driven, digital-first. Traditional leagues still dominate, but experiments in blending sport, entertainment and interactivity are gaining traction.
These are fascinating areas for any casual sports fan, and also for anyone who works in sports, entertainment or the business of making connections and fandoms. It just so happens I tick all those boxes so yes- this interests me! The efforts seem to be getting more innovative and bold as the digital and youth landscapes continue to change dramatically. There is a reducing hesitation to mess with traditional formats (much to the horror of purists).
When the T20 format swooped into cricket, it proved that a centuries-old sport could get a twenty-first-century makeover; its success story is well documented. But larger forces- the familiar battle for attention, challenges of engagement and rapidly changing lifestyles, especially for young people, have meant the need to rejuvenate other sports has only increased- and the are countless attempts.
The Kings League in Spain, the rise of 3x3 basketball, pickleball leagues- all around us, we see a charge to rewrite playbooks. Underpinning many of these seems to be the core belief that modern sports can't just be about athletic excellence- they need to be part of a larger entertainment ecosystem. Be it creating narrative arcs beyond match days, turning athletes into creators, or matches into episodes. Some efforts have taken flight (hey, 3x3 basketball), others crashed and burned (sorry, World Tennis League), but the underlying beliefs have only gained momentum.
I will look to explore and write about some of these over the coming weeks.
The Baller League
Today, I‘ll kick off with one such experiment for the one truly global game.
Think of this one as an attempt to answer the question "What if we took the world's most popular sport and reimagined it for the TikTok generation?". Of course, everyone wants to reimagine everything for the Tiktok or Youtube generation(s), but hey, football first.
The format reads like (some) sports producers' fever dream: super quick matches, power-ups, unpredictability, real-time fan voting. It's that impossible sweet spot in the Venn diagram on the boardroom whiteboard- traditional football, esports dynamics, creator styles, a dash of reality TV.
Legends, check. Retired pros, check. Sparkling amateur talent, check. Creators and influencers who can turn online fandoms into real-world attendees? Check. All being brought together in a bold avatar that looks to merge traditional elements with a short, fast style… all wrapped in distinctly ‘digital culture’ vibes and “extra flavour of the streets”.
Plus, no paywalls, no subscriptions, no packages. Free to watch, streaming on Youtube & Twitch.
Set to launch in the UK and US in March 2025, what Is the Baller League anyway?
Born in Germany, backed by ex-internationals Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski, its has had pretty successful season in Germany since 2023. The competition brings condensed, high-energy, high intensity action. How, you might ask? With some familiar tweaks and some pretty wild innovations, is how.
Six a side, played indoors, games are a mere 30 minutes (two 15-minute halves).
12 teams, 11 matchdays, games every Monday night.
No corners, if the ball crosses the backline three times, a unique penalty is awarded where the player starts from the halfway line and has six seconds to score.
A twist on the offside rule, no passing back into your own half once in opposition territory.
Fouls lead to immediate send-offs.
Dynamic Rule Changes. In the final three minutes of each half, the “lights go low” and special rules come into play- absolutely randomised! These could include any of: 3v3 gameplay; double points for long-range goals; 1v1 challenges with no hands allowed for goalkeepers, and more.
Baller League is all about forward-thinking, aggressive, hyper-exciting football. We’re about creating a version of the game that’s impossible to ignore - thrilling, bold and packed with excitement.
That gives a good sense of what kind of action is intended. It seems to have done well in Germany but now with global ambitions, as it expands to the UK and US, some serious names are attached.
So yeah- who’s involved?
The UK edition features 12 teams, each managed by a mix of football royalty and internet stars. Sample this- teams led by the likes of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Arsenal legends Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Jens Lehmann; John Terry, Figo, Micah Richards. Over in the US, Brazilian icon Ronaldinho is taking charge. And equally exciting- we have creators serving as league presidents- British YouTuber KSI for the UK, and YouTuber IShowSpeed in the US.
But who’s playing? Ah, yes that little detail. Teams will be a mix of amateurs, selected through trials. The league “actively scouts for amateur talent”. From trials conducted in London and Manchester, 200 players are selected to enter the draft, from which team managers choose their squads. And every week will have at least one legend on the pitch.
Promising? Absolutely. Could be a damp squib? Entirely possible. The template is fundamentally unpredictable, but equally so laser-focused on exciting action. Or, at the very least, some chaotic entertainment. And who said that’s a bad thing!
Should We Care?
Yes. If you are a hardcore football fan, this is the kind of thing you track for disrupting the game you love. If you are a casual fan or someone who plays more than watches, this could be the dose of action you need. The format is meant to prioritise skill, speed, and strategy over physicality. Its influencer-heavy lineup is designed to attract a younger audience. So expect fun, and randomness.
The league has already secured investment to the tune of $33 million, showing there’s real belief in its potential. But whether it can sustain long-term interest or remain a novelty act will depend on the quality of play, the credibility of its entertainment, and if it captures the imagination of fans beyond social media hype.
For those close to the game, you know that The Kings League, founded by Gerard Piqué in Spain, follows a similar format but leans even more into its entertainment-first approach. It features unconventional rules like secret weapon cards and time penalties, while the Baller League seems to focus on a more structured yet high-intensity version of the sport. Both leagues aim to engage younger, digitally savvy audiences, but the Baller League’s expansion into multiple countries suggests a wider scope and ambition.
The jury is very much out if this will be an evolution of football, or simply a fun spectacle. And who’s to say both can’t be equally good outcomes! Hey, if nothing else, they're giving us something new to argue about on social media. Because if there's one thing sports fans love more than watching the game, it's debating whether new formats are brilliant innovations or signs of the apocalypse.
What about you- feeling positive about this, sounds like its too good to miss? Or shaking your head in disapproval already?
· Official Site · An explainer on Youtube · More on its funding ·
Thanks for reading!