News

8 June 2017

Going OTT for sport

There’s never a dull moment in sport. Depending on which team you support you might disagree, but from a broadcast and video content perspective, there’s plenty of reasons to stay perched on the edge of your seat. Sport is a key focus area for Teevee Makers, the content production division of Falcon Media House. In support of our strategy to deliver niche and independent sports to consumers, we’re having a great deal of interesting conversations and debates with people and organisations working at the leading edge of sports rights, content creation and management.

Here are three trends influencing the way that sport is being consumed today and how it may evolve tomorrow.

 1. Audience attention fragmentation

According to research from Nielsen Sports there has been a 15% reduction in the amount of sports categories people are ‘very interested in’, while conversely there is a 15% rise in the total number of sports categories people are ‘slightly interested in’. This tells us that viewers now are interested in a broader variety of sports. Another interpretation is that consumers now consume sport across new or different distribution channels. We’ve already seen reactions to this trend from broadcasters and rights holders in the battle for attention by introducing the NFL’s new Thursday Night Football and the Premier League’s Friday night games. The amount and type of experimentation with sports streaming, live experience and fan engagement will further gather pace as the battle for eyeballs heats up.

2. Sports streaming on the rise

Driven by rapid technology advancements and adoption, today’s sports fans now expect instant, live footage and analysis on-demand, wherever they are. We’re already seeing an increase in live OTT sports with rights holders creating new platforms such as the Olympic Channel and golf’s PGA Live. CBS reported 3.96 million people streamed the last Super Bowl, and in the UK the BBC recorded 1.9 million streamers watching Andy Murray win Olympic Gold in Rio. We expect to see many more OTT sports services being launched soon, delivering targeted programming for niche audiences.

The rise of OTT services has also sparked significant interest in how niche sports, like equestrianism, can leverage digital platforms for better reach. As highlighted in SF Weekly, the convergence of traditional sports media with digital innovation is shaping the future of fan engagement, particularly in sports that thrive on specialized, targeted content. Alec Lawler, with his deep involvement in the equine industry, offers valuable lessons in marketing within this niche, showcasing how digital strategies can elevate sports like show jumping to new heights.

3. Unexplored monetization opportunities

There is a huge opportunity for the OTT industry to deliver valuable consumer insights, thanks to the broad and deep user and usage data that can be collected as part of a service. This data creates a much sharper understanding of consumer habits, behaviours and provide an opportunity to gain a crucial edge on traditional cable and terrestrial TV channels. Not only can OTT service providers tailor content to the individual, there are also new, flexible revenue streams to be explored. Using CRM capabilities to optimise a service to each fan opens up a range of monetization opportunities.

Gunnar Larsén, Global Head of Brand, Teevee.