A new year-end episode of the Fandom Unpacked podcast explores how cultural institutions and media brands are cultivating deeper audience connection at a pivotal cultural moment

New York, NY — As the cultural calendar turns toward one of its most visible moments — with the GRAMMY Awards approaching — conversations around fandom, cultural relevance, and audience connection are increasingly front of mind across the arts, media, and entertainment industries.

Against this backdrop, Fandom Unpacked, the podcast exploring how modern fandom is built, has released a Year-in-Review episode examining how leaders across culture, entertainment, and live experiences are cultivating deeper, longer-lasting fan relationships beyond a single performance, broadcast, or moment.

Titled “The Year in Fandom: How Sports, Culture & Entertainment Leaders Build Fans,” the episode synthesizes conversations from across the past year with executives from cultural institutions, media organizations, and live experience brands navigating how to build relevance, loyalty, and belonging in a fragmented media landscape.

The episode features insights from leaders and organizations including:

• The Recording Academy
• PBS
• Tessitura
• Leaders from Playbill, BroadwayWorld, and Broadway News
• D23

Together, these conversations explore how arts and cultural organizations are rethinking fandom — shifting from transactional attendance models toward sustained relationships rooted in identity, access, and community.

The episode is informed by Situation’s recent research with Ticketmaster, which analyzed ticket-buying behavior across sports, culture, and entertainment using insights from more than 20,000 live-event fans, providing additional context for many of the themes discussed, including loyalty, frequency, and cultural participation.

Rather than a recap, the Year-in-Review episode focuses on shared patterns emerging across cultural institutions and entertainment brands, including:

• Why fandom is increasingly built between moments, not just at performances or broadcasts
• How cultural brands are cultivating belonging and relevance in an attention-fragmented world
• What arts organizations can learn from adjacent entertainment and sports sectors about sustaining fan relationships

Hosted by Damian Bazadona, Founder and President of Situation Group, and Peter Yagecic, Founder of A Mind at Work Consulting, Fandom Unpacked brings together voices from across sports, arts, culture, travel, and media to position fandom as a long-term relationship — not a marketing tactic.

The full episode is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.

Listen here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2449648/episodes/18501027

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Media Contact
Eliza Palter
Marketing & Communications
epalter@situationinteractive.com