Why it’s game on for broadcasters of live sport
By Olivier Suard, VP of marketing, Nevion.
Sport remains a staple of live broadcasting around the world, which has been no more evident than in 2024. The UEFA Euro 2024 football championship set a record for TV audiences in the countries of the participating teams, with a global cumulative audience in excess of 5 billion viewers. And alongside the global appeal of football, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was streamed a record-breaking 218 million times online, more than double the 104 million streams during the Tokyo Games three years ago.
With global viewership so high, consumer findings by Nevion support the popularity of live sport. Some 64% of people cite this genre as the most enjoyable to watch live. This is consistent across the countries surveyed, including the UK, US and Europe. For broadcasters of live sport, consumer appetites certainly aren’t waning, providing numerous opportunities to capture this attention.
The experience at home
Live sport carries a potent ability to deliver high levels of drama and action to those watching. Viewers particularly enjoy the unique experience offered by witnessing big moments in real-time, and often feed off the sense of community that it offers. And while attending events in person is often the way of experiencing these benefits, a growing number of sports fans are watching live coverage from home. The English Premier League for example is broadcast to 189 countries around the world, with 1.87 billion people now following it.
But what’s driving this shift towards home viewing? The sense of community from attending live sports events can also apply away from the stadiums and arenas. According to further figures from Nevion’s research, 45% like to watch live broadcast events with other people in the same room.
Online communities are also being built and fostered. A significant part of the live sports experience for viewers today has been the capability to voice opinions, commiserate defeats and celebrate victories with others on social media platforms. Sports clubs themselves have also set up official accounts to post real-time updates during matches and share exclusive videos with followers.
Nevion’s research shows that consumers use social media and messaging platforms to message friends and family directly about key moments (59%), followed by an interest in other people’s opinions on what’s happening (46%) and sharing thoughts with the wider community (33%).
Navigating cost pressures with enhanced experiences
Among the most popular sports, the cost of attending games in person is becoming prohibitive for many. This is also driving consumers away from events and towards home experiences. For example, the cost of tickets across the English Premier League has increased by an average of 6.7% this year. For many households gripped by a cost-of-living crisis, these rises are too much for many families to continue spending on live experiences. It’s therefore a combination of a high level of demand for live sports content on a global scale and cost pressures that are placing a bigger emphasis on the service offered by broadcasters.
Ahead of the sporting calendar in 2025, which includes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Emirates Dubai 7s in the Middle East, organisations should take the necessary steps to attract viewer engagement. IP technology is the key for broadcasters, enabling them to benefit from distributed production. This essentially allows the people, places and processing resources involved in a project to be connected, used and shared optimally as part of a wider ecosystem, regardless of where they are around the world.
Equipment including studios, OB production trucks, live venues, mixers, video and audio processing solutions don’t need to be present at the stadium or venue where the event is taking place. Staff are able to access and use them from any location. Production staff can even produce multiple events in different locations at the same time, and tailor to time zone requirements around the world. This drastically reduces the need for the expensive shipping of equipment to different locations, enabling broadcasters to pass on the cost savings to their customers.
Sports events also often require meticulous planning to attract viewers, with visual quality and latency under the spotlight. Specialist solutions as part of this distributed ecosystem can allow providers to prioritise the transmission of low-latency broadcasts, so that viewers can experience a live sports event in as close to real-time as possible. Technology also allows broadcasters to ensure optimum video quality, further enhancing the experience at home.
Seizing the opportunity
In a time where live sport is becoming increasingly accessible from home, broadcasters are seizing the opportunity to elevate the viewer experience with advanced technology and innovative approaches. As audience expectations grow, the ability to deliver real-time, high-quality broadcasts has never been more critical. Distributed production and IP technology allow broadcasters to adapt swiftly to global demands, providing seamless, immersive coverage for sports fans worldwide. With significant events like the Women’s Rugby World Cup on the horizon, broadcasters have a prime opportunity to engage a diverse and eager audience in 2025 and beyond.