5 trends reshaping the future of sports streaming. Get tailored insights into the latest trends, opportunities and threats to sports streaming. SHIFT72 | Online VIdeo Platform | White Paper WWW.SHIFT72.COM Table of contents About SHIFT72 .......................................................................................................................... 1 An intro to the evolving sports media landscape ......................................................... 2 1. Live streaming on full cylinders ............................................................................. 3 2. The rise of social broadcasting and online communities ............................ 3 3. eSports becoming mainstream ............................................................................. 4 4. Sizable niche and amatuer sports followings .................................................. 5 5. Improving the fan experience with video data ................................................ 5 How are you going to lead in sports streaming? .......................................................... 6 For more information, visit our website www.shift72.com or email [email protected] About SHIFT72 SHIFT72 provides the leading end-to-end online video platform that comes with everything needed to securely deliver and monetize video content across all screens. This includes video hosting, publishing and management, as well as deploying premium video channels and apps to power your viewers OTT experience. Single vendor solutions Get to market fast We are a single vendor that provides all-in-one solutions. Our turn-key enterprise level solutions allow customers to get This means we can provide both an online video platform and to market fast without development risk. We also offer AVOD, premium video channel, including apps. We take care of all SVOD, TVOD and Hybrid monetization models so you can online video technology requirements and help you deliver maximise video revenue from go. quality video experiences across all connected devices. Best in class video security High performance streaming We are an MPAA compliant company. We protect video Our online video platform is built for TV quality viewing with built in DRM encryptions and other antipiracy features, experiences across all supported apps and devices. Our including advanced proxy detection, geoblocking and solutions include adaptive bitrate streaming to ensure a buffer watermarketing. free, fast video playback. For more information, visit our website www.shift72.com or email [email protected] 1 An intro to the evolving sports media landscape Sports media is an area undergoing massive digital transformation. Gone are the days of reading the newspaper, listening to the radio to keep up to date with your team’s performance. And going are the days of tuning into TV channels for this as well. Instead fans are now flocking to their favourite online streaming and media platforms to get their sports fix. This comes as we’ve seen a proliferation of digital technology that makes delivering media online easier and more efficient than ever imaginable. Consumers are now accustomed to viewing media online and digital consumption is expected to keep on rising. Leading this proliferation of digital technology has been the democratisation of online video. Over 85% of global internet traffic is believed to be online video. Statistics like this are no real surprise when considering the far superior engagement metrics online video has compared to any other form of digital media. There is much to be said about what the future of sports media consumption will look like. This guide will provide 5 trends about to change the sports media landscape as we know it. For more information, visit our website www.shift72.com or email [email protected] 2 1. Live streaming on full cylinders There is a lot of hype around live streaming, particular relating to sports. For the first time ever we’re seeing broadcasters choose to bypass satellite, capable and broadcast platforms to deliver live sports online. This is a massive shift in delivery and one that may take some time to fully smooth out. Live streaming comes with more layers of complexity than other delivery methods. It involves connecting to the stream source and transcoding the stream in real time to ensure instant delivery across all connected devices is the best available quality. Providers also have to manage surges in viewing, which requires a scalable content delivery network pushing the data to end users. This all makes live streaming a risky endeavour. If that wasn’t enough, streaming live sports also comes with the additional risk of failing to meet fan’s expectations, a benchmark which is set tremendously high by the likes of Netflix. It’s a bit unfair really because Netflix doesn’t do any live streaming, but viewers don’t understand the difference between video on demand and live streaming so they expect the same quality viewing experience. If something were to go wrong the backlash can be bad. A brand’s reputation can be ruined and a lot of money can be lost. For example, Optus, the Australian telecommunications provider had to forfeit the rights to the 2018 FIFA World Cup as they struggled to overcome technical issues during the group stages. SBS ended up Broadcasting the games live on TV and Optus were left with the only option of offering users a refunds. In the last couple of years we’ve seen some streaming services take on streaming live sports and succeeded at scale. Hulu in the USA now streams games from the NBA, NCAA Football, NHL, EPL Soccer, MBL and more. Fubo TV is another USA example that has successfully streamed NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS and international soccer games. Another interesting case is in New Zealand, where live streaming is starting to ramp up. There’s a streaming war going on between satellite broadcaster Sky TV Network and telecommunication provider Spark who are both battling it out to win the game of sports. Spark launched Spark Sport in 2019 and Sky TV followed by launching Sky Sport Now. 2. The rise of social broadcasting and online communities Live streaming has also paved the way for social broadcasting, otherwise known as peer-to-peer streaming. This refers to live streaming from content creators who interact with their audience through conversation and live chat. The biggest use case for content creators has been gaming, with names like Ninja and Tfue leading the way. Unlike traditional content creators on Youtube, streamers develop a more ‘real’ relationship with subscribers who tune in regularly to keep up to date with the lives of their favourite streamers. Twitch has been the home of peer-to-peer live streaming but other platforms like Microsoft’s Mixer, and now also Youtube and Facebook are investing into this area. Viewers have the option of watching content for free, but can also subscribe for a small fee. For more information, visit our website www.shift72.com or email [email protected] 3 The social broadcasting user experience is significantly different from other streaming experiences. This may present a challenge for traditional Broadcasters in years to come as Gen Z viewers are growing up with social broadcasting as the norm. They’re familiar with live chat, being part of a channel community, participating in the activities streamers are making content about, knowing streamers on a more personal level and having the option to watch content on their terms. Broadcasters will likely have to adapt to capture the attention of these Gen Z viewers. You may be wondering what this all has to do with sports streaming and the answer is a lot. Sports teams and leagues know the importance of engaging fans online and there’s a lot that is being picked up from social broadcasting on how to do this. Sport is becoming more than just the weekend matches. Fans are interested in behind the scenes episodes, interviews, analytics, training, youth teams and everything in between. Most teams and leagues know this and have their own OTT video hub for this type of content, like Liverpool FC with LFC TV, Manchester City with City TV, and the NBA with NBA TV. Other sports media brand have also exemplified this, like Copa 90. This media brand started as a small youtube channel showcasing a fan-eye view into global football culture. They are now set up as a legitimate media company valued at $85 million US. Another slightly different example, SportsCastr is a peer-to-peer commentating platform that allows anyone to call or recap a game. All of these examples show how social broadcasting is becoming a massive part of sports media. 3. Esports becoming mainstream eSports has also entered the sports streaming sphere with a lot of buzz! Games like League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter Strike and of course Fortnite are leading the way. We can expect things to continue growing as investment in eSports massively increases and the structure of eSports leagues and competitions improves. Although the rise of eSports has been a surprise to many, it’s actually been a long time coming. Studies have shown time and time again the positive correlation between the activities people invest their time into and the types of entertainment media they consume. Sports fans will often follow the sports they played when they were younger. Gen Z and Millennials have spent countless hours gaming throughout their childhood and are now opting to invest their down time in watching these activities. Even traditional sports clubs and leagues know this and are future proofing their business model by investing in eSports. Even Adidas has made their first eSports investment, putting $30 million into PlayVS, the eSports platform that is set to become the home of high school eSports across the USA. We’ve also seen Media companies like ESPN and Fox acquired the rights to eSports competitions like Overwatch and FIFA19 tournaments. For more information, visit our website www.shift72.com or email [email protected] 4 4. Sizeable niche and amateur sports followings Another occurrence in sports streaming has been the rise of streaming services catering to smaller sports and their fan followings.