Gray background is only to allow vis- ibility of all elements on page. Delete BTas needed. Sport DigitalTurn off NOTES Gamein Layers menu toChangers eliminate these notes. Greater Than Lockup: • Maintain horizontal position on page as provided. • Vertical position can vary as needed. Baseline of text should always align with one of the blue grid lines. Title Placeholder • Mark is provided in two sizes in template. Each size is provided on its Left Aligns to “a” in own layer. “accenture” and May Move Vertically Color of Greater Than Symbol in Signature (below) and in Greater Than Lockup (right) should be changed to a color from the Accenture color palette. Color of Greater Than Symbols in both elements should match. If you love great sport, step this way. On August 1 2013, one of the most anticipated broadcasting ventures in the world of sport was launched by a telecoms company—BT. BT’s new offering is a full multi- platform, premium, broadband-based TV channel available on a wide range of devices—from set top boxes to smartphones—free for BT broadband subscribers. TV is now as much about broadband as it is about TV, and what were once localised experiments have given way to large-scale disruption. BT Sport is leading the way. Business background BT Sport is offered as a free service via Business challenge BT TV and the web to BT’s seven million Delivering a complex, multi-platform, live BT is long established as one of the UK’s broadband customers and Virgin Media XL streaming and video-on-demand digital largest telecom providers, and is in the customers, as well as being available on a service—to an immovable deadline—is a vanguards of delivering high-speed fibre subscription basis through both Sky set complex and challenging proposition. across the UK. A key strategy for its top boxes (or free if a BT Broadband Competition for the digital consumer retail business has been expansion into customer). On web and mobile, BT will has reached a new level of intensity. the television market. BT has a clear augment its broadcasts with interactive Accenture’s research demonstrates that understanding that the consumer it now programming, information and news today’s digital consumer is willing to pay serves has substantially changed from that together create the compelling for premium content, but they expect even just a few years ago. In the digital and immersive experience that digital everything about a service to be on their era, the consumer feels more empowered, consumers now expect. That rich content terms, meeting their precise needs. With both in terms of what they expect to will help BT Sport compete in an ‘super premium’ content such as live consume and how they choose to increasingly tough game and achieve its sport on the top of many wish lists, it’s consume it. They have high expectations; stated goal of expanding its broadband no surprise that BT has chosen Barclays with instant access to the content they base. In short, BT Sport is a premium Premier League football as a way to drive want, when they want it, on their device sports channel without the need for a additional subscribers to its broadband of choice very much to the fore. BT’s new premium TV subscription. and communications services. But service—BT Sport—aims squarely at realising the vision of a compelling meeting those demands. BT has acquired multi-platform, digital service required the rights to the live broadcast of 38 finding a provider that could bring Barclays Premier League games each together a number of key capabilities- season from 2013 to 2016, along including live digital video broadcasting, with Aviva Premiership Rugby, WTA end-to-end video-on-demand supply and MotoGP from 2014—augmented chain capabilities, mobile app with BT’s own produced content. development, and cloud services. In addition, the service provider selected would need to have in-depth industry specialism in the digital space, able to support a high quality service, with end-to-end capabilities from content encoding to service management and a demonstrated record delivering feature-rich digital services for a project that had a non-negotiable start date. BT Sport 1 How Accenture helped The ability to drive and orchestrate a wide range of specialist capabilities was essential to support the development and realisation of BT’s vision to create a compelling multi-platform offering against the clock. The ability to drive and orchestrate a The solution provides easy-to-use, review1 put it: “it [the BT Sport app] wide range of specialist capabilities was integrated services to support interactive presents plenty of opportunities to nestle essential to support the development applications that are customised to meet down with your tablet and lose yourself and realisation of BT’s vision to create BT Sport’s specific requirements. AVS also in a world of sport. It’s a great start for a compelling multi-platform offering offers integrated content supply chain the fledgling service and so far we’ve against the clock. Following a competitive management to support the many consumed more sports content though pitch, BT selected Accenture because it different content types that make up the the app than we have through the TV.” offers integrated digital specialisms across BT Sport digital experience. And because The app also enables viewers with a tablet the board using the following capabilities: AVS is provided as a managed service, or phone and broadband to use Airplay™ Accenture Video Solution and Live Events it enabled BT Sport to build its service to blast content to their TV. & Sports with Cloud and Mobility Services. rapidly and efficiently. That not only meant that BT avoided the The fourth key dimension that Accenture complex and risky challenge of having to BT also makes use of AVS specialised brought to the successful delivery of BT manage multiple vendors, but also saved managed services—Live Events & Sports. Sport is the Accenture Cloud Platform valuable management time that would This provides multi-platform, live digital (ACP). BT’s ambitions for its new service have otherwise been committed to broadcast 24/7 at scale, including all the mean that it needs to be able to achieve managing different suppliers. With all encoding and publishing of live streams. scale quickly and efficiently. With the the relevant capabilities ‘under one roof,’ Accenture’s research and experience channel being offered free to BT Accenture was able to deliver an end-to- confirms that one of the major causes of broadband subscribers, using ACP would end solution from stream capture to frustration for digital consumers is poor allow BT to respond rapidly to changes playout, against a very tight timetable. quality streaming that breaks up or is in the demand profile to support the Accenture was engaged in February and subject to persistent buffering. Accenture’s expected increase—especially useful when the service was launched in August 1, Live Events & Sport has a reputation for launching a new content proposition 2013 for the start of the new Barclays providing reliable, adaptive and responsive where usage is highly unpredictable. Premier League season. services to maximise the quality of As word spreads and demand grows, BT experience that consumers receive. has to ensure that it can meet consumer Accenture’s Communications, Media and expectations quickly and efficiently. Tech industry practice is at the forefront Two other key elements of BT Sport The service provides scalable computer of developments that are creating were addressed by Accenture’s Mobility capacity that allows BT Sport to scale significant disruption for all businesses. and Cloud Services. Mobility enables capacity and services up and down in line Digital is no longer an add-on or the creation of highly interactive and with the size of football matches. This complementary part of media businesses’ engaging apps across platforms, for feature contributed to the project’s overall offerings; businesses are fast becoming smartphones and tablets. This ability was cost benefit. Through ACP, Accenture fully digital. Accenture’s offerings in the essential to achieve BT’s goal of providing provided a fully-managed service for digital space in particular enabled two services that go beyond broadcast and deploying and managing cloud critical components for BT Sport. give consumers access to information infrastructure, on-demand, together with and interactivity that help meet their an integrated authentication solution and The first is Accenture Video Solution demands—from passively watching the a platform using NTT and Windows Azure. (AVS)—Accenture’s broadband television action, to becoming active participants. ACP provided the client with an agile solution—that delivers a content-rich, Accenture research shows that consumers solution that helped ensure reduced high-quality user experience across increasingly watch on one screen and use deployment time—enabling the team to devices. This innovative offering is a an additional device to enrich and add stand up the platform quickly and as a pre-integrated platform based on to their viewing experience. And that’s result, played a vital role in the project’s Accenture-owned software components. exactly what the BT Sport app has speed to market and Accenture’s ability enabled BT’s customers to do. As one to meet the implementation timeline. 1 http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/122716-app-of-the-day-bt-sport-review-android 2 BT Sport AT A GLANCE Accenture’s integrated expertise and capabilities BT Sport 3 High performance delivered Accenture and BT have worked together to create a service that offers a wealth of content and a compelling user experience, from the very first kick of the ball at the start of the Barclays Premier League Football 2013/14 season.