Q & A with Jacob “Bev” Bevis

For every up and coming sports journalist working, hopefully one day making it into mainstream media is the ultimate goal. It is what drives us to work those extra hours, makes us plead to potential employers for internships and create our own personal blogs and vlogs. One man that arguably has done a better job than any other person in his position is University of Tasmania Journalism student, Jacob Bevis, or ‘Bev’ as he is known in the world of social media.

Over the past two years, ‘Bev’ has gained online fame through his weekly show, ‘The Bev Show’ and his well known catch phrases such as ‘Yippity Dippity Doo’. His show, which now has 35,000 likes on Facebook, has caught the attention of cricket fans and broadcasters Australia-wide. Over the summer he has made guest appearances on both Channel 7’s and the Big Bash Leagues (BBL) cricket broadcasts. I had the chance to sit down with ‘Bev’ last week to discuss his passion for his content, a few ideas he has going forward and his views on a prominent and controversial issue in sport.

What was the inspiration that made you decide to start, ‘The Bev Show’? 

Well, I have always been into being on camera, I have always been into sport, and so I started live streaming on Facebook in 2016, just after the Doggies [Western Bulldogs] won the grand final. People tuned in, so it was good and it sort of went from there really. I created, ‘The Bev Show’ Facebook page after that, and it sort of went from one thing to another and been doing it for a while now. Being interested in sport and being interested in the media side is what got me into doing the show every week and all the other stuff I do.

Did you expect the show would get as big as it is today?

Nah definitely not. Started pretty small really, and never expected to increase as the years have gone on. I guess a lot to do with it has been my Hurricanes stuff, that’s been a big help; my short videos have seemed to reach a lot of people, and them sticking around to watching the show. I’m very lucky that’s for sure.

Below is one of the many clips which gained him the popularity he now has on social media.

How much time goes into preparing for the show each week?

I normally prepare a couple days out. Usually I keep it pretty the same each week, but I will change it up a little each week depending on what’s going on. For example with the AFL season recently starting I had to do my predictions a week ago, and I had to fit that in. I have to also get some clips together, and getting my knowledge up for the sports. Not that time consuming that its a full time thing, but still takes a little bit of my time. I love doing the schedule and running sheet each week, so I don’t mind.

Do you plan on taking the show to other platforms in the future, possibly expand?

Its not really something I’m sure about to be honest. I have sort of had a look at YouTube and that kind of stuff, (but for the time being) Facebook is something that seems to work, and I guess you can revert back to the saying, “don’t fix something that isn’t broken”. If it was something that could be on TV one day, I’d definitely take the opportunity because [the] ultimate goal for me is to be a broadcaster and go into [television]. Hopefully that will happen in the future, its hard to say I guess, I’m just happy for now its on Facebook and its reaching as many people as I can.

Do you think in the current Australian sporting landscape their is too much emphasis on gambling?

Very interesting question, look I do think there is too much of it, it seems like now days everything is centralised around gambling, not just horse racing. Before every broadcast you will see someone pop up the odds, so yeah there is a lot of it. I’m not sure how it looked 10-15 years ago, but now every sport seems to have some sort of gambling.