A strong online presence is key to boosting growth for sports rights holders.
With viewership for sports competitions plateauing and early signs sports rights have hit a ceiling, rights holders are investing in their online content to provide additional forms of revenue and ensure TV audiences remain high. A strong online presence cannot be under estimated, it's been proven to penetrate new markets, generate revenue from digital advertising and acts a key marketing tool - driving fans towards the linear coverage and attending live events. Social media metrics and website traffic are vital to the long-term success of every sports organization. As always content is king, but how the content is accessed, published and enhanced with graphics, will determine the success of the online platforms.
Whilst many sports organizations slowly come to terms with changing consumer habits, the NBA has grown exponentially over the past five years and trails only soccer in terms of international popularity. For the 2016-17 season the NBA hit $7.3 billion in revenue, up 21% from $5.8 billion in the 2015-16 season. At the heart of their expansion is a shrewd social media strategy. During the season they publish 15 plus clips per day across all platforms, including: match highlights, exclusive behind the scenes footage', archive and analysis clips with graphics. Undoubtedly the NBA has been the most progressive federation for access to players, but it's the analysis clips (see picture), using Vizrt's image-based software - Viz Libero - that drives fan engagement. Steve Hellmuth, EVP Operations & Technology at the NBA and integral to their social media strategy said: We already do business with Vizrt, we use Viz Libero to provide a layer of graphics, any time people see a video that includes graphics, analytics that's what attracts them. That's what takes it from 200,000 view to 2 million. 3D graphics are used to highlight key moments, deconstruct facets of play or provide a better understanding of a team's strategy. Player and team statistics are inserted into dynamically moving graphics, substantiating and enriching the analysis clips. Furthermore, the 3D flights between broadcast cameras provide an unparalleled wow affect'. Hellmuth continued: We're in the business of compressing information using a lot of tools, so that people can get more in less time - which is really what it's all about. You don't just want to look at a naked video clip; you want some graphics and analysis.
The results are staggering, they have over 1.4 billion likes and followers on social media, an additional 172 million fans within the last year and the social media views during the 2017 NBA finals were up by 44%. Most of their social media followers are male and aged between 15-25, a key demographic for any sponsor (think digital advertising) and most importantly, NBA Pass (OTT platform) or ESPN subscribers of tomorrow.
Many sports organizations are now adopting the same approach and investing heavily in digital content teams. But they are discovering conventional broadcast tools such as a linear editing software are not designed for high volume, short-form, on the go' content that social media demands. Viz Story, the easy to use web interface can create compelling video stories with full real-time, state-of-the-art 3D graphics. It strips away the complexity of linear editing and allows the user to publish directly to various social media platforms. It's designed to be operated by a journalist or social media producer, without any compromise to high-end broadcast quality' graphics, key for sports properties, who spend millions on their branding.
Related articles
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Visualising the globe
NBC Sports Group partners with Vizrt for 3D sports analysis
Related articles
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Visualising the globe
NBC Sports Group partners with Vizrt for 3D sports analysis
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
A strong online presence is key to boosting growth for sports rights holders.
