SPT-208 Discussion Board 3-1: The X Games
I discovered from reading many sources that ESPN developed the Extreme Games in 1995, but
subsequently changed the name to the X-Games (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019). The X-Games
feature a distinct and dangerous category of alternative action sports, including many others like
skateboarding, motocross, BMX biking, and surfing (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019). With over 58
million spectators, action sports are a developing phenomenon (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019).
The majority of X-Games fans are members of Generation Y, which makes up 25% of the
population and ranges in age from 10 to 24. (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019).
The X-Games have evolved into more of a lifestyle and culture among this generation since they
are risk-takers and like to color outside the lines (Glass, 2014). The X-Games have experienced a
meteoric rise in popularity thanks to targeted marketing to Gen Y. Target marketing is "a method
for grasping the notion of a market according to its most significant, repeating patterns of
attitudes and actions, and then adapting products and their promotional strategies to meet these
patterns," according to the Harvard Business Review (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019). By
partnerships with businesses in the music, fashion, and garment industries, they have
successfully marketed their image.
These action games' culture has influenced and promoted branding in a variety of clothing lines,
video games, movies, documentaries, events, and concert tours aimed at the younger
demographic (Bennett & Lachowetz, 2019). Also, the X-Games are able to reach more than 10
million homes and 215 nations and territories by expanding its network coverage to ABC and
other networks (Glass, 2014).
