The landscape of sports broadcasting is changing.
Amazon Prime became the first live streaming service to broadcast Premier League football, while Sky Sports began sharing its coveted streaming rights with YouTube, and Disney launched its flagship sports service ESPN+.
These digital-based deals are just a few examples of a clear shift taking place, with traditional broadcast channels receiving equal or lower priority.
But what is behind this transformation? Are the changes a harbinger of what is to come?
Why is YouTube becoming “the home of the highlights”?
Social media has made some strides in becoming a sports viewing hub, and watching or following sporting events has become one of the main reasons many use social media.
This figure rises in markets outside of Europe, where sports fans are more likely to look for ways to watch games broadcast abroad in different time zones.
Facebook and YouTube are already at the center of viewer commentary on sports.
Broadcasters and leagues have had to acknowledge the rise of consumers who want more sports content and commentary on social media, especially for international fans who want to follow games as they air, but because of their location, can’t.
At the start of the 2019–20 Premier League season, Sky Sports made the decision to make game highlights available on YouTube shortly after matches had finished. In a three minute video format, this was a surprise work of the payment television provider.
In addition to the revenue opportunities from pre-video ads, the tactic allows Sky Sports to connect with new audiences around the world and bring them to its own properties, either through signals or retargeting ads.
The movement could be in an attempt to compete with BT Sports, who are known for their high-speed loads from the highlights of the Games.
Sky Sports isn’t the first to partner with YouTube, but with the rights to broadcast 해외축구 중계사이트 some of the world’s biggest sporting competitions, the social platform is certainly well on its way to becoming “the home of sports highlights”.
Facebook has also bet heavily on this rising sports trend. Early on, MLB landed an exclusive broadcast deal with Facebook to produce 26 games live online for $30 million. The initiative was a success and the games received 123 million visits.
It was enough to convince Facebook to make a deal saying it would live stream La Liga games in India for free for the next three seasons.
However, these partnerships to produce online content are not meant to replace the highlights and commentary of longer broadcasts, or at least not yet.
Right now, it’s about social media giants, sports broadcasters and rights holders finding ways to maximize the commercial opportunity.
