The Increasingly Important Role of IPTV in College & University Sports Venues
Andy Wagner May 23, 2024
0 Comments
According to Nielsen data, college basketball's March Madness games have consistently been among the most-watched sporting events in the United States, drawing millions of viewers across broadcast and streaming platforms. A significant part of the tournament's viewing appeal revolves around seeing tens of thousands of rabid fans attend games for high-profile matchups.
As a result, maximizing the venue experience has emerged as a critical imperative for tournament and venue decision-makers. It is in this context that internet protocol television (IPTV) technology is playing a rising role in supporting fan engagement across a growing number of major sports venues including those hosting March Madness events.
Here, Andy Wagner, who leads the NFL and collegiate sports entertainment markets for VITEC, offers his insights on the evolution of IPTV in collegiate sports.
The fan experience at college sports venues is being redefined by IPTV IPTV is playing an increasingly important role in defining - and even managing - the kind of experience colleges and university leaders want to deliver to a diverse fan base. In addition to students, alumni, parents, and fans from visiting teams are all part of the community that make up the fan base.
Unlike those who tune in to watch the tournament on TV, there is much more to these events than the games themselves. Most venues host multiple sports and entertainment events during this period. The audiovisual infrastructure at these locations must support the diversity of activity throughout the day during the tournament. Addressing different requirements in an agile and effective manner is extremely challenging for legacy systems managing audiovisual assets like TVs and digital signage.
IPTV, by contrast, is much more flexible and efficient in managing its facilities day to day. This is mainly because IPTV systems can be integrated into institutions' information technology networks and infrastructures. As a result, they can be remotely managed and monitored, allowing venue operators to quickly troubleshoot issues, update content, and ensure smooth operation without needing technician support at the screen level. Before IPTV, someone would have to go from screen to screen with a remote control to change channels or activate a digital signage program.
IPTV is a game changer for college sports venue managers During March Madness, for instance, IPTV allowed managers to transform screens into advertising channels that cater to the specific audience attending different parts of the venue and support different types of events - from pep rallies to concerts - which often take place during the day of big games.
IPTV helps to configure set-ups specifically designed for men's basketball games. Then, with the push of a button, there's flexibility to switch the venue's configuration to support an entirely different set of requirements for the next night's game, which could be a women's basketball or volleyball match. This flexibility enhances the fan experience in an operationally and financially effective manner, which is an important benefit as leaders look for ways to provide enhanced value to fans, encouraging them to attend events instead of watching from home.
A key focus for decision-makers: fan engagement & providing value to fans One of the main goals in sports today is to enhance the fan experience and provide value so that fans choose to come to the venue rather than watch from the comfort of their homes. By adopting IPTV, leaders can deliver value in new ways, within their colleges and universities, through the increased flexibility and the ability to adapt audiovisual resources to the specific needs of different events and audiences.
Leaders need to establish a clear vision of how their institutions will apply an IPTV system, which includes considering what role IPTV will play in enhancing campus life. While it is tempting to replicate what other schools are doing, it is not often possible to drop in an identical system.
May 24, 2024VideoProc Converter AI: Your Answer to Video Format Challenges and Quality EnhancementWhen recording and distributing video, theres a good chance youve come across many
May 24, 2024HBO Original Series 30 Coins Season Two Finished with DaVinci Resolve StudioBlackmagic Design announced today that season two of HBO Original series 30
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
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...
The Increasingly Important Role of IPTV in College & University Sports Venues 
