Sport Clubs Spot Great Potential in OTT TV Channels

The world of sports is dramatic, exciting and ever-evolving - and when it comes to broadcasting the action, this is no exception. As OTT and SVOD platforms develop, sports clubs are wising up to the growing potential of emerging OTT channels.

The "discovery" gap

According to a recent report from TiVo, in the first quarter of the year, 34.3% of respondents said they are always or sometimes frustrated when trying to view their favorite team or sporting events in general. While this is a significant portion of those surveyed, frustrations have dipped from one to two years ago. However, those discovering sports online is on the rise, and digital broadcasters are paying big bucks for the rights to big sporting events.

This is one of the main reasons why sports teams are considering launching their own channels, to reach their fans directly. And OTT looks as the most flexible way to do it.

OTT channels: Key benefits

In this day and age, sports fans are more than willing to pay for exclusive content, and sports clubs are starting to jump on the bandwagon. Fabio Gallo from Deltatre summed up these main benefits for sports organizations:

• Increases the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User): This is one of the key KPI's when it comes to measuring the success or failure of any OTT solution. Increasing the ARPU will also mean reaching a direct and far greater Return On Investment (ROI) for the acquisition of sport TV rights.
• Boosts customer satisfaction (and retention): Giving your customers what they are looking for and you'll surely succeed. Live and VOD content available anytime, everywhere and on a multitude of devices is what the people want these days, s if you're a sports club or broadcaster, OTT is the way to go.
• Enhances brand image: Offering a fully fledged, user-friendly OTT solution will help you reach every market segment, especially Millennials - a vast and influential generation when it comes to the consumption of media.
• Reduces customer churn: Value for money and access to premium content; a match made in heaven.
  A superior competitive advantage: We are living in a digital world and offering a flexible broadcasting solution will help you secure long term success, beating your competitors to the punch.

Recent implementations

In the realm of sports entertainment, OTT is indeed the future, and there are sporting entities currently reaping the rewards...

Footballing giant Manchester United has recently extended its own MUTV streaming service which now gives fans across the UK and Ireland access to exclusive Red Devil-themed content 24/7 - and it's been met with much acclaim. Another football juggernaut, Bayern F.C, recently launched its own linear TV channel in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom, with a move towards OTT looking imminent.

Also, one of our very own clients, Club Deportivo Guadalajara, also known as Chivas, rejected hefty sums from big broadcasters and released its own OTT-only channel, again providing subscribers with endless amounts of exciting football action and visual value for their subscription fee.

OTT has given sports clubs the power to take ownership of their brand and broadcast content to their fans in a way that suits the needs of themselves, and their fans. We need to mention that our Cleeng solution for sports looks like the preferred solution for many sporting broadcasters that want to get their service off the ground and engage with their target audience in a positive, prosperous way.

If you’re a sports club or broadcasters and you’d like to take that exciting step into the world of OTT, this is the resource you need.

Download our "Sports Broadcasting & OTT" eBook