Throw the red flag, cue the instant replay and challenge the ruling on the field. The game has changed, and you the viewer are now making the call as to how, where and when you watch the sporting events you like the most.
First and foremost, your viewing options have gone mobile. Whether a tablet, smartphone, or phablet – you can now consume your sports on the screen of your choice, in addition to the largest screen in your living room or man cave. Every major sports league in North America has arranged some form of access with your mobile or cable/satellite service providers so that you can likely watch their games live and on-demand on a screen of your choosing. Many new offerings even have a option for you to play ‘catch up,’ meaning that you can tune in after a game has started and go back and watch the game from the kickoff or tipoff, face off or first pitch.
In addition to this mobility, more content and service providers are giving you access like never before. Tired of listening to Al Michaels or Joe Buck? (I can’t see how you wouldn’t like those seasoned pros though…) Then switch the camera angle and audio feed. Today’s live sports TV Everywhere experiences are offering the viewer the ability to control as many as six camera angles with views of many things in-venue that aren’t being punched up by the director at that moment. NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football Extra has been doing this since the 2010 NFL season and has rolled it into its coverage of the past few Olympics TV Everywhere offerings.
These new products raise the bar on interactivity with the broadcast. In most sports offerings, viewers can scroll forward and back through a broadcast to see key highlights which are marked in the feed (they look like little speed bumps in the timeline). In some cases, you can send a highlight to a friend via social channels or e-mail. On the aforementioned phones and tablets, touch-based experiences are built into broadcast, given the nature of the screen. You may see a graphic slide in or pop up over the lower third of the screen with a key piece of information, similar to what you see in the traditional broadcast. However, given the nature of the touch-based environment, you can tap on the graphic for things like more information, a link to something else, or a separate highlight featuring that player. The possibilities for viewer interaction have few limits.
You’re seeing similar data-driven elements added into non-touch environments like the Xbox One. Even DirecTV has entered the arena with customized channels that merge data feeds with broadcast signals, to assemble a virtual sports buffet for the viewer. Make no mistake – they are required to do this in order to keep pace with the rapidly evolving world of content delivery and TV Everywhere. In the epic battle for eyeballs, and ultimately ad dollars, content creators and providers are being pushed to provide video experiences for viewers that are better than broadcast.
But what about the newer generations of sports viewers, where the living room may not be their primary screen? Millennials and younger viewers are watching sports – especially highlights – in completely unique and potentially disruptive ways. In their minds, why watch ESPN or Fox Sports 1 when they can see all the highlights they need on Twitter? This may be the only way that an entire generation of viewers watches their desired sports highlights. There may be no ESPN or Fox Sports as a brand and destination for these viewers. This is a very real challenge for sports leagues and service providers, and is also part of the reason why we are seeing some leagues offer free, untethered access to events like MLB’s 2014 All Star Game. These new challenges will require fresh approaches to reach new viewers on their screens and devices.
The instant gratification these offerings provide in the form of viewing and interaction is driving usage. Every data point I’ve seen in the past 18 months shows consumption of streaming driven TV Everywhere experiences growing exponentially. Sports is a very big part of that growth. News and sports are the two most perishable types of content and will continue to drive what we are able to view and consume on screens of all shapes and sizes. The benefit for the viewer is unprecedented access and mobility. While you may not be able to attend the big game in person, with today’s TV Everywhere platforms, you can be close enough and have many cameras at your fingertips that may make you feel as if you are.
Matt Smith, the author of this post, is Chief Evangelist at Anvato, a platform that powers TV Everywhere offerings.