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3 key insights we took home with us from NAB Show 2019

17.04.19

by Editorial Staff

17.04.19

by Editorial Staff

The 2019 edition of NAB Show is now in the books. It’s been an intense week in buzzy Las Vegas, where the future of video technology was showcased during the annual prestigious appointment.

From the future of OTT to the unstoppable growth of eSports, from the relation between content and user experience, to the intersection between media and betting, we came back from Las Vegas with a bag full of insights. We thought we’d share the three key ones - you can find them below.

#1. A future in the name of eSports

The landscape of the increasingly popular live gaming industry is drastically changing and the 2019 edition of NAB Show dedicated, for the first time, an entire exhibit floor to eSports. This included interactive areas for exhibits, a theatre, and educational programme to showcase online gaming trends and cutting edge content delivery technologies.

It was great to hear more about the new horizons of media rights, in-game camera systems, as well as streaming opportunities within the OTT space, monetization and consumer engagement. The sports business is decisively shifting towards esports in an industry that is predicted to generate $1.5 billion in annual revenues by 2020, with an increased global reach of 600 million fans. Not an Olympic discipline - yet - eSports is clearly expected to continue its impressive growth and move the needle in what can be defined as ‘sport’.

#2. Innovating user experience in sports

We find ourselves wondering - where are the opportunities to maximize engagement in the OTT space of the future? And most importantly, how are consumer expectations growing? In an attempt to answer these questions, Deltatre was offered a place among the speakers at the Microsoft Booth Theatre where our own Josh Koenig, Account Manager Americas, gave a presentation on “Innovating User Experience in Sports”.

OTT is clearly racing to the top of digital dominance, with current $83.4 billion in revenue and ever-increasing minutes of consumed content. We believe OTT allows a greater control - beyond linear TV - and expansion in territory and offering. What do fans want, then? 85% of consumers want an uninterrupted experience, free from lag - based on our own internal research - and 77% demand freedom to watch content anywhere, anytime. It’s not just about the breadth of platforms offered, but also providing a consistent user experience across all those platforms.

Fans want more, for less. Advanced personalisation and a deeper immersion are top of the list, as the future seems to be taking shape under the belt of Artificial Intelligence. As Deltatre, we are part of this transformation, and we work alongside Microsoft to enhance our video player Diva’s capabilities, as well as our sports-specific publishing platform, Forge, by leveraging this next-generation technology. Not only do we integrate Microsoft Azure as an advanced suite of cloud services, but we are also working on the development of cognitive services to enhance content editing, indexing and the production of next-gen types of content.

Click here to re-watch Deltatre’s Josh Koenig’s presentation at Microsoft Azure Theatre.

#3 Betting and OTT - how to capitalise on this opportunity of cohabitation?

Fan engagement has been the common theme over the few days we spent at the NAB Show this year. Every aspect, with regards to its relation to the OTT space, was put under magnifying glass, including its cohabitation with betting and gambling. There might be a future, out there, where not only might OTT feeds include betting-specific overlays, but also augmented and virtual reality experiences could encompass such information.

It might not be the case of all sports disciplines, perhaps, but the talks and debates we attended in Vegas confirmed what we already thought - betting can enhance fan engagement and it’s only a matter of time before we see its influence spread into OTT video environments. The confluence of sports, media and betting seems to be directing to a coveted destination - after all, it’s increased monetization we’re talking about.

It’s been a pleasure, NAB Show. See you next year in Las Vegas!