Today, about half of the million people of ages ranging from 18 to 36 years, watch sports events on live streams. Over the years, the streaming of live TV has taken a dramatic shift. Thus, a particular change has raised many eyebrows about the future of sports media, but it pin-points many new opportunities to engage fans in exciting ways.
The live streaming of sports has played a significant role for decades. The live nature of sports TV makes it’s compelling to watch and gives stadium-kind of vibes. Online platforms like 슈어맨 have seen a significant increase in the viewer inflow. But, you will be surprised to know that in the present day, even the World Cup events struggle to grab the attention that you expect it to receive.
A drastic drop in the graph of sports streaming depicts that viewership is moving away from real-time and changing in a few ways. Therefore, we have decided to cover the facts around it, so let’s hop right into it!
Struggle With Millennial Fans
A report from October 2017 suggested that ratings have dropped not because few numbers of people are tuning in, but because quite a lot of people prefer to watch sports matches that are stretched over a short period.
The report conducted by McKinsey also concluded that the sports industry struggles to grab eye-balls from millennial users. The millennia prefer to stream their favorite sports match on their social media account. Moreover, they also sign up for unauthorized or prohibited streams to watch their favorite teams play.
Social media platforms and other online communities display perfect engaging opportunities for a sports network to hold the attention of these fans, with new subscription deals that make pirating less appealing.
Connection Of Fans With Teams And Players
More and more individuals are opting for supplemental content instead of games. A report was released by Google in January 2018, which exhibits the fact that viewers tend to seek top moments from the match (highlights). An increment of up to 80% of views on ‘highlights’ was spotted. However, a jump of 60% was dotted concerning viewership of interviews from sports personalities.
The above report states the fact which was overshadowed by sports organizations and companies. The jump on OTT platforms revealed that fans are keen to watch highlights of matches that they missed, re-visit their favorite moments from the day, and insights about what went down off the field.
It also describes the fact that networks and league are trying to reach the fans potentially, which aren’t able to hold on to every game.
The increase in viewership of non-game sports content also explains the fact that lies behind the drop in ratings. It indicates that just because sport-lovers are less likely to engage in live streaming, it doesn’t mean that they care about outcome any less. Besides words, fans are opting to engage differently, according to their preferred choices.
Hence, it is high time that sports streaming sites or apps jump on the bandwagon of OTT platforms to attract and retain viewers.
Sports On Digital Platforms – More Than Ever
During the streaming of the FIFA World Cup in 2018, Fox studios presented a report which states that the number of users opting for digital access was 15 -20% higher than what they had predicted. For this reason, Fox had to put up all the pre and post coverage on their streaming site.
In addition to the live games, they observed a large number of individuals tuning in during work hours. The dramatic shift on digital platforms delivers sports broadcasting in a variety of ways. The content providers look for new techniques and times to reach viewers. Fans no longer opt for sitting hours in front of TV screens to engage with their preferred teams, players, etc.
The fans stream pre and post content, and to take account of their attention, the providers should make sure that they are able to provide the viewers what they want to see. The user must not go through buffering, repeated advertisements, and any other distractions that might turn them away from the digital platform as well.
The live streaming still holds the number one spot when it comes to watching sports live at convenience, but the ability to watch it later is also a case to fill. If both work hand in hand, the new developments will ensure the engagement of digital-centric generations, thus optimizing the sports viewing experience for them.
