Jul 25, 2023
The introduction of OTT in the market changed how content can be accessed by an audience that is versatile and mobile. The days of sitting in one place in front of a TV to watch a match or a race is long gone.
The live sports OTT streaming and viewing experience has changed – multiple camera angles, toggling between different commentary, and instant stats and replays are making OTT platforms the go-to for live sporting events.
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According to Statista’s predictions, the number of users for OTT video is projected to reach 4.22 billion by 2027. Reflecting live sports OTT streaming’s growing popularity in the US, the Super Bowl in 2023 became the highest streamed edition in the event’s history in the country with an average of seven million streams.
In India, the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match on the digital streaming platform Disney Hotstar attracted over 18 million viewers, showcasing the growing popularity of live-streaming in the country.
JioCinema, the official digital streaming partner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, achieved a groundbreaking milestone with an astonishing 32 million concurrent views, setting a new world record on the platform.
Firstly, the greater access – the audience is expanding at home and globally. Also, OTT platforms can capture the excitement of watching sporting events as they unfold. These platforms provide an exclusive experience for fans, allowing them to interact with the live feed and choose how they want to watch it.
OTT providers have the unique opportunity to maximize viewership and revenues by offering an intuitive and customizable platform, various monetization options, and the ability to stream high-quality video.
Customization of ads, regardless of geography or language, subscription plans, and channel offerings – where a viewer can access multiple graphics, listen on audio only, or view the event – all these can be delivered on the same OTT platform, engaging the audience in ways that cable TV cannot.
Watching a sports event on OTT is different from watching it on television. Live sports OTT streaming telecasts are among the few events that still draw massive crowds who want to watch the action as it unfolds.
One of the biggest attractions of such viewing experiences is the unpredictability and suspense regarding what might happen. Now, OTT players have the opportunity to reimagine the sports fan’s viewing experience to make the difference from television even more striking and memorable.
Below are the key factors driving OTT adoption for live sporting events. OTT providers can focus on these to add the X-factor to their offerings.
Undeniably, live streaming increases end-user reach and adoption, giving OTT providers an excellent opportunity to accelerate their growth. For OTTs to remain profitable, providing an immersive viewing experience for the audience with contextual content and unique customizations is crucial – from how they view the live sporting event to how subscription packs are designed. Managing loyalty to the platform goes beyond purchasing streaming rights and towards providing their remote viewing audience with an experience as close as watching the actual event at the venue.
The trend is towards viewer-centric content, contextual experiences, and ease of access. Adding interactive elements like chat, polls, and predictions to the content that engage them on social media allows OTT providers to create a community and influence subscriber loyalty.
Having acquired a loyal viewership, OTT providers must innovate and find ways to continue fulfilling viewer experiences with the apps and platforms they offer. Ideally, this would be a mix of technology and content – low latency, high-speed delivery with consistently engaging and fresh content that grabs the viewer’s attention and keeps drawing them back. Flexible and affordable viewing options with different-priced plans are one way to capture and retain a wide range of viewers.
This is especially vital in live sports OTT streaming, which must cater to huge masses who expect to watch the action in near real-time, as much as possible, and support interactive features for engaging with them at scale. The smaller the time lapse (ideally less than 20 seconds) between the actual on-field action and when the audience gets to watch, the more likely they will remain hooked to the experience and the platform delivering it.
The future also promises numerous opportunities to leverage gamification, AR/VR experience, viewers’ watch parties, pop-up live streaming, near-live clips, highlights packages, and Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST) channels to cater to a broader community of online viewers. It is up to the OTT provider to tap into these opportunities to create platforms and apps that influence subscriber stickiness.
Sports transcends culture, language, geography, and beliefs to serve up the single-most unifying of events, and OTT providers must take advantage of that aspect. Catering to different audiences while setting up the live sports OTT streaming strategy is key to its success.
Since sharing experiences is a highly acknowledged social need, OTT providers can look to enabling seamless transitions between the live feed and social media, as that will greatly add to the viewer’s experience. It will also promote the channel and its content and lay the foundation for a community.
For example, in India, Formula One moved from partnering with cable providers to hosting races on its OTT platform F1TV. This has boosted viewership of live races while providing the audience with a unique, interactive experience not available earlier. The audience can choose from different commentaries, camera feeds, and angles while interacting live with commentators on social media platforms.
The future of live sports OTT streaming will be defined around instant, accessible, on-the-go, and interactive experiences, and a tremendous way to cater to this need is by offering customizable, affordable viewing choices on OTT platforms and apps.