Sports fans are devouring content on social media and mobile devices like never before, unleashing new potential for sports organisations to harvest extra revenue and for brands to connect with consumers.
Recent industry figures show that 65% of sports fans turn to their smartphones most often to watch video, with nearly one in four watching video on social media more often than pay-TV (Grabyo Sports Video Trends Report 2019).
How can the sports industry harness this viewing revolution to create value? The answer is already out there - in the dynamic world of tech startups.
Infront Lab - Infront’s innovation accelerator - is working with top startups to pilot and develop market-ready solutions for areas such as content creation and fan engagement.
Social media audiences demand compelling and immediate content, with many platforms imposing limits on length. This rapidly-evolving landscape calls for impactful, short videos that can be shared easily.
AI-driven video optimisation to increase engagement
In response, tech startup Minute has developed ingenious software that scans sports video content for the most thrilling five seconds of action and automatically creates compelling teasers for online audiences.
Personalised videos for every fan, automatically and in real time
WSC Sports - another Infront Lab partner - is also breaking new ground in content with AI-powered technology that generates customised clips of key events during live sport broadcasts. This enables partners to share amazing content on social media platforms almost as soon as it happens.
The advantages of increased fan engagement are obvious, but how can sports organisations and rights holders deploy this new technology for revenue creation?
Simple. This tech-enabled content can be programmed to carry commercial logos and messages - opening up the opportunity to reach global audiences in a matter of seconds, and delivering instant benefits for brands and additional revenue streams for sports organisations and rights holders.
The global sports marketing and events market is set to pass 200 billion euros in the next two years, with marketing and sponsorship soaring above 70 billion euros (Wanda Sports Group IPO, 2019). Through market-focused partnerships between Infront and tech startups, automated video content offers an exciting avenue to unlock further value in a booming industry.
