That was a big focus when I was learning about journalism at university.

Social media platforms like Twitter were growing in prominence a decade ago.

They prioritised brevity with Twitter originally allowing users 140 characters to get their message across.

Snippets of articles on Twitter and Facebook became a popular way for people to discover sports news.

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Journalism was becoming more digitalised and the general thinking was people no longer had the attention span to read long articles.

So it's been interesting the way sports podcasts and television series have taken off in the past five years.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a prime example.

The Netflix documentary series, which gives viewers a behind the scenes look at racing teams, has taken the world by storm since it came out in 2019. The charismatic Dan Ricciardo has become arguably Australia's most popular sportsperson.

And people you wouldn't expect have opinions about how last year's championship finished or about Brit George Russell's cross to Mercedes from Williams.

I'm among the contingent who didn't have an interest in Formula One until it came out but I'm up to date and eager for season five.

The funny thing is each season has 10 episodes which go for about 30-40 minutes which makes about 400 minutes of viewing.

Another successful streaming service show I've enjoyed is The Test, which is about the Australian cricket team, on Amazon Prime.

AFL clubs had their turn at a warts-and-all TV series last year with Making Their Mark which also premiered on Amazon.

Aussie podcasts Dyl and Friends, hosted by former AFL footballer Dylan Buckley, and The Howie Games, hosted by sports broadcaster Mark Howard, have enjoyed success too.

Buckley has nearly clocked 150 long-form interviews and Howard has surpassed that milestone.

Howard's episodes are long enough that they're often broken into two parts.

It seems an incredible turnaround that consumers with supposed short-attention spans are prepared to give that much of their time to these long forms of media.

The coronavirus pandemic helped streaming services and podcasts with people cooped up in their homes and with more time on their hands.

Another plus for podcasts is that, like radio has long offered, there's the ability to listen while doing something else such as a long road trip or hike.

Watching a streaming service series is likewise passive with the opportunity to do other things while watching.

Meanwhile, you can hardly have your head down reading a newspaper while trying to summit Cradle Mountain.

The ability to pause and revisit episodes is another advantage podcasts and shows have over live radio and TV.

There's also the joke that everyone seems to have their own podcast these days.

Having co-hosted in the past, it doesn't have to be a costly exercise and there are easily accessible user-friendly editing platforms.

On top of the friendly logistics, hosts are keen to foster a community and audiences are loving it.

Podcast listeners can engage in numerous ways by suggesting interviewees, asking questions on social media or buying merchandise. It's like being part of a club and people are thrilled when they meet others who listen to or watch the same shows.

The other thing these programs have in common is they're offering behind the scenes footage and in-depth interviews.

For example, in the AFL, players and coaches don't give much away in typical interviews.

It's understandable given their competitiveness.

But despite wanting to keep their cards close to their chest many players have been happy to talk to Buckley and Howard.

It's appears a good way to promote themselves and/or their club and give fans further insight into what makes them tick. Conversely, it was intriguing to hear Fremantle skipper Nate Fyfe on The Howie Games who highlighted podcasts can lull players into a false sense of security.

He told Howard he usually had a no podcast rule but had made an exception.

"I feel like I've been burnt a couple of times, I tend to get quite deep and revealing when I have one-on-one conversations and totally forget there's going to be an audience tuning in at some point," he said.

"Generally that turns into headlines which I then have to defend so that's why I'm always a little bit nervous about podcasts."

While short and snappy was all the rage a decade ago, there has been a swing to long-form sports media.

Even Twitter increased its character count to 280 in recent years.

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