Dolby.io’s Post

My advice for the next wave of sports rights-holders, teams and federations in revolutionising live strategies 👇 Study what is working for creators. Each week, I find myself speaking to traditional rights-holders and federations who have seen the work we do on YouTube ‘watch-alongs’ for the likes of The United Stand, and are inspired at how they can replicate this themselves. These fan first platforms aren't just changing the game, they're defining a new one, where engagement, interactivity, and community are the cornerstones of the fan experience. I’ve seen first-hand how quickly live teams can go from being stuck in ‘old ways’ of production, to beaming with new ideas to freshen up their broadcasts. They are even more surprised when they realise how easy our tech is to implement, and that it’s cheaper than the legacy tech they are currently using. The fact that even the most traditional sports are expanding their horizons is exciting. I like working with those who want to stick the neck out and challenge the content norm. #sportsbiz #sportsindustry #broadcast

📢 Traditional monetization strategies for sports rights are no longer enough. Explore our new Global Sports Survey insight to how media companies can engage fans across viewership levels. #SportsMedia #LiveSports #FanEngagement

Here's my summary about the survey. I just feel sad when such Global Sports Survey don't take a country like #India with 9 bn dollar sports industry & rising digital fan base into account. The world of sports is not limited to fans in U.S., Mexico, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and China. In any case, it's an interesting read for sports property right owners #media #broadcasters #streamingmedia companies. Summary below; Altman Solon's 2023 Global Sports Survey engaged 150 senior sports executives and surveyed 2,500 sports fans across eight countries. 1.Changing Media Consumption: Fragmentation challenges fans in discovering sports content. Younger fans prefer short-form & digital content over traditional live broadcasts. Anticipated shift towards athlete-based fandom among younger generations. 2.Future Fan Behavior: Generation Z and Alpha fans expected to maintain online-heavy media consumption. Predicted 15-20% drop in total TV hours watched per week by 2040. Multitasking common among fans, with 57% browsing the internet during events. 3.Streaming Impact & Challenges: Rise of streaming platforms decentralizes sports media. Fans face difficulties accessing and discovering games; 60% report issues. 4.Rights Owners Perspectives: Media rights, historically a primary income source, face challenges in a fragmented media landscape. Global reach of top leagues and athletes provides opportunities for new distribution models. Strategies for rights owners include international distribution, diverse bidding, long-term partnerships, and exploring new categories like gaming and Web3. 5.Monetization Challenges: Premium sports rights remain valuable but face economic challenges for legacy media companies. The impact of streaming on legacy media economics necessitates new strategies for monetization. Importance of optimizing rights portfolios and engaging both avid and casual fans. 6.Casual Fans Growth Opportunity: Casual fans represent a growth opportunity for media companies. Over 70% of media executives believe in catering to casual fans through expanded content offerings, personalized recommendations, and ad-supported models. 7.Tech Aggregators and OTT Streaming: Tech aggregators and OTT streaming services positioned to exploit live rights. Streamers' advantages include capturing fan data and experimenting with in-stream features adapted to fan profiles. 8.Sustainable Monetization Models: Media companies must rethink monetization models, optimize rights portfolios, and reduce discoverability costs. Balancing the needs of avid sports fans while experimenting to engage casual fans is crucial for sustainable monetization. 9.Evolution of Sports Media: The sports media landscape is evolving, requiring adaptability from rights owners, media companies, and broadcasters. Continued dialogue and collaboration among all stakeholders are essential for the success of the sports media sector.

This might not seem a lot in the scale of the USA potential market, but this is a really important barometer as to the direction of travel for the PL. If you add the Hispanic audience missing from this number then the total audience was closer to 2,3M viewers. Over 450,000 of this audience was streamed. Only LigaMX can drive this level of audience on a regular basis and to put some perspective, an typical USA National Team game (not WC finals) will have a much smaller audience, often less than 1M.

New stats show that unless broadcasters and advertisers maintain the interest and momentum, viewing stats on women's sport decline. New research by Yonder Consulting looks closely at this - 'The first step for broadcasters is simple - get as many eyeballs on it as possible. Being more consistent with coverage and putting more women’s sports at peak times would be a proactive and morally strategic move, demonstrating their commitment to providing equal opportunities in sport.' Important call to action by Anna Reynolds

INSIGHT of the day: Global Sport Survey on Media Company Perspectives report released Altman Solon, one of the leading media consulting companies has just released a “Global Sport Survey on Media Company Perspectives” report. If you are interested in the tech / business aspects of live sports, this is a Must-read FREE report. Access 👇 . You will discover amongst other things: •        Only 16% of global sports executives believe traditional broadcasters will be better positioned to exploit live rights by 2030, compared to>60% for tech aggregators and OTT streaming services ·      What sports are for customer retentions and what sports are aimed at customer acquisition ? [Was really eye opening] ·      Matrix of : Monetization Strategy | Preferred Engagement | Motivation to Consume Sport across the different sports fan personas : Non Viewers | Casual users | Avid users [back to Marketing class] ·      What are the priorities to make the sports product more engaging? [A key chart] ·      By 2030, which platforms will be better placed than they are today to exploit the potential of live sports media rights? [ Another key chart] ·      Which of the following monetization strategies will contribute the most to refinance sports rights in the next 5-7 years? [Yet another key chart] I personally like this quote form a Chair, International Sports Federation: “If the tech giants increase the trend of investing in content, that could shift the dynamics significantly. They bring not just financial resources but also technological capabilities like advanced analytics, AI, and a global distribution network… that traditional media companies may find challenging to match.” Thank you Matt Del Percio for alerting me on this report, if you want to meet Altman Solon at #CES, Jonathan Hurd, partner at the firm, will be there. Carlo De Marchis Nick Meacham Ben Keen Paolo Pescatore

Historically, access to Women’s sports broadcasts has been limited, leading to low viewership and overall awareness of matches, teams and players. But 2023 saw record viewership figures and broadcasters meeting the demand. Across the globe, women’s sports leagues and teams surged and are set to continue smashing records. The Women in Sports report from our sister company, Endeavor Analytics, breaks down the media deals that changed the game and crucially, how partners can capitalize on the movement to unlock long-term value. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/495c5dT #womeninsport

We've all seen via the success of various documentary series what behind the scenes access can do to drive fandom and engagement with fans. Greater access, in near real-time coverage, pre and post a live sporting event, would be a great way to enhance the value of existing media rights deals with traditional broadcasters. And in many ways, if done right, it could provide a whole new reason to tune in, IF access was truly given. The problem with this concept when it relates to football as an industry, is it's more likely to move slower than most when it comes to innovation. But as rights have flattened in key markets like Germany, it's time for more innovative leagues like the Bundesliga to create a real USP to it's live rights assets, and who knows this could just be it. Do you think this type of access could be truly valuable for both rights values and fan engagement and ratings? #sportsbiz https://lnkd.in/ewA-JJDQ

I've written an article for Broadcast Sport about the opportunities investing in women's sport presents to broadcasters. In summary: 1) It's the right thing to do and demonstrates commitment to equal opportunities in sport 2) It will attract new audiences who want to watch women's sport but can't currently do so, therefore building brand loyalty with a new target audience 3) The financial opportunity is clear - getting involved in women's sport is a sound investment that will bring financial return further down the line But above all, in order to reap the benefits of these opportunities and make them authentic and long-lasting, it's about garnering a deep understanding of the audience. Broadcasters must understand and cater to all sports fans (including an emerging audience of young women), not just the ones that have been there the longest. Yonder Consulting

TLDR: Trust your gut, embrace challenges and do cool stuff. Cosm & ESPN have partnered to bring live immersive sports into Cosm Venues. Long Version: As I come up to the 2 year anniversary of my first day at Cosm, I feel like it’s timely to share this story. Back in 2022 when I was sharing the news about taking a job at Cosm, I’ll never forget someone telling me how it’ll be near impossible for Cosm to be a successful business. They said it would be too much work to get the rights to impactful programming and leagues/broadcasters will never sign off. I appreciated the person sharing this information; they thought they were sharing this insight to protect me but instead it motivated me because I felt so passionately about what Cosm was building and all I knew was that I needed to get on the rocket ship before it took off. As I reminisce on the past 2 years, it is moments like this that make the ESPN partnership announcement that much sweeter. Not only is it ESPN but we’ve also announced league deals with the NBA and UFC, TNT and NBC Sports as a broadcast partner, and Cirque du Soleil as an entertainment partner. Via our ESPN deal, we now will feature NBA, NHL, College Football, College Basketball, College World Series, US Open Tennis and more. Maybe it’s the competitive spirit in me or just sheer luck, but I love being able to prove people wrong. When you’re passionate about your work, trust your gut and jump into the deep end with no regrets, it’s 10x easier to embrace new challenges and break barriers. At Cosm, we’re breaking barriers for how people consume content, specifically live sports. I can’t wait for our doors to open to the public so everyone else can experience the goosebumps they’ll get the first time they see Cosm. Stay tuned for more announcements and remember, do cool stuff.