Much Ado About Something. Part Three.

Hi hello, I’m Jess Ryan, founder of Broadway Unlocked. I write about theatre, technology, live broadcast and digital audiences every other Tuesday.

As unearthed in our last Substack, at Broadway Unlocked there is no “situationship” when it comes to because our business gives us a clear and direct line to product and audience insight. Scores of studies and data, as well as our ~140 live shows on the internet, continually reinforce to us that there is a solid relationship to be had, with demand for both in-person and digital access to great theatre.

We’ve talked about the past history of theatre on screens, and we’ve talked about the present realities that get in the way of including digital audiences. So today, in Part Three of this series, I wanted to share some of the irrefutable evidence that there is very real demand and opportunity to attract and engage those audiences.

Digital Drives In-Person: Adults who used media to consume visual art or music, dance, or theater performances were at least five times as likely as other adults to attend in‐person arts events. (NEA: Paths to Participation Study 2021)

When I cite this data to people, it often comes as a surprise to them. But think of all the barriers you have to bust through to decide you want to go to in-person theatre, especially if you’re not someone who already is bought in: you have to decide going to the theatre is what you want to do with your evening. You have to spend money (often a lot of it), you have to travel to get there. Your confidence that you will enjoy your experience has to be pretty high to hit the go button. It’s much easier to stay home, watch Netflix, spackle your tile (I just like the word spackle).

When there’s the opportunity to experience live theatre and theatrical experiences on the internet, we make it easier to decide to watch - you don’t have to leave your living room, and you can make a last minute decision. We make it cheaper to buy in - thank you metrics of scale we talked about in the last Substack. If we can deliver a great show and a magical experience to the digital audience - then, of course, they are going to be more likely to come in-person. We’ve created demand that wasn’t there before. A bit of FOMO, even.

Streaming Is An Open Invitation: Of the 43 percent of total respondents who viewed livestreamed performing arts events, 62 percent were Black/African American and 48 percent were Hispanic (NEA: Arts Attendance, Art-Making and Social Connectedness Spring/Summer 2024)

This is a north star for me and our team– a big “why” behind the exceptionally hard and complicated work to build an ecosystem where live digital access is a reality. You and I know, theatre changes hearts, cultures and minds. If we can help increase the likelihood that all kinds of people will go to the theatre, that is a job well done in my book. On the flipside, this data is an invitation to acknowledge there are folks out there who are just never going to step inside a physical theatre. There are many reasons for this - chief among them financial, geographic and cultural barriers to entry. That doesn’t mean they should live a life without art. I want a digital place to exist for those folks, too.

Side note - my favorite part about building for this data is that it goes hand in hand with creating an arm of Broadway that *does* know what to do with the musicals and plays our current theatre system seems to have a hard time with.

Digital audiences want to champion, watch and support new musicals about a famous female Chickasaw sharp shooter, a queer superhero universe of shows, a play asking who gets to decide what makes a woman - the town, tradition or the ancient forces that have been watching all along?

I’m obsessed with building a home for these shows and joining our audiences in helping to make them successful.

55+ Is An Opportunity: 88% of those ages 55+ use YouTube on a weekly basis. Creating Results: What Do Seniors Do Online 2025

I’d say this is the biggest change from when I started this work, and a very big driver for us. This largely results from the pandemic forcing folks to become digitally native, but also, I offer this anecdote: We often take sales calls for new technology products we feel could help improve our business and efficiency. Nearly every 20-something startup sales guy I talk to finds out what we do and says - “Oh my god my parents would love that - they loved going to the theatre but just can’t get there anymore”. We’re taking a disciplined approach to building an audience pipeline that finds these folks and invites them in.

There’s a Verified Floor: 62% of the 14.7 Million admissions to Broadway shows in 2024 were folks from out of town or overseas. 94% of surveyed respondents registered intent to see another Broadway show. Broadway League: The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2024-2025

That means 8.1M ticket buyers are outside NYC with no reliable, consistent and enjoyable digital option. Then we zoom out and start to think globally. Over the past 6 years, we’ve seen a pattern - our core digital audience markets are the US, the UK, Australia and Germany. Together, that total Theater Performance Arts market for those countries is valued at $5 Billion dollars. These stats tell us there is a desire to see more theatre and there is money to spend on it.

WHEW. And so - here we are at the end of a deep dive into Broadway’s “situationship” with the internet. My takeaways? I gotta tell you, they aren’t particularly of the Pollyanna variety: Streaming in-person theatrical productions is complicated. It’s a “situationship” for very understandable reasons. Our physical theatrical system is vast and complex and can’t move at the speed of technology. This presents problems that are going to take years to solve.

And also: people categorically want this. Producers, artists and audiences alike. So what are we left with?

For me, it’s the realization that what we’re building here at Broadway Unlocked has to be bigger than Broadway (the physical place).

Yes, Broadway Unlocked will be where you can go see great Broadway theatre from home. But it also needs to be a place that doesn’t fully rely on Broadway’s permission to exist. A place by and for those of us ready to dive in, build and experience something new together.

That’s what making and going to the theatre has always been about, right? It’s certainly the part I love the most. And whether it’s in a physical space or live on a screen, the end game is the same: we want to reach more people, open more minds, shape more culture and warm more hearts.

So, what does making a home for live theatre on the internet look like, then? If you’re here, you’re along for the ride! Tune in here, every other Tuesday to find out.

So many of you here are from outside the New York universe.I am hungry to know what you’re thinking about on a day to day basis when you’re contemplating digital audiences. What have been your successes in building for this new world? What’s been hard? Have you had experiences as a digital audience member that you loved or hated? Please let us know!

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PS: Check out our collection of studies on digital and the arts here!

Previously on Broadway Unlocked

Find out what I learned when I was interrogated by seas of Broadway producers - check out my most recent Substack.

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Next up - June 30th, 2026

See you in two weeks!