Streaming Into the Future

The world of broadcast coverage of sport is changing all the time and one of the most likely ‘agents of change’ to impact on sport and sponsorship over the near as well as long term future.

SportsPro have been hosting a major OTT summit in Madrid through this week and we have been following events with a keen eye.

Next week we will have detailed coverage including a chat with some of those who were present and who have a clear interest in the future of streaming and access.

For now though three of the key themes that were generating conversation included

Product analytics & business intelligence

Providing “fan ethnography” data that streaming allows to be collected, mined and exploited for better customisation purposes is a major plus over traditional ‘big box’ broadcast where coverage is done on an estimated and anonymised basis.

Sentiment and human instinct though still need to be included in the mix with big data.

Interesting @LaLiga data speech. Seems advanced should be at the core of every sport property. #spott19 pic.twitter.com/aM2MbeLccA

— carlo de marchis (@CDM) November 21, 2019

Social gaming

Bracket challenge and predictor games including Fantasy is increasingly tied tight into actual live coverage. Consumption figures are increased by as much as 25 per cent when the two sync and is also helping to prolong dwell time between double header game broadcasts as would be more common in major tournaments.

Great start to #SPOTT19 with Turner Sports on March Madness pic.twitter.com/6LSicFGpKS

— TimWestcott_Analyst (@CP_Intelligence) November 20, 2019

OTT fragmentation vs saturation

The question was posed as to whether we will we see a return to traditional linear structures with a mix of broadcasters and formats or whether one single player will lead and aggregate a critical mass of sports content in a Netflix style approach.

The technology costs are falling and accessibility of streaming with the advent of Apple and Disney this month alone.

The Most Viewed Highlights Sports Video Clip on YouTube is Ronaldo’s Hat-trick vs Spain on FIFA 2018 World Cup: 75M Views! CR7 Rocks! #SPOTT19 pic.twitter.com/W5uiMqmtyL

— Jorge Pavao Sousa (@PavaoSousa) November 20, 2019

One of the new events that Sport for Business is planning for 2020 is a special conference on Content. If you would like to be part of an initial group of members looking at how this might be shaped for the greatest effectiveness, please get in touch and let’s start to plan.