Rights holders go digital to boost growth

03/04/2018

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

LINK:	http://www.vizrt.com/news/newsgrid/54706/Rights_holders_go_digital_to_...
	See more stories from vizrt

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026