NYC Media Lab - Sports/Media/Tech
Joseph Yoo
Basically, the rapid pace at which platforms are changing and technology is developing, they have become a tremendous vehicle for fans to connect to their sports in new ways. Just like other consumer goods or services, sports teams are brands, with people associating themselves with a team's brand proposition and values. With a growing number of fans connecting to their teams through streaming content in addition to live experiences, how do teams form a relationship with them?
According to Christine Pantoya (SVP, Global Head of Direct-to-Consumer & Mobile Partnerships, NBA), the NBA doesn’t put fans in one bucket or another. They try to consider different fan appetites and accommodate them as much as possible. For example, the league recently installed additional cameras in all 29 of their arenas to capture content that expands what the viewer can see in a broadcast. This experience offers the typical full game experience as well as bite sized content to attempt to satisfy different types of fan appetites.
There’s also a demand for localized storylines. People want to hear about their players, where they’re from, etc. It’s a great opportunity, but can be challenging when trying to personalize the experience to users. According to Deepen Parikh (Partner, Courtside VC), “the local fan is the most powerful in sports because the purchasing power sits with them.”
There’s also a demand for localized storylines. People want to hear about their players, where they’re from, etc. It’s a great opportunity, but can be challenging when trying to personalize the experience to users. According to Deepen Parikh (Partner, Courtside VC), “the local fan is the most powerful in sports because the purchasing power sits with them.”
Evan Silverman (EVP, Digital Media, A+E Networks) added that writers are the best catalyst for creating good content and getting people interested in following content. When asked about the value chain shift ten years from now, the panelists agreed that bite sized content is something everyone will focus on. If it’s not a team or brand that you’re interested in, it’s hard to believe people will watch an entire game or sit through an experience just for the hell of it.
Going back to sports, users are increasingly focused on highlights. User engagement, like Sports Center Snapchat, has been through the roof. Once you have something that people want, will they pay? Yes, but for premium content that offers more in-depth analysis of the things they want to see.
Christine Pantoya believes the future will lean on partnerships between platforms and brands.
The panel agreed that augmented reality and virtual reality are the current buzz words for platforms on the rise.
The conference topics transitioned into how to use analytics and data and tell a story to your users.
For example, in the Teams + Fans + Tech panel, Nick Haynes (Lead Data Scientist, Automated Insights) described how they take raw, unstructured data and convert it back into narratives for user consumption. They are generating millions of narratives every year that are personalized for users. “To the fan, what are the things I care about?” By using raw user data, this generates more engagement and therefore increases the opportunity for more ad sales.
When asked, "how are you doing something that bridges the gap?" in a lightning round, a couple of panel members responded with the following opinions:
When asked, "how are you doing something that bridges the gap?" in a lightning round, a couple of panel members responded with the following opinions:
Jayne Bussman-Wise (Senior Director, Content & Communications, New York Red Bulls) - FIFA is the #1 video game played in the US. It helps fans engage. They know all the players on the roster and that makes them care more. People love watching other people play video games on Twitch. This has convinced the Red Bulls to participate in their first year on the competitive gaming platform, EMLS. “How do we better serve our fans? We need the data to tell us that.”
Frank Nakano (Managing Director, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, JP Morgan Chase) – The scale of their presence is both a blessing and a curse. Where are the fans? They need to consider where they are how to leverage partnerships to reach them.
Near the end of the day, the Beyond Human panel focused on a subject that I haven't heard much about. Jason Xu (CEO, Battlefy) stated that “we’re in the middle of a generational shift.” Sports is now virtual because of the limitless availability over the internet. The question is, how do brands engage fans for a longer time between content and gaming?
Barry Bedlan (Sports Products Director, The Associated Press) made a point about traditional sports needing to adapt to keep up with the content being generated by e-sports. More access is the key. Video games have the largest contact rates on YouTube. It took five years for e-sports to become the fourth largest user sports engagement category in the world. It took the NBA 50 years to accomplish the same feat. Bedlan added that VR is going to have a huge impact moving forward in sports.
Many of the insights offered by the impressive panelists shouldn't have been anything new to someone in the BIC program. Many of the topics confirmed what we've been learning in the program in terms of user engagement and brand experiences. If anything, it was interesting to learn about the innovations in technology and how they affect user participation/retention.
Near the end of the day, the Beyond Human panel focused on a subject that I haven't heard much about. Jason Xu (CEO, Battlefy) stated that “we’re in the middle of a generational shift.” Sports is now virtual because of the limitless availability over the internet. The question is, how do brands engage fans for a longer time between content and gaming?
Barry Bedlan (Sports Products Director, The Associated Press) made a point about traditional sports needing to adapt to keep up with the content being generated by e-sports. More access is the key. Video games have the largest contact rates on YouTube. It took five years for e-sports to become the fourth largest user sports engagement category in the world. It took the NBA 50 years to accomplish the same feat. Bedlan added that VR is going to have a huge impact moving forward in sports.
Many of the insights offered by the impressive panelists shouldn't have been anything new to someone in the BIC program. Many of the topics confirmed what we've been learning in the program in terms of user engagement and brand experiences. If anything, it was interesting to learn about the innovations in technology and how they affect user participation/retention.
