Posted by Allen Brown
As technology advances, it is no surprise that it is now changing the way that society engages in sport! Once upon a time, live streaming was just a supplement to sports, but now it has overtaken other viewing formats as the preferred style of watching sports. This preference for streaming will only continue to grow and will undoubtedly become the future of sports broadcasting. There are several reasons why streaming is on the rise and this article will explore some of those reasons below.
Greater Accessibility And Wider Audiences
It is an exciting prospect that no matter who you are, or where you are, streaming can allow you to watch your favorite sporting events across the globe. Streaming has led to a significant increase in the number of people watching sport. The ease of streaming is definitely at the core of this increase, as a viewer can watch their sport literally anywhere. They can watch it in bed, on the sofa, in the bath, you name it. With portable tablets and smartphones, you have access to any channel and any sport you want. Convenience and ease is one factor in the increase in people streaming.
The other factor is that streaming offers far greater accessibility than a stadium experience for example. For those who cannot attend live games or watch it on the TV live, they have the option of streaming the game at a time and place that suits them. It allows everyone to watch sports on their own schedule and at their own pace, regardless of where they are in their world.
That level of accessibility has made a big difference in putting streaming up there as a preferred viewing platform for sport. Long gone are the days where only select people had the privilege of watching a sport as it happened. Now fans can enjoy it all at the same time virtually.
Increased Engagement
A popular form of engagement with sport is betting, and streaming has led to a substantial increase in betting. There are a few reasons behind this, predominantly, betting is more fun when you can watch a game/sport live. It gives you more of an adrenaline rush than just finding out a football score later on in the day. Viewers and betters alike find themselves more immersed in the sport thanks to livestreaming.
This increased engagement has led to an increase in commercialized advertising. There is a long history of using vertical integration and commercialization of broadcast graphics. In recent years, streaming online has given smaller organizations a chance to advertise via social media channels and Youtube, as in the stadiums all the big names dominate the billboards.
Increased Awareness Due To Social Media
Social media and live streaming have given viewers a platform to interact on simultaneously. Fans flock to social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to boast about their teams, moan about referees and make their own predictions. The number of people using social media is profound and stretches far across the globe, so it’s pretty incredible that someone in China can be following a League Two football match happening in the UK. This online exposure tends to result in more people turning to live streaming so that they can keep up with news and avoid seeing spoilers online. Social media has acted as a catalyst in creating conversations online that led to a wider fan base and increased customer retention.
Streaming Is Covid-Safe
Ultimately, Covid-19 has changed how we will watch sports for a while to come. Traveling is out of the picture and for the first time in history, huge sporting events are happening without physical audiences. This led to pressure to make sure that virtual audiences who are streaming are getting the best experience they possibly can. Right now, experts are focusing on streaming as the future of sports broadcasting because that is the only thing that fans are certain to enjoy.
What Does The Future Look Like?
With this in mind, naturally, we start to wonder what happens next? How does streaming continue to grow and adapt? Are there limits in the foreseeable future? Broadcast innovations are continuing to develop and streaming is becoming even more sophisticated. Customization, personalization, and virtual reality are all aspects that could be incorporated into streaming sooner than you think.
As technology continues to develop and make smartphones more and more sophisticated, sports fanatics will have an even easier time streaming their favorite sporting events.
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