Everyone’s a player: How OTT platforms can boost fan engagement to stay ahead of the competition

By Manik Bambha, ViewLift president and co-founder

The masks are off. As the world moves on from the pandemic, fans are ready to experience what they missed during global lockdowns; live sports.

The fact that live sporting action grabs eyeballs was no secret even before the pandemic. In 2018, for example, 89 of the top 100 US broadcasts were live sports events [Deloitte: The future of sports broadcasting: Enhancing digital fan engagement]. This included eight out of the year’s top 10 most-viewed programmes: the State of the Union speech and the royal wedding being the only non-sporting broadcasts to figure.

A new generation of viewers has also seen a shift in how fans engage with their favourite sporting franchises. While cable and TV still account for 75% of viewership, that figure drops to 61% for Millennials and likely even less for Gen Z, the original Cord-Nevers. This downward trend of linear TV is bound to continue as new devices and apps emerge. In addition, the trend of consuming content in non-traditional settings and increasing cord-cutting have all contributed to helping direct to consumer (DTC) sporting platforms grab an increasingly large share of the sports broadcast market.

Increasing pressure

But, while this is good news for the over the top (OTT) market in general, the surge has put increasing pressure on individual OTT brands to keep fans engaged and coming back for more.

Video quality remains the single most important factor for viewers. But the market has moved beyond the basic ability to rewind, fast-forward and pause a stream.

A Deloitte study indicates that for 25% of fans, the ability to customise their viewing experience is a primary aspect driving brand preference, according to the Deloitte study. Technology, especially the rollout of 5G and the prevalence of viewers watching on multiple screens, allows OTT platforms to offer such customization in ways that traditional TV simply cannot.

LIV Golf, for example, has revolutionised how golf is viewed by overcoming the sport’s biggest challenge; how to let viewers stay abreast of action that happens in different places across sprawling golf courses. Rather than watch from the grandstand, or follow a few top players, fans can now choose from multiple feeds and watch the game unfold the way they want it to.

Tired of watching baseball from the stands? You can now get a second feed on another device that lets you get a batter’s view of every pitch or watch the same action from five different angles. Amazon’s Thursday night NFL game feed even gives viewers the option of choosing their announcers from either the Fox crew or the Amazon team.

By putting viewers at the front and centre of the viewing experience, an OTT platform makes every game and every play a rich, immersive experience that boosts fan loyalty; even at its nascent stage, LIV Golf saw a significant share of its viewers opting for alternative camera angles at the recently concluded Masters.

Driving engagement

Watching sports has always been a social experience, especially for younger audiences. Just 31% of Millennials watch a game alone, and only 34% choose not to interact with other fans during a game, the Deloitte study showed. It is this sense of community that, if addressed effectively, can create lasting bonds between a sports platform and its viewers.

Digital technologies offer excellent ways of creating this bond, especially since many sports (and teams) have a global following. For example, most social networks already have passionate communities that can be tapped into, and statistics find that over two-thirds of sports fans are open to sharing brand content, buying goods, or engaging with social posts. This opens up an array of avenues for fan engagement like live polls, pre and post-game roundups, watch parties, contests and real time betting.

Gamification via social media also allows sports content owners to keep fan engagement going even when there is no live action. FC Barcelona, for example, allows its fans to play manager or striker via its fantasy football app. Other franchises are going even further, offering fans digital collectibles or even, as in Paris Saint-Germain’s case, part ownership via its own cryptocurrency.

All the above examples point to another truth: that fan engagement isn’t a single-player game. Multiple entities all have a stake in growing a sport’s fanbase: teams, sports federations, betting companies, game creators, content aggregators and merchandise vendors, being just a few of them.

While collaborating with these communities boosts sports OTT platforms’ viewer engagement, integrating their systems and processes can prove cumbersome. Finding the right vendors that serve OTT platforms’ and viewers’ unique needs is challenging. Legal complexities also play a role.

This is where an experienced technology partner can play a significant role. OTT platform providers that incorporate suitable integrations with this vendor community can save content owners the time and effort of reconciling the different entities, navigating the legal and regulatory landscape, and commercial imperatives that come with such an intricate network of partnerships.

An OTT platform provider can create easy access and integration of vendor networks, creating a sum greater than its parts. Ultimately, this will empower sports content owners taking the OTT route to deliver what delights fans and keeps them engaged.