From stadium to sofa: how to keep your fans hooked without live content

We’re in uncharted waters. Many of the world’s major live events, across sports, music and leisure have been postponed or cancelled and operators rightly are attempting to answer the question, “What now?”

Fortunately, many rights holders and rights owners have tackled this challenge head-on and continue to keep their fans engaged in a period where the creation of live programming has slowed down.

eSports is finding its footing in the mainstream. Doors to the archive content vaults are being flung open as customers are invited for a trip down memory lane. Athletes are reaching their fans not from the field, but from their family homes.

It’s quite wild.

Here at Deltatre, we’ve helped our customers ‘fill the white space’ for decades. After all, once the last whistle is blown at the Super Bowl or the UEFA Champions League Final, focus inevitably turns to the off-season.

“How do we keep our fans hooked without live content?”

Below you’ll find some of our ideas.

Leverage that archive

For decades, the world has tuned in at the same time every week, year, and quadrennial to watch their favorite sports. Some of the greatest moments of human history have been beamed to millions of homes and recorded into the archives of television history.

Now it’s time to crack open the vault. You can:

• Cut and publish popular moments across your digital channels and drive traffic to your website.
• Deliver a game with added interactivity, such as a ‘Key Moments’ timeline or match data integration for that added depth (psst… our player, DIVA, can make this happen).
• Rebroadcast fan-favorite games with the added commentary of a player that was there or a well-loved celebrity.
• Use AXIS to configure your user experience in real time against the interests of the end user – for instance, prioritizing short-form over documentaries.

Utilize your athletes

Millions tune in to their social media feeds daily, hungry for a glimpse of the life of a professional athlete – and in times where regular live content has all but dried up, sports stars are a critical ingredient in keeping fans engaged.

• Run virtual workouts with your star talent across YouTube or Instagram Live and push viewers to your owned and operated channels to view exclusive interviews built in FORGE.
• Host competitions where fans can win a live video chat with their favorite player as they watch a match from your archive – and livestream the whole thing across your website.
• Compile the most engaging posts from your athletes and weave into your own narrative with VISUAL STORIES, our digital experience module that allows you to craft compelling, bite-size messages across web and mobile.

Prepare for the future

Of course, we need to focus on the now, but don’t let your vision be clouded by just putting out fires. Now’s the time to strategize and begin laying the foundations for tomorrow’s success.

Enter our Design Hustle.

Run by a specialized squad of design experts, its purpose is to help identify and solve problems, form and shape new ideas and make things that are otherwise intangible, tangible.

No one knows what’s going to happen in the future but running a Design Hustle is as close to getting a crystal ball as you can get.

Want to learn more? Read our overview here.

Closing Up

Just because live content has stopped, it doesn’t mean opportunities do not exist for the operators prepared to get creative. What’s important is to have the technology in place to move quickly and react to trends. Are you ready?

PS.

Our Global Chief Evangelist, Carlo De Marchis, is currently captivated by the strategies sport operators are using to adapt to the challenges of less live content. Check out his recent discussion with SportsPro.

We’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions, say hello over on Twitter or LinkedIn.