At its core, sport is an entertainment business. Strip away the agents, image rights, contracts and sponsorship deals that consume professional competition, and sport’s fundamental appeal still lies in its ability to excite and engage.
For this reason, the daily news cycle is inevitably dominated by the largest leagues, federations and sponsors. The largest competitions attract the biggest broadcast and sponsorship fees, allowing the clubs to attract and retain the best and highest-profile players and in turn fuelling their growth across the globe.
For these top-tier rights-holders, one of their most pressing questions in the last five years has been how to put themselves at the forefront of the streaming revolution. A wave of innovation around OTT is enabling sports to reach fans directly with platforms that complement rather than compete with their traditional TV partnerships.
For those further down the sporting tiers, this opportunity has been trickier to capitalise on. However, for the first time, regardless of their size, existing tech capabilities or reach, every level of sport can stream and distribute their video content to the world.
With live and on-demand video, the opportunities for leagues and federations entering the streaming space are vast. If executed properly, this strategy can transform the depth and value of the content they provide to their existing fans while using increased visibility to expand their audience.
And fans are not alone in reaping the benefits. Coaches can enhance their performance analysis tools combining rich scouting data and video, sponsors can integrate relevant adverts into highlights or live streams and players can be provided with a platform to move up to a higher level of competition.
Of course, the economics must add up as well. Introducing a league pass or paid subscription product is a viable solution for some leagues while others can look to attracting new sponsors and engaging with the regulated betting industry as part of a longer-term approach.
Streaming’s historic barriers to entry haven’t entirely disappeared but the walls are coming down fast. Automated production systems, advancements in AI and computer vision and increasingly affordable hardware solutions are driving a huge increase in the volume of sports content fans have access to.
Rights-holders such as the Dutch Basketball League and Philippine Super Liga women’s volleyball league are leading the next wave of the streaming revolution, committing to major digital transformation projects driven by streaming and data. No longer are the strategies of these rights-holders dependent on TV interest or investment, putting them in control of every aspect of their sport.
Long-tail streaming is one of the major opportunities facing the world of sport and Genius Sports recently teamed up with SportBusiness to produce a whitepaper which addresses some of the key opportunities, challenges and market changes.