The announcement by AerTV yesterday that it was to make video streaming services available to sports teams and organisations across Ireland has generated substantial interest across the Sport for Business community.
The service will be available to sports bodies at a cost of less that €500 per month and AerTV will offer advice on filming and quality thresholds that would be acceptable to its growing Irish and International audience.
The concept of video on demand for local sports teams is nothing new. In 2004 a company called Buckeye Cable set up in Toledo to offer a similar service for local college teams and is still going strong having added a second channel in 2013.
The basis of the model is that by making video content available you will expand your fan base beyond the core of people who are already committed and reach out to those groups who may have moved away or would like to get back in contact after graduating some years back.
The BCSN network makes a greater connection back into the community by using local students to produce programming in return for gaining experience which will stand to them if they wish to make a career in broadcasting.
iHigh is another US based network that provides a platform primarily for high school and college sports but which has also had some limited contact with Irish sports teams looking to provide a video platform which delivers the opportunity to build a stronger community and to attract revenue through partnerships and advertising.
In an increasingly fractured viewing audience, advertisers are continually looking for niche audiences that can be proven to be drawn from particular groups. The Irish Greyhound Board has successfully sold advertising based on online and closed circuit TV broadcasts at it’s tracks and it is an are that is likely to grow yet further.
Sport for Business will host a showcase event in early December highlighting the opportunities and challenges around producing
Video on Demand services for Irish Sport
If you would be interested in attending from a sports, brand marketing, video production or online streaming perspective, contact us today for more details.
