Bowls Australia delivers Bowls Premier League to digital platforms with Grabyo

During the most recent staging of the Bowls Premier League (BPL11) in Moama, New South Wales, Australia, more than 3.5 million people were able to view the action highlights in real time.

Bowls Australia (BA), the controlling body of the event and the sport of bowls in Australia, partnered with Grabyo to grow the global reach of the sport across digital platforms. Grabyo has also stressed the importance of using cloud-based solutions in these difficult times of self and social isolation to enable fans to continue to enjoy sports.

The BPL is the sport’s made-for-television event in Australia, and was designed to shift the perception of the sport. As the sport’s pioneering short form format, it is fast, loud and it attracts the world’s best bowlers, helping to appeal to non-bowlers who previously may have seen the sport in a different light.

Using Grabyo’s cloud video platform, BA was able to create, edit and deliver highlights in real time, complimenting the live broadcast on Fox Sports Australia and Sky Sport NZ.

By tailoring its distribution to suit the demands of modern sports audiences, BA’s strategy allowed it to reach more than 3.5 million people across the globe.

BA used Grabyo’s cloud-based video editing platform, Grabyo Editor. Using Editor, BA was able to clip each moment from BPL11 matches and create a highlight compilation quickly and easily. It could then distribute these videos directly from Grabyo’s platform to its social, mobile and online channels.

“In difficult periods such as the one we’re currently facing, there are challenges for both sports audiences and those working in the industry. Cloud-based solutions can help alleviate these problems.”

Speaking to SVG Europe, Aaron Duckmanton, head of marketing at Grabyo, commented that BA’s strategy for BPL11 was a perfect example of how you can use both social and digital channels to create more accessible content for a wider audience.

He said: “Providing clips of the best moments, or showing matches in a shorter, more digestible format as BA did, helps you to capture new and more casual fans who won’t sit through an entire match. This type of content, alongside longer round-ups and more in-depth, off the field pieces, also adds more context and enriches the experience for more avid followers at the same time.

“If you can grab the attention of someone who doesn’t usually watch your sport, such as bowls, and show them the best of the sport in an easy to watch, optimized piece of content, you are likely to see them come back for more. Bowls, just like any live sport has its exciting, unmissable moments; those that are likely to be missed if BA can’t find a way to package and share these to an audience that lives outside its traditional demographic,” Duckmanton noted.

Bringing the conversation over to the reality we are now living in, of self and social isolation, Duckmanton said it is more important than ever to give sports fans the ability to view sports from anywhere.

He commented: “In difficult periods such as the one we’re currently facing, there are challenges for both sports audiences and those working in the industry. Cloud-based solutions can help alleviate these problems.

“Teams still need to distribute content regardless of office lockdowns or event postponements, it’s an ideal time for teams to get creative and using the cloud ensures teams still have the tools, access and ability to produce amazing content regardless of location,” he continued.

Duckmanton went on: “What we are currently advising is that producers take advantage of the cloud solutions available to collaborate with their team, make sure of archived content to fill the void, find ways to engage with fans in real time and provide authenticity during this tough time for fans who are staying at home.”

BA used Grabyo’s lightweight video editing platform to rapidly create and edit social videos using only a laptop, web browser and internet connection. This agility enabled BA to capture every bowl of BPL11, and deliver it to fans everywhere.

BA’s strategy supports its work to grow the popularity of bowls across Australia. By delivering condensed highlight reels and exciting moments of skill from BPL11, it was able to appeal to all; fanatics, casual fans, or first-timers. Fans could choose how much of the tournament they wanted to access and BA created the touchpoints needed to engage them all.

Marcello Fabiano, head of Australia and New Zealand at Grabyo, commented: “We are proud to support the growth of this exciting sport across Australia and the World. Bowls Australia’s use of Grabyo highlights how cloud technology can help any sport to grow its fanbase by creating quality content for fans across social and digital channels, while saving on cost and resources. We are excited to see this partnership grow and serve bowls fans with even more fantastic content.”

Aidan Davis, communications and marketing manager at Bowls Australia, added: “BPL11 was a huge success and delivered some of the best moments the sport has seen. Grabyo enabled us to bring fans across Australia and the rest of the world to the green so our amazing team could share the excitement with them. Our overall aim is to share this great sport with as many people as possible and the reaction to our content was extremely well-received.”

Duckmanton concluded: “There are still numerous ways to produce live content, broadcasters and publishers are able to create a studio chat show experience and round-ups remotely using Grabyo. We are working with a number of partners to put in new cloud-native workflows to achieve this, but the most important thing is to stay safe and well.”