SVG Sit-Down: Kiswe's Wim Sweldens on D2C Streaming and How Content Owners Can Connect More Directly With Fans Kiswe has launched D2C platforms for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Coyotes, and Utah Jazz By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Wednesday, April 3, 2024 - 1:40 pm
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With the sports-media landscape undergoing seismic change, many teams, leagues, and broadcasters are seeking new ways to reach their fans more directly. With a direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming platform, rightsholders can distribute directly to fans while building their brand and fully participating in the monetization of their content.
Kiswe's Wim Sweldens: Our goal [at launch] was not just about providing an alternative to linear but instead to provide a much richer, interactive experience that digital fans would love.
After focusing largely on cloud-based production and the creation of altcasts leading up to and during the pandemic, Kiswe is now putting the bulk of its focus into D2C streaming. The fruits of these efforts have been seen over the past year in the regional-sports market through deals with the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, Arizona Coyotes, and Utah Jazz.
SVG sat down with Co-Founder/CMO Wim Sweldens to discuss how Kiswe allows sports-media organizations to fully participate in the 'monetization of their content, connect fans directly to their brand, and obtain ownership of audience data through D2C streaming. He also offers a few predictions for the future of the industry and an inside look at the changing face of live sports streaming.
For someone who isn't familiar with Kiswe, can you provide a brief overview of your company's products and services?
Kiswe is a direct-to-consumer streaming company. We help content owners monetize their content under their own brand and without a third party, such as a TV network or a social-media company, in the middle. In addition to distribution, we also provide such services as digital marketing, customer service, analytics, and cloud production.
What are some examples of your work in sports over the past couple of years?
The best examples of our D2C streaming offering are our regional deals with NBA and NHL teams: Jazz, Suns, Coyotes. In these deals, we become business partners and jointly maximize the D2C business rather than merely providing technology components that a partner needs to integrate and operate.
Another example is the preseason game we did with the NFL's Detroit Lions, where we showed that adding fan-engagement features can grow viewership by a factor of four.
The Detroit Lions tapped former players and NFL analysts for a preseason alternative broadcast powered by Kiswe in August.
We also worked with the NBA's L.A. Clippers to create alternate broadcasts, aka BallerVision. BallerVision offers unique game broadcasts featuring live commentary from Clippers legends and celebrities. This innovative feature enhances fan experience with alternate streams and insights from notable personalities, including Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, providing an engaging and interactive way to watch Clippers games.
Additionally, the work we do with InDemand and their highly successful PPV.com site for airing and monetizing professional sports fights is another example of how we can stand up end-to-end branded streaming and monetization platforms.
Jazz+ signed up 10,000 subscribers in its first month.
We've seen Kiswe make a significant splash in the U.S. regional-sports market over the past year. How are you seeing this market evolve, and how can Kiswe serve franchises looking to launch their own D2C streaming services?
Because of the accelerating trend of cord cutting, teams need to reach their fans through traditional linear as well as new direct-to-consumer models. The audience is now being served by RSNs or OTA [over-the-air] providers and by digital solutions, such as streaming platforms or team-branded D2C platforms. As we all know, the RSN economics have been challenging in the last year.
A new popular model has arrived around beam and stream, where an OTA provider teams up with a D2C streaming provider to make sure the franchise reaches a maximal number of fans. SBJ reported that the Phoenix Suns' viewership is up 94% this season.
We see this as just the beginning. What is happening is, the regional markets will continue to grow and other leagues and franchises will jump on board in their need to engage the digital fans. We believe that a lot of key sports content, from local to international, will need state-of-the-art solutions to serve their digital fans. We see many sports teams and leagues wanting to grow their direct-to-consumer business, and we are eager to help them.
With Suns Live, fans can access all Suns and Mercury games through a DTC streaming option alongside the over-the-air broadcast product.
Why is Kiswe focused so heavily on its D2C distribution business - as opposed to the cloud production you were first known for - moving forward? And why do you see so much potential in the D2C streaming market?
The premise around the founding of Kiswe was that we foresaw the breakdown of the traditional linear-TV cable model. Our vision from day one was always to provide fans with direct [digital] access to the live sporting events that they most care about. Our goal was not just about providing an alternative to linear but instead to provide a much richer, interactive experience that digital fans would love.
Admittedly, this market took longer to develop than we thought, and, for the first years, we focused heavily on fan engagement through cloud production and altcasts. We strongly remain committed to cloud production technology because we see it as an important component of creating an engaging live-event experience for fans who want to experi
