World cups, league tournaments, Grand Slams and Super Bowl! It’s safe to say that the buzz around sports is never-ending. However, the prevailing situation is a challenging run for sports and fans, alike. There has been a steep slump in viewership over the last couple of months. ESPN’s viewership has dropped by 50%, while the NBA has seen a 14% decline in viewership contrasted to 2019.
The current pandemic has affected many sections of the sports media due to social distancing measures and government-imposed restrictions.
Nonetheless, sports fans across the world seem to be eagerly awaiting their next game. A study conducted by Forbes about sports fans showed that though there has been a lack of live games, fans are as hopeful as ever. For instance, the Green Bay Packers that compete in the NFL have a season-ticket waiting list with 137,000 people.
This brings up the inquiry - how can sporting leagues and broadcasters improvise to keep fans at the centre and what role can technology play when it comes to fan engagement?
View More
The COVID-19 pandemic has relegated live sports from the top of the podium as the most watched and lucrative part of TV schedules. At the same time, the enforced social distancing, school closures and home working has prompted audiences across all age groups to spend more time on video on demand, social media and, in a big way, gaming. As a result, new types of competitive electronic sports are gaining participants and, more importantly for TV, viewership. From drone racing to battle robots, the rise of alternative sports is blossoming. By far the most popular is video gaming esports, with 450+ million viewers globally – and figures show its following growing rapidly as it has emerged as the main live alternative to physical sports during the coronavirus crisis.
View More
This session examines the effects of COVID-19 across production and post-production workflows throughout the APAC region.
View More
In this IABM TV interview, Ian Sharpe (CEO, Promethean TV) discusses remote broadcasting and the promise of interactivity for the post-pandemic world.
View More
Remote production has been on everyone's lips for some time and, in addition to cost savings, promises unprecedented flexibility and creativity in almost all production situations. The simultaneous introduction of IP-based video and audio infrastructures acts as an additional catalyst in the broadcast industry and accelerates the trend. But how far is the industry actually adopting this?
View More
The rise of esports has been rapid. By 2022 the industry is expected to be worth $1.8 billion, fuelled by a reported 2.5 billion gamers worldwide.
With gamers fiercely loyal to their favourite titles and star players and teams, the global appetite for gaming action online is enormous with a growing number of companies forming to meet this demand.
Leading the way is esports specialist, Gfinity – born out of a desire to design, develop and deliver a world-class platform for gamers, game publishers, sports rights holders and commercial partners. The company now hosts the ‘Gfinity Elite Series’ enabling esports teams and professionals to compete across a number of the world’s most popular games including Call of Duty, FIFA, Halo and Fortnite.
View More
