Live from Barcelona: Massive Interactive says live broadcast is back, but OTT

Broadcasting has done a full circle turnaround, from live linear TV to video on demand back to live again, said Massive Interactive’s director of product marketing and communications, Jason Bradwell, speaking to SVG Europe at Mobile World Congress. However, this time live content is focused on over the top (OTT), he stated.

“There has been a shift for many broadcasters and operators; the focus has been for on demand, but now we’re hearing those companies saying there’s still a place for live broadcast, and they want to put it OTT, and sports is very much a driver for that,” Bradwell noted.

He continued: “We’re in the fourth age of OTT. The first was about getting content out there onto as many platforms as possible, then improving on that, then it was about monetising that content, and now, while we’re continuing to improve on the experience for end users it is also about building the bottom line, differentiation and refining the content but doing it in an affordable way.”

He pointed to the plethora of football clubs using OTT to broadcast their own TV channels. “With sports of all the genres there is a great opportunity to truly bring a personalised experience.”

However, not all OTT providers understand the complexities of the front end, customer facing side,  Bradwell stated: “What you have to remember when designing OTT services for sports is you have to be aware there is a very broad range of fans, from the die-hard fans that want a full immersive experience that is built around them, from their choice of camera angles to stats to live Twitter updates during the match, to what we call ‘casual committed’, who only watch key events. As an owner of that content you have such an opportunity to deliver content, increasing your brand value,” he added.