discovery+

discovery+ from Warner Bros. Discovery is the most comprehensive and differentiated combined sports and entertainment streaming platform in Europe that connects millions of users in 10 markets across Europe with the world’s biggest events, live and on-demand. These include Grand Tour cycling, tennis Grand Slams, World Snooker Championships, winter sports World Cups, a wide range of motorsport and locally relevant events in each market.

In the last 12 months discovery+ has launched in new markets (Austria and Germany) while becoming the streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK & Ireland, offering an unrivalled combination of live sports – including Eurosport – and entertainment.

Its premium plan provides even greater value proposition for the entire household as sports fans also have access to something for everyone with a huge variety of exclusive, original entertainment series across Reality, True Crime, Paranormal, Documentaries, Food and more as part of the largest content offering of any streaming platform at launch.

This approach is successfully engaging new viewers for sports Warner Bros. Discovery promotes, including the UCI Mountain Bike World Series and the FIM Speedway GP, helping to grow the fanbase of these championships.

discovery+ brings a sports-first experience packed with features, including the recently launched popular interactive timeline markers. This enables fans to easily replay live video or skip through key points in the action to relive the best moments such as key moments, athletes interviews and expert analysis, putting users in full control of their experience.

Since August 2022, discovery+ has:
Significantly Increased unique users (+51%) and video views (+49%)
Grown its number of minutes streamed by nearly two thirds (+63%)

Vastly increased its streaming audiences around its flagship sporting events of the year including:
Cycling – Giro d’Italia (+46%); Tour de France (+36%)
Tennis – Australian Open (+67%); Roland-Garros (+12%); Wimbledon (+7%)
Motorsport – 24 Hours of Le Mans (+31%)

Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including Thursday Night Football. When Prime Video launched its 11-year relationship with the NFL in 2022 as the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, a new era of live sports coverage was unleashed and the breakthrough story of the past year began to unfold. More than 15 million fans answered the call on September 15, signing on and experiencing brilliant 720p picture quality, unprecedented options to personalize their viewing experience, and an all-star cast featuring legendary voices and players with fresh-off-the-field perspectives. Thursday Night Football’s inaugural season of TNF on Prime Video featured the most-streamed NFL contests ever, several of the top 100 most-watched prime time shows in all of television throughout 2022, and attracted audiences that were considerably younger, watched more minutes of the game and commanded higher household incomes than NFL viewers on broadcast and cable platforms. Additionally, throughout the 2022 season, fans watching TNF on Prime Video held a median age of 47 years old, which is seven years younger than the average median age of viewers watching the NFL on linear TV. TNF on Prime Video finished the season with the lowest median age for a full season slate of games since 2013, and registered the largest median age gap on record between a stand-alone NFL package and the rest of the NFL packages. The historic and industry-shaping nature of the debut of TNF makes it a strong choice to be named Platform of the Year – D2C.

The strategy behind Optus Sport delivering the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM has been to focus on a premium viewing experience across the Optus Sport OTT platform with extensive and inclusive coverage that customers will love.

The premium coverage was hosted by a diverse team of ex-players, coaches and experts in the field who appeared in Optus Sport’s freshly redesigned studio for pre-match, halftime, post-match coverage, alongside pitch-side coverage, a one-hour morning show, and exclusive digital-only shows on Snap, Tiktok and YouTube.

The Optus Sport OTT product delivered viewers a best-in-class experience by making content available how and when fans wanted to watch it. Six Smart TVswent through a user experience overhaul bringing it in line with Optus Sport’s flagship platforms with features like spoiler alert, favorite teams, data-overlay streams and five different length VOD formats to enjoy each match.

Optus Sport articles were syndicated to Google News and Apples News and Optus Sport also launched Google Web Stories to dominate Google Onebox.

Optus Sport enabled easy access to the tournament for both locals and international visitors via:
• a Tournament Pass where visitors could subscribe easily,
• accessibility across pubs, clubs and casinos across Australia, and
• public viewing event licences for councils and sporting clubs to bring the event to life in communities.

Optus Sport published content faster than ever with an accelerated VOD encoding pipeline and new localised CDN. Optus Sport also upgraded its anti-piracy strategy to use cutting edge hardware DRM technology, CMAF (Mixed HEVC & AVC), to secure high quality streams with premium anti-piracy techniques all while reducing costs.

Optus Sport has seen extensive customer love for the coverage and quality of experience across WWC2023 and will continue its omnichannel approach for Premier League and LALIGA season launch in August.

ESPN App

ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more than 27,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. To date, the ESPN App continued its growth as the undisputed No. 1 sports app, while ESPN+ announced long-term, marquee sports rights deals, including the National Hockey League, LaLiga, PGA TOUR LIVE, Wimbledon and more. ESPN+ and the ESPN App are far and away the clear choice for Platform of the Year from the leading sports’ network, ESPN. ESPN+ allows targeted audiences to experience and interact with the ESPN brand and industry-leading live sports offerings without a cable subscription.

DAZN is a leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK.  Its wide range of content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions. DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment business where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app. 2022/23 has been a seminal period for DAZN, where the vision is beginning to be realised. DAZN is the only true pure sports platform that is delivering as a platform should, creating an environment that can showcase the best sport across multiple smart devices, adding value through innovative products and services, and pursuing a distribution and accessibility strategy that builds audience and revenue. It’s through this approach that next phase of sports media entertainment will continue to grow in popularity and value.

Direct-to-Consumer with single-screen user driven content

The YES Network continues to lead the industry in innovative firsts for its users and fans. The Emmy® award winning YES App has been a success from its launch in 2021. YES has seen increased unique Yankees viewership of 34% (year-over-year through the first half of baseball season) and a 35% increase in time spent per unique viewer over the same period. Meanwhile, since the end of 2021 the YES App has grown its registration base by 97%.

Building on the success of the YES App, YES Network became the first sports network – regional or national – to provide single-screen user-driven overlay of live statistics for connected TV including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google TV. This new feature coupled with the launch of its direct-to-consumer subscription product allows YES to grow its audience and enhance the user experience across all platforms – from mobile devices to large TVs in the home. Weeks after its launch, there has been up to 36% adoption of overlays by users on connected TVs.

Fans can control the YES App Live Stats experience via either their TV remotes or their phones. More than ever, YES is giving their fans the ability to watch the game how and where they want to watch it. Fans, in essence, are in the director’s chair. In the process, YES is providing popular content that enhances engagement and a sense of community across all screens.

Realizing the potential of African sports – on screen

Pixellot’s OTT platform has revolutionized sports consumption by providing live and on-demand content to fans anywhere, anytime, and on any device. Their automated sports production solutions utilize AI and computer vision, eliminating the need for human operators and expensive equipment. This cost-effective approach has attracted thousands of sports organizations, from professional leagues to schools.

SuperSports, a leading sports broadcaster in Africa partnered with Pixellot to launch a new OTT service called SuperSports Schools which aimed to make live school sports content available and accessible throughout South Africa. The idea was to provide an all-in-one solution for democratizing and aggregating school sports events and competitions and attract sponsors and commercial partners for monetization. Pixellot provided the camera systems to produce the games, built the OTT, and provided the user management platform for analytics and team optimization.

Despite challenges in internet coverage, SuperSport Schools has connected people across vast geographical areas. The initiative has not only brought people together but also provided exposure for young athletes and future opportunities. The vision is to expand the initiative across Africa, attracting more sponsors and partners to support the development of African sporting nations.

The impact of SuperSport Schools has been measured through Nielsen reports, which recorded over 500,000 unique subscribers and 33 million views to date. Additionally, user activity on the platform has translated into increased exposure for young athletes, which led to new and exciting opportunities for these athletes’ future abroad.

Sportradar Group AG, founded in 2001, is a leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors.

The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, consists of 32 Member Clubs. Each team roster reflects the League’s international makeup with players from more than 20 countries represented, all vying for the most cherished and historic trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup®.

NHL.TV brings the world’s best and well-known ice hockey league direct to its international fanbase.

Built and supported by Sportradar, the slick, easy-to-use OTT platform is home to all NHL games, both live and on-demand for fans in countries outside the US and Canada.

With a number of leading OTT features, NHL.TV offers hockey fans a best-in-class experience such as the latest goal and highlight notifications on the stream timeline, for easy navigation to the key moments in a game, and its innovative spoiler prevention feature.

NHL.TV is entered into the Platform of the Year – D2C award category, offering partisan viewing experiences, VIP access, and seeing both audience and engagement growth throughout the 22/23 season.

Major League Baseball continues to prioritize enhancing fan experiences and implementing new ways of enjoying baseball by introducing new features and products. MLB made history over 20 years ago when it livestreamed a regular season game for the first time on August 26, 2002. In 2003, MLB became the first professional sports league to stream a full season of games. Since then, MLB.TV has streamed more than 40,000 games with more than 8.8 billion minutes watched this season. Fans streamed MLB.TV in 229 countries and territories around the world with 12% more international fans watching than years prior. With fans top of mind, this platform has serviced millions of fans to date, providing a watch-from-anywhere experience so fans can access their favorite teams wherever they may be. With the goal to provide the best baseball streaming experience in the world, MLB.TV provides exclusive access to out-of-market live games, presented in a way that is unique to and aware of baseball, and personalized to the preferences of the subscriber. This platform has an ever-expanding portfolio of complementary live and on-demand video content that tells the story of baseball throughout the year.

Gol Mundial OTT platform

MEDIAPRO secured the Spanish rights to the World Cup in 2019. With the aim of making the tournament accessible to all football fans, the company launched the Gol Mundial OTT to air the cup’s 64 matches, with 44 of them shown exclusively. The streaming service made the entire World Cup available at the affordable price of €19.99 (€0.31 per game), revolutionizing the way football is consumed and making the competition accessible to all fans. Gol Mundial created a 24/7 channel dedicated to the World Cup with more than 14 hours of live streaming daily and crosses to special correspondents in Qatar.

The LIV Golf is a professional tour whose mission has been to modernize and supercharge the sport, including the way it reaches consumers. Its D2C OTT streaming platform is built on ViewLift, a full-service digital content distribution platform empowering sports leagues, clubs, federations, rightsholders, and others worldwide to monetize their content through native branded apps on web and mobile devices, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. ViewLift offers clients a range of monetization models on a proprietary platform with advanced analytics, tracking performance in real-time.

ViewLift has established itself as a global leader in building innovative and scalable video streaming experiences through its end-to-end video platform, which powers live, video-on-demand, and 24/7 linear content. As a proprietary SaaS platform, ViewLift offers industry-leading functionality and scalability, along with the company’s deep streaming experience. ViewLift owns its entire technology stack from ingest to playout, offering a single integrated system that facilitated the development of LIV Golf’s D2C services.

This end-to-end ownership of OTT streaming technology gives ViewLift the industry’s shortest time to market and the ability to react quickly to new requirements, which has been hugely beneficial to LIV Golf. The integrated nature of ViewLift’s platform helps generate better subscriber insights, driving acquisition, upsell, and retention campaigns.

What makes LIV Golf, as delivered by ViewLift, the D2C Platform of the Year is the fact that, after deploying so rapidly, it can keep up the pace in developing new features on a global scale and adding new devices and apps that can use it as the market evolves – earning its reputation as a disruptor within the sports streaming marketplace. The metrics around its successes include over 2 million subscribers across 180 countries, along with unparalleled reliability – a testament to the quality of the fan engagement offered by the platform.

Delivering end-to-end SaaS streaming for Sports OTT

ViewLift is a full-service digital content distribution platform empowering sports leagues, clubs, federations, rightsholders, and others to monetise their content through native branded apps on major OTT devices, including web and mobile devices, Smart TVs, and gaming consoles. ViewLift offers clients a range of monetisation models on a proprietary platform with advanced analytics, tracking performance in real time.

ViewLift has established itself as a global leader in building innovative and scalable video streaming experiences through its end-to-end video platform, which powers live, video on demand, and 24/7 linear content. As a proprietary SaaS platform, it offers industry-leading functionality, scalability, and deep streaming experience. ViewLift owns its entire technology stack from ingest to playout, with support for multiple integrations with payment gateways, ad networks, and marketing CRM systems such as Mailchimp and HubSpot.

This end-to-end ownership of OTT streaming technology gives ViewLift the industry’s shortest time to market and the ability to react quickly to new requirements. The integrated nature of ViewLift’s platform helps generate better subscriber insights, driving acquisition, upsell, and retention campaigns. These capabilities are highlighted by a client list that includes LIV Golf, NHL, Monumental Sports, The Rugby Network, NBCUniversal, MotoAmerica, TEGNA, Nexstar, and many others.

What makes ViewLift the Best Tech Company in the Sports OTT sector is its ability to deploy rapidly, across every platform, with global scale, while meeting the distinctive needs of sports companies ranging from top professional leagues to regional sports networks to global sports start-ups aiming to hit the ground running at launch. Its capabilities and expertise offer enormous value to the sports OTT industry during a period of disruptive change. The result is ViewLift empowers clients to monetise audiences effectively while pivoting quickly to new demands from rightsholders, technology platforms, and fans.
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Spiideo, a trailblazing tech company in the sports industry, is vying for recognition at the SportsPro Media OTT Awards. Having won the Bronze Award last year for Best Emerging Tech Company and the prestigious Tech Solution of the Year, Spiideo stands out as a legitimate player in the automatic production space. Their mission is to revolutionize sports video production, analysis, and consumption worldwide.

At the heart of Spiideo’s innovative solutions lies their automatic production and autocasting capabilities. Through their seamless integration of fixed and mobile camera systems, Spiideo has eliminated the need for laborious manual filming processes. Their AutoFollow™ technology ensures that every moment of the action is captured dynamically and professionally without human intervention. Additionally, their pioneering autocasting technology automates broadcasting, significantly improving content delivery efficiency and global reach.

Spiideo’s comprehensive toolset includes cutting-edge video analysis features that empower coaches, players, and performance analysts. Real-time and post-game analysis provide valuable insights, enabling data-driven decision-making, tactical enhancements, and overall performance improvement.

What sets Spiideo apart is its versatility in catering to a wide range of sports industry stakeholders. From media rights-holders to professional leagues, clubs, and teams, Spiideo’s complete solution addresses the diverse needs of the sports community. The platform’s reach extends to prestigious teams in major leagues such as Premier League, NHL, Serie A, MLS, NBA, Ligue 1, NCAA, and Bundesliga, along with numerous other partnerships across Europe and North America.

With a vision to revolutionize sports video production and consumption, Spiideo remains at the forefront of driving innovation in the industry. Their relentless commitment to excellence and ongoing partnerships with top-tier clubs and leagues exemplify their dominance.

Spiideo’s revolutionary technology, focusing on automatic production, autocasting, and video analysis, has reshaped the sports video landscape. Their impact is felt throughout the sports ecosystem, making them a strong contender for the Best Tech Company award at the SportsPro Media OTT Awards. With over 2,000+ organizations benefiting from their solutions, Spiideo is truly shaping the future of sports video technology.

Empowering digital experiences and building fan communities

LiveLike’s platform transforms passive audiences into engaged communities. Through its industry-leading audience engagement solutions, LiveLike provides interactive and social tools that allow sports and media organizations to create fan experiences that are at the forefront of emerging trends.

The Company’s 360° audience engagement solution fosters deeper and more meaningful connections with fans, but beyond being a technology provider, LiveLike also acts as a dedicated partner and advisor, working closely with its clients from ideation to integration, through launch and beyond, iterating as needed. This approach ensures partners get the most value out of the comprehensive solution and saves them from developing digital experiences from scratch.

What’s more, LiveLike’s engagement suite grants partners access to valuable first and zero-party data by enabling personalized experiences based on user behavior. The result is increased user registration, higher subscriber retention, reduced churn, and the opportunity to monetize digital experiences through branded content, e-commerce, and, where applicable, wagering. All this can be achieved within mere weeks and at a fraction of the cost of custom development. Companies that have worked with LiveLike have seen faster time-to-value due to a shorter launch time period, and higher ROI as a benefit of fan engagement.

Overall, LiveLike empowers sports organizations and media companies to create engaging communities, turning passive viewers into active participants. With a focus on collaboration, innovation, and seamless integration, LiveLike enables partners to maximize the value of their digital experiences and foster lasting connections with their fan base.

Endeavor Streaming is a subsidiary of Endeavor, the sports, music, film, television, theater, art, fashion, literary, culinary powerhouse, and a global leader in premium video distribution and monetization for live and on-demand content across sports, entertainment, media and lifestyle. Serving as a true 360-degree digital transformation partner, Endeavor Streaming supports every phase of the direct-to-consumer journey for content creators, brands and rights holders. Sitting at the core of its business is Vesper, a cloud-agnostic platform with a leading global infrastructure network and multiple layers of stream security, flexible content management tools and an award-winning data and analytics dashboard that empowers clients to create and deliver high-quality, engaging OTT user experiences.

In parallel to its technology offerings, Endeavor Streaming has a portfolio of services that includes business advisory, growth marketing, and custom application development. Clients have the ability to partner with a team of industry experts who hold over two decades of experience to help them shape, grow and redefine their D2C strategy as their businesses and audiences evolve in the ever-changing OTT landscape.

As a trusted partner for leading global sports and media brands, Endeavor Streaming delivers tens-of-thousands of major tentpole live events annually like WrestleMania and UFC fight cards, and powers D2C streaming services including WNBA League Pass, UFC FIGHT PASS, WWE Network, Tottenham Hotspurs’ SPURSPLAY, Sky Sport Now, Oilers+ and others.

Deltatre is the global leader in sport data, digital and streaming technology for sport and media.

Over the past year, Deltatre has been a leading player in the OTT industry, partnering with major sports names to revolutionize streaming platforms and broadcast graphics, transforming how fans engage with sports. Deltatre stands out in the Best Technology Company category due to its work with MLS and Dyn Media.

In collaboration with MLS, Deltatre and Sportec Solutions (STS) formed a groundbreaking partnership to create enhanced data feeds from all MLS matches, powering Apple’s MLS Season Pass. This new technology offers fans a range of stats and visualizations, enhancing their viewing experience. Deltatre handles data processing and presents next-gen metrics through advanced graphics.

Deltatre was also selected by Dyn Media to build an end-to-end OTT platform for German sports fans. The platform features various sports beyond soccer, such as handball, table tennis, basketball, and volleyball, offering live games, highlights, and on-demand content. Deltatre’s award-winning products, including FORGE, AXIS, and DIVA, were implemented to provide an exceptional user experience with fan interactivity as a key focus.

Dyn Media is set to launch this month (August 2023), aiming to become the go-to streaming service for sports fans across Germany and the DACH region.

This entry is for the Best Tech Company category. Deltatre has been a leading company in the OTT, data and broadcast graphics space for over 37 years and has worked with many of the world’s leading sports leagues, teams and federations in that time.

Seasonal Subscriptions

Cleeng is a multi-tenant SaaS platform designed to help direct-to-consumer video services boost their ROI using Subscriber Retention Management™ (SRM™). SRM™ empowers broadcasters to launch and scale streaming services quickly with a robust Subscriber Management System and retain subscribers for years with actionable analytics.

Operating at the heart of the Media & Entertainment industry, leading sports broadcasters like the NFL, SBG, Optus Sport, NHL and Big Ten Network depend on Cleeng.

Cleeng’s latest release, “Seasonal Subscriptions” is a game changer for seasonal churn and an excellent fit for the Tech Solution of the Year award. It is the first-ever native and comprehensive solution to successfully address the churn concerns created by the seasonality of sports.

Traditional monetization methods for seasonal sports content include season passes, annual subscriptions and short-duration products. Each of these has its own costly challenges such as expensive re-acquisition or 100% churn after every season; poor value for customers outside the early season; or the cannibalization of season-length offers. The Seasonal Subscriptions feature overcomes all of these by aligning subscription cycles with the exact cycle of a broadcaster’s sports season.

The technology empowers the broadcasters to:
1) Customize offers to the exact date of seasons to represent enhanced value to customers.
2) Offer dynamic pricing such as Early Bird, mid-season, or play-offs deals to encourage sign-ups throughout the season.
3) Automatically renew customers at the start of each season, thereby reducing churn and reacquisition costs while enhancing the customer experience.

In short, this technology simplifies product management for sports OTT platforms while raising revenues significantly. This improvement represents recurring revenue with a compounding financial impact in the long term as more of the acquired subscribers sign on to recurring offers.

Powering interactive overlays for the leading sports leagues, broadcasters and content providers

Ease Live AS, an Evertz company, is the global leader for interactive graphics platform, powering sports leagues, broadcasters, and content creators. Ease Live is a SaaS service for creating and distributing digital overlays to millions of end users on mobile and connected devices in real time. The platform enables the ultimate viewing experience for the audience, all frame accurately synchronised with the live streams. Ease Live unlocks new OTT monetisation with interactive ads, prediction games, celebrity watch parties, betting affiliate fees and more.

Ease Live has recently expanded it’s capabilities beyond publishing overlays for web, iOS and Android, and now supports connected TVs such as AppleTV, Roku, Android TV, Google TV and FireTV as well as 2nd screen experiences. With more connected devices coming soon, the new expansions allows our customers to reach all of their audiences with interactive content and new monetisation features.

HiWay Media PIVOT: a unique solution for end-to-end digital management

HiWay Media is a digital tailor lab where innovation meets simplicity.

We offer solutions to manage the entire digital experience with a big focus on video delivery: from production to connectivity, transcoding, Digital Assets Management, FAST channels, OTT platforms, web, mobile and Smart TV apps.

The innovation of merging a Video Management System (VMS), a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system, and a Content Management System (CMS) into a unified platform called PIVOT has the potential for significant long-term impact on the industry.

Thanks to PIVOT, with its flexible and modular API system architecture made of multiple microservices, we can easily and quickly build up innovative integrated digital ecosystems, creating a unique aggregated touching point between fans and content owners.

The challenges faced by organizations when launching an OTT platform, a website and apps, using multiple vendors, such as increase of costs, lack of interoperability across the platforms and poor fan experience, can be addressed effectively with this unified approach.

PIVOT offers centralized control, seamless asset integration, consistent branding, and efficient content distribution. Its enhanced analytics capabilities and cost-saving benefits make it a practical and flexible solution. The platform’s modular API system allows controlled access and fosters interaction between different software applications, promoting collaboration and growth.
Several successful case studies, including S.S. Lazio and Serie A, demonstrate the opportunities and growth generated by PIVOT. Overall, the long-term impact of this innovation is expected to contribute to a more mature, efficient, and dynamic industry, leading to sustained growth, increased audience engagement, and greater success for content creators and organizations in the OTT space.

Zixi as a Service (ZaaS)

Zixi-as-a-Service (ZaaS) is a complete solution for enabling live video distribution from any location, in any format, delivered over any protocol, to any destination. ZaaS provides everything needed to receive contribution feeds and process, transcode, package and deliver them to any target location. It orchestrates cloud ingress into geographically distributed cloud operating environments, And for customers that require live transcoding or other processing support, ZaaS provisions the necessary cloud infrastructure and automates distribution of low-latency broadcast -quality live video to any number of targets and end points.

emBET

Sportradar Group AG, founded in 2001, is a leading global sports technology company creating immersive experiences for sports fans and bettors. Positioned at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries, the company provides sports federations, news media, consumer platforms and sports betting operators with a best-in-class range of solutions to help grow their business.
Sportradar has developed emBET, a unique OTT integration product bringing betting content to streaming in a way that is naturally part of the viewing experience and thus highly engaging.

emBET integrates live betting content into streams in real time. This not only offers the OTT platform an opportunity to create a highly effective new revenue stream, but it also provides viewers with compelling content that will help keep them entertained and engaged for longer. There will no longer be a need to look elsewhere for stats and betting info.

emBET is entered into the Tech Solution of the Year, as the only solution that is productising betting content integration into OTT streaming at scale with a solution that comes in two parts: 1. Backend 2. SDK.

CDN BALANCER – Active Switching

NPAW is introducing CDN Balancer, a revolutionary smart system to balance loads between content delivery networks (CDNs) based on quality of experience insights.

Leading streaming service providers rely on more than one content delivery network (CDN) to improve their quality of service, reduce costs, and avoid outages. But, in a multi-CDN environment, streaming services need to switch between CDNs in a way that takes into account both your streaming quality and business goals.

To meet the needs of the global audience and improve QoE and QoS, organizations need to engage multiple CDNs to ensure against any risk of poor performance, or worse, complete downtime. Although adding multiple CDNs can reduce the risk of downtime and can improve the end user experience, a more intelligent and data-driven approach can truly secure the best
end-user experience possible.

Switching between CDNs results in more reliable availability and higher video quality — major drivers for higher viewer engagement and lower churn.

But how that switching is made is important as well. A smart, data-based balancing tool can greatly increase performance, reduce delivery costs, and lead to greater user satisfaction.

Powered by AI and NPAW’s extensive video streaming analytics insights, CDN Balancer lets services automatically select the right CDN based on the end user’s perceived quality of experience. Thanks to real-time video insights, the tool can detect performance issues and consumption patterns to optimize video delivery for each user, region, and device.

Multicasting.io real time video platform

Multicasting.io enables the next generation of wireless real-time video sharing and content creation. We leverage the power of wireless infrastructure to create a new viewing experience in and out of the stadium. Multicasting.io provides a truly unique experience to sports leagues, venues, and fans. Our real-time multi-angle live video feed can connect the fan’s view directly to the stadium infrastructure for display or broadcast, social media, and content creation. Using this technology, the NBA was able to add an additional 18 camera angles to the NBA All-Star game and provide these live video feeds to the jumbo tron. The extra cameras were provided to entertainment staff and installed in all areas of the arena, including the Baskets and places you cant put cameras, such as the scorer’s table. With these new angles, the leagues were able to generate hundreds of real-time video highlights of the event from all the cameras simultaneously, share them with the video boards, and share them on social media.

No such technology has existed in such a unique and simple way to deploy inside an arena and through mobile devices. The setup of our platform takes only a few minutes and requires no additional hardware. Our platform is all cloud-based and runs off of all devices. Our technology is game-changing for the arenas, as it reduces costs and increases the capabilities of all arenas.

We are usually up and running in an arena in under 5 minutes. We have a simple Android/iOS application with a cloud-based production management system that allows the venue’s content to be remotely managed from any location.

Content creation can be done with stationary, mobile devices, fan mobile devices, and influencer mobile devices. The content is all Synced and available for display on the Jumbotron, Broadcast, or social media, all in real-time. Our time based highlight technology is patent pending.

WNBA Mobile App

WNBA fans traditionally have faced multiple barriers commensurated by being a young league when compared to others like the NBA or NFL, compounded by the deep-seated effects of inequality in women’s sports. The WNBA app relaunch is first of its kind in women sports and a direct response to fan demand and investment. While some of the developments may exist for mens’ leagues, they have had years and millions more to make those platforms a reality. The WNBA has only been around for 27 years and built the same app level of standard in 6 months lead by an all-female leadership team.
By revamping the entire UX experience, app-exclusive content, and a plethora of streaming options; the WNBA mobile app transformed for the 2023 season as a foundational “one-stop-shop”.

Upon launching the app, every fan is given instant access to highlights, behind-the-scenes, off-the-court, and on-court content consumable in an Instagram or tik-tok like format. Fans can watch WNBA games on the app as the League partnered with Endeavor Streaming to relaunch their direct-to-consumer (D2C) OTT streaming platform, WNBA League Pass. Powered by Endeavor Streaming’s Vesper Platform, WNBA League Pass offers fans a high-quality streaming experience to watch various new short form content, and live/on-demand games.

Game schedule and standings have also been modernized. iPhone users can add live updates to games directly on their lock screens and real time stats are available for every app user. The platform includes a “No Spoilers” feature, which allows fans to hide stats and standings from previous games so they can watch on-demand content and still experience the thrill of seeing how a game plays out.

Sports experience

As America’s #1 TV streaming platform, Roku offers a wide range of streaming devices and an extensive content library, with diverse entertainment preferences. Roku’s mission is to be the streaming platform that connects and benefits the entire TV ecosystem around the world. Leading the industry forward by providing users with simplicity, affordability, and innovation, Roku also connects users to the streaming content they love, enables content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and it provides advertisers with sophisticated tools to reach and engage consumers.

Originally launched in November 2022, the Roku Sports experience is designed to give easy access to live and upcoming sport across the Roku platform. It introduced a centralized location for browsing sports content and seeing where it’s available to watch.

Roku’s Sports experience includes pro and college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, baseball, golf and soccer from Apple TV, DIRECTV, FOX Sports, FuboTV, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Sling, The Roku Channel, TNT, TBS, and truTV, as well as games coming over the air through an antenna connected to Roku TV models, with more sports and viewing options.

Roku’s Sports experience is a great contender for the “Best User Experience” category. As a customer-focused brand, Roku is constantly evolving the sports experience, continually adding features that users are looking for. Roku’s Sports experience is a testament to its dedication to delivering the best user experience, allowing their viewers to access their preferred sports content effortlessly in one location, and boost exciting games based on external data sources, making it the best user experience platform.

HandballTV: Where Passion Meets Play!

Origins Digital, a leading agency specializing in web platforms, mobile applications, and OTT solutions, collaborated with the French Handball Federation, the National Handball League, and the Women’s Handball League to create Handball TV, an innovative OTT platform.

Born from our passion for enhancing fan experiences, Handball TV is designed to deliver personalized, immersive handball content. It features flexible subscription models, including pay-per-view options. The collaboration with BeIN Sports has provided broader exposure and contributed to the success of this OTT platform Handball TV, which has garnered more than 3 million views and 50,000 subscribers since its launch in 2022. The platform has boosted our reputation and promoted collaboration within the handball community. With its unique features, strategic partnerships, and significant impact, Handball TV presents a compelling case for the “New Best Platform” award, exemplifying the success of a well-executed OTT platform in the sports domain.

Motorsport UK TV, launched in April 2023, has revolutionised the world of motorsport with its unique OTT content hub offering. Catering to the UK motorsport community and fans, the platform offers a comprehensive and engaging streaming experience. The aim is to create a dedicated internet video portal that serves as a one-stop-shop for all UK motorsports content, providing diverse video offerings to enhance fans’ enjoyment of the sport.

Setting itself apart from competitors, Motorsport UK TV boasts over 400 video uploads on its free-to-access platform. The content covers all motorsport disciplines, allowing audiences to access a wide variety of cross-discipline and multiformat videos. By catering to different interests and expertise levels within the fan base, the platform ensures a loyal and engaged viewership. Moreover, the platform encourages user-generated content, fostering a sense of community and participation among motorsport enthusiasts.

The success of Motorsport UK TV lies in its ability to connect with the audience and attract new participants to the sport. With over 100,000 views, 14,000 hours of watch time, and 1.5 million impressions, the platform has rapidly grown its subscriber base, reaching around 10,000 motorsport fans within four months of launch. By drawing in a younger and more diverse audience, Motorsport UK TV aligns with its mission to increase diversity and inclusion within UK motorsports events.

The impact of Motorsport UK TV on the market has been positive, providing a central platform for motorsport enthusiasts to access diverse content. The platform strengthens audience connections, fosters loyalty, and drives sport participation through clear calls to action and trackable advertising banners that enhance brand partnerships and sponsor value.

Overall, Motorsport UK TV has emerged as a ground-breaking and award-worthy platform, transforming the consumption of motorsport content and engaging fans like never before. Its impressive subscriber growth, disruptive impact on the market, and positive influence on business performance make it a deserving candidate for the esteemed recognition of Best New Platform at the SportsPro OTT Awards.

S.S. Lazio Digital Ecosystem

HiWay Media is a digital tailor lab where innovation meets simplicity.

We offer solutions to manage the entire digital experience with a big focus on video delivery: from production to connectivity, transcoding, Digital Assets Management, FAST channels, OTT platforms, web, mobile and Smart TV apps.
Founded in July 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, our disruptive approach allowed us to grow very fast. Today HiWay Media has 50+ employees in Italy, Austria, Spain and India, and can proudly list industry leaders such as LaLiga, Italian Serie A and Serie B, Ferrari, S.S. Lazio, FIBA, Sky, and Infront amongst its partners.

The football industry, with its long history, faces the challenge of globalizing its fanbase and engaging with younger generations who seek dynamic and interactive content. To achieve this, digital interaction has become essential. By merging a VMS, DAM, and CMS into one unified platform, football clubs can efficiently manage news, articles, stats, media galleries, ticketing, merchandising, live streaming, VOD, podcasts, live radio, FAST Channels, and more from a single dashboard.
S.S. Lazio, an Italian Serie A football club, recognized the importance of this evolution and partnered with HiWay Media and its one-stop solution, PIVOT. The result was a massive boost in visits and registrations, reaching fans worldwide. PIVOT offers a unique platform combining the functionalities of a traditional website with the personalized OTT trend, providing a seamless user experience.
PIVOT’s VMS allows Lazio to manage video content with cloud-based editing and AI-based peak recognition. The integrated DAM handles media processing tasks, including categorization and content embedding, while the CMS empowers easy content creation and organization.
This disruptive approach solves common platform problems, such as traffic loss between platforms, technical costs, and multiple providers, offering S.S. Lazio an efficient, cost-effective, and user-friendly digital ecosystem.

BLAST is here to champion and elevate esports, taking it to the next level of global entertainment. We create live and digital experiences. From tournaments that pack out major arenas to content that will blow your socks off.
Whether it’s through whitelabel collaboration on industry-leading titles or our in-house series’ like BLAST Premier, our live events and broadcasts ultimately put fans first and bring them closer to the action than ever before.
To take the next step in our evolution, we’ve created BLAST.tv, the ultimate platform for esports fans. Launched in November 2022, BLAST.tv puts fans at the heart of the platform bringing millions together to watch, chat and be entertained. It’s totally flexible platform allowing fans to customise their viewing experience, showcasing maximum excitement and elevating the user experience.
Launching in November, BLAST.tv has now amassed over 120,000 registered users and broken several key viewership targets outlined at the conceptualisation. With exclusive content, 4k60fps viewing capabilities and a moderated and community-welcoming chat, users experience our live events at home and are more engaged than ever before. BLAST.tv users can even directly impact our live stage events from their own homes with showmatch integration and inclusion in broadcast segments with votes and polls.
We’ve entered “Best New Platform” with BLAST.tv being 9 months old and already growing into an industry-revered site. Growing from a userbase of 0 to over 120,000, the site now has a dedicated, welcoming community, different to many other streaming platforms for live events where users are at the heart of our innovation.

Single-screen user driven content on Connected TVs

The YES Network continues to lead the industry in innovative firsts for its users and fans. The Emmy® award winning YES App has been a success from its launch in 2021. YES has seen increased unique Yankees viewership of 34% (year-over-year through the first half of baseball season) and a 35% increase in time spent per unique viewer over the same period. Meanwhile, since the end of 2021 the YES App has grown its registration base by 97%.

Building on the success of the YES App, YES Network became the first sports network – regional or national – to provide single-screen user driven overlay of live statistics for connected TV including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google TV. This new feature coupled with the launch of its direct-to-consumer subscription product allows YES to grow its audience and enhance the user experience across all platforms – from mobile devices to large TVs in the home. For the YES App on mobile devices, up to 20.8% of audience engages with the overlays during live games and spent up to 66% longer viewing duration times. Weeks after its launch, there has been up to 36% adoption of overlays by users on connected TVs.

Fans can control the YES App Live Stats experience via either their TV remotes or their phones. More than ever, YES is giving their fans the ability to watch the game how and where they want to watch it. Fans, in essence, are in the director’s chair.

The YES App has a complete eco-system for the fan experience. The YES App now provides content to a fully engaged fan community that is first of its kind in the live sports streaming with continuing opportunities for content monetization.

Fueling Creator Networks of Leagues and Teams

Over the last year, the NFL have been using Videocites to fuel their own Creator Program. This program is aimed to collaborate with social fan-creators with the purpose of increasing the cultivate brand awareness and loyalty through collaborations with multicultural content creators, and to expand the reach of the NFL content, tentpole events, and league initiatives.

The problem was as follows: How to leverage Videocites’ innovative AI technology to identify new content creators and super fans to accelerate brand and audience growth. Doing so was and remains mission critical for the NFL – and all other leagues, teams, brands – to remain relevant in today’s intensely competitive sports industry where everyone is vying for a finite set of users and eyeballs.

With the use of Videocites’ technology, the NFL was able to identify super fans and organic creators throughout the season, to then strategically partner with them both before and during the Super Bowl to create an impact and reach that the league had never seen before in the history of its time – all made possible by Videocites advanced AI technology. In this past year’s Super Bowl, Videocites captured a 260% increase in non-affiliated NFL Super Bowl video views, from 2 billion views in 2022 to 5.4 billion views in 2023. That number may sound amazing, but the most insightful statistic of all is that over half of these posts, 53%, were organic posts from content creators and super fans. Normally, nearly 100% of these posts would go unseen if it weren’t for Videocites advanced abilities to identify user-generated content (UGC) across social media.

Play Anywhere has built a patented platform that enables consumers to watch, play, bet and buy while watching live and VOD content, and enables full monetization of consumer interactivity. The platform tracks all viewer activity and collects revenues associated with advertising, sponsorships, e-commerce and gaming. An interactive rights and clearinghouse engine clears and disburses interactivity revenue to all stakeholders. Play Anywhere creates new revenue streams and a new value proposition for everyone in the media value chain, from sports leagues and clubs to content creators, rightsholders, and distributors.

One of Play Anywhere’s biggest innovations has been the creation of a new rights category: “Interactive Rights.” These rights extend traditional media rights, allowing rightsholders to provide interactivity to viewers without rights ambiguities or conflicts. By securing Interactive Rights with leagues and content owners, and by pre-defining revenue splits for the newly generated revenue between each stakeholder in the value chain, Play Anywhere enables rightsholders and Pay TV / OTT service providers to roll out interactivity to the mass consumer market. Our partners benefit from enahnced viewer engagement and new revenue streams, with no setup costs or license fees. Play Anywhere is a profit center rather than a cost center and benefits everyone in the media ecosystem.

The Play Anywhere Interactive Panel works across all viewing platforms, including connected TVs, set-top boxes, mobile phones, PCs, and tablets, for both digital and linear broadcasts and streams. The Panel is easily integrated with just a few lines of code.

Founded in 2021 by a team of serial media-tech entrepreneurs with over a century of combined experience, Play Anywhere has already signed exclusive Interactive Rights deals with major sports leagues, agencies, and distributors. Our media-tech + fintech platform has launched interactive services in multiple territories, and is in the process of rolling out worldwide.

Multicasting.io real time video platform

Multicasting.io enables the next generation of wireless real-time video sharing and content creation. We leverage the power of wireless infrastructure to create a new viewing experience in and out of the stadium. Multicasting.io provides a truly unique experience to sports leagues, venues, and fans. Our real-time multi-angle live video feed can connect the fan’s view directly to the stadium infrastructure for display or broadcast, social media, and content creation. Using this technology, the NBA was able to add an additional 18 camera angles to the NBA All-Star game and provide these live video feeds to the jumbo tron. The extra cameras were provided to entertainment staff and installed in all areas of the arena, including the Baskets and places you cant put cameras, such as the scorer’s table. With these new angles, the leagues were able to generate hundreds of real-time video highlights of the event from all the cameras simultaneously, share them with the video boards, and share them on social media.

No such technology has existed in such a unique and simple way to deploy inside an arena and through mobile devices. The setup of our platform takes only a few minutes and requires no additional hardware. Our platform is all cloud-based and runs off of all devices. Our technology is game-changing for the arenas, as it reduces costs and increases the capabilities of all arenas.

We are usually up and running in an arena in under 5 minutes. We have a simple Android/iOS application with a cloud-based production management system that allows the venue’s content to be remotely managed from any location.

Content creation can be done with stationary, mobile devices, fan mobile devices, and influencer mobile devices. The content is all Synced and available for display on the Jumbotron, Broadcast, or social media, all in real-time. Our time based highlight technology is patent pending.

Bundesliga In-Car Stadium

DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH is a renowned organization responsible for managing and marketing German professional football on behalf of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga e.V., which represents the 36 clubs of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Established in 2000, DFL has consistently pushed the boundaries of sports innovation, transforming content consumption and fan engagement in the football industry.
Our revolutionary project “Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” seamlessly integrates football content into car interiors, offering an immersive experience for fans on the move. Collaborating with BMW, we successfully implemented a pilot case in select BMW 7 and BMW 5 models, transcending global markets.
“Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” embodies true innovation and creativity, delivering highly valuable Bundesliga live and on-demand content tailored to every driving situation while ensuring safety regulations are observed. From live matches with dedicated commentary during longer stops to AI-generated highlight clips during shorter stops, the in-car entertainment is upgraded, connecting content even with a car’s interior features such as light, seats or audio systems. Driving turns into an immersive experience transforming ordinary car journeys into captivating Bundesliga spectacles, allowing football enthusiasts worldwide to bring their passion along the road.
By introducing an unparalleled “In-Car Entertainment Package” to the market, the initiative sets new standards for sports media rights and in-car entertainment, entering an untapped monetization avenue. This pioneering product provides benefits to the automotive industry by attracting customers seeking innovative and digitally enhanced experiences. OEMs awarded the right will stand out in the contested market, boost sales and promote their brand.
“Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” fits perfectly in the “Innovation of the Year” category due to its transformative impact on content delivery and user experience. Through a cross-industry collaboration and the ability to create new revenue streams, it epitomizes DFL’s unwavering commitment to innovation, making it a deserving candidate for the award.

Seasonal Subscriptions

Cleeng is a multi-tenant SaaS platform designed to help direct-to-consumer video services boost their ROI using Subscriber Retention Management™ (SRM™). Operating at the heart of the Media & Entertainment industry, leading sports broadcasters like the NFL, SBG, Optus Sport, NHL and Big Ten Network use SRM™ to launch their platforms quickly and retain subscribers for years.

The latest SRM™ upgrade, “Seasonal Subscriptions”, is a game changer for seasonal churn and an excellent fit for the Innovation of the Year award. It is the first-ever native and comprehensive solution to successfully address the concerns created by the seasonality of sports.

Traditional monetization methods for seasonal sports content include season passes, annual subscriptions and short-duration products. Each of these bring about challenges for broadcasters such as expensive re-acquisition or 100% churn after every season or the cannibalization of season-length offers. These models also hinder the customer experience by offering little flexibility on how much customers pay in relation to how much they watch – and requiring repeated sign-ups with every season. Seasonal Subscriptions overcome all of these by aligning subscription cycles with the exact cycle of a broadcaster’s sports season.

This innovation offers broadcasters the chance to:
Offer dynamic pricing options like Early Bird or mid-season – to amplify acquisition year-round.
Automatically renew customers at the start of each season – reducing churn and reacquisition costs.
Plus, sports fans are now able to start watching later in the season without paying the full price. And enjoy an uninterrupted consumption experience by not having to manually re-sign up for their favorite sport with every new season.

In short, this innovation simplifies product management for sports OTT platforms while significantly raising revenues – and reshapes the seasonal consumption patterns for sports fans to offer them better value for money.

Single-screen user driven content on Connected TV

The YES Network continues to lead the industry in innovative firsts for its users and fans. The Emmy® award winning YES App has been a success from its launch in 2021. YES has seen increased unique Yankees viewership of 34% (year-over-year through the first half of baseball season) and a 35% increase in time spent per unique viewer over the same period. Meanwhile, since the end of 2021 the YES App has grown its registration base by 97%.

Building on the success of the YES App, YES Network became the first sports network – regional or national – to provide single-screen user driven overlays of live statistics for connected TV including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google TV. This new feature coupled with the launch of its direct-to-consumer subscription product allows YES to grow its audience and enhance the user experience across all platforms – from mobile devices to large TVs in the home. For the YES App on mobile devices, up to 20.8% of audience engages with the overlays during live games and spent up to 66% longer viewing duration times. Weeks after its launch, there has been up to 36% adoption of overlays by users on connected TVs.

Fans can control the YES App Live Stats experience via either their TV remotes or their phones. More than ever, YES is giving their fans the ability to watch the game how and where they want to watch it. Fans, in essence, are in the director’s chair.

The new YES Rewards initiative, the first app-based loyalty program for live sports streaming, provides prizes for fans who engage with YES App content and features. Fans earn points based on the number of games and other YES App programs they watch, the amount of time spent engaged with content and how frequently they engage with the YES App’s innovative features such as Pick-N-Play and Pick-N-Play Live.

YES Network is an innovator. From user experience for viewers and fans, YES is the industry leader that the other regional and national sports networks are measuring themselves against.

Delivering Exceptional User Experiences With AI Generated Vertical Video

WSC Sports automates the creation and distribution of highlights for teams, leagues, and broadcast partners. Using advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies, WSC Sports’ platform is able to analyze live sports broadcasts, identify events that occur in-game, and create real-time customized short-form videos that can be published on multiple different platforms.

A new addition to WSC Sports’ technology is ‘WSC Stories,’ a game-changer when it comes to benefiting both rights holders and sports fans. It allows for the seamless creation of vertical videos in 9:16 format content that can be shared on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. WSC Sports has even enhanced this technology through integration with Google, giving clients an opportunity to have their real-time highlights published at the top of search rankings during live events.

Multiple OTT platforms have been using this technology as a way to make their content more accessible to fans on different devices. The NBA app, for example, was one of the first platforms to adopt a vertical video centric design, causing a record-breaking spike of over 1.1 billion views in one week. Similarly, the ICC app saw a surge of 57% in visitors when using vertical video during the Men’s T20 World Cup, totaling 78.4 million views.

Leveraging WSC Sports’ technology, rights holders can improve the user experience by creating game-changing content for their digital channels. WSC Stories has seen a significant impact on engagement levels with a 15% CTR for its partners, almost double the industry average.

Ultimately, fans are able to interact with their favorite players and teams, when, how and where they want, in their preferred ratio. WSC Sports real-time vertical videos, for OTTs, apps, Google Web Stories and more are truly revolutionizing the fan user experience when it comes to sport content.

Sports experience

As America’s #1 TV streaming platform, Roku offers a wide range of streaming devices and an extensive content library, with diverse entertainment preferences. Roku’s mission is to be the streaming platform that connects and benefits the entire TV ecosystem around the world. Leading the industry forward by providing users with simplicity, affordability, and innovation, Roku also connects users to the streaming content they love, enables content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and it provides advertisers with sophisticated tools to reach and engage consumers.

Originally launched in November 2022, the Roku Sports experience is designed to give easy access to live and upcoming sport across the Roku platform. It introduced a centralized location for browsing sports content and seeing where it’s available to watch.

Roku’s Sports experience includes pro and college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, baseball, golf and soccer from Apple TV, DIRECTV, FOX Sports, FuboTV, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Sling, The Roku Channel, TNT, TBS, and truTV, as well as games coming over the air through an antenna connected to Roku TV models, with more sports and viewing options.

Roku’s Sports experience is a great contender for the “Best User Experience” category. As a customer-focused brand, Roku is constantly evolving the sports experience, continually adding features that users are looking for. Roku’s Sports experience is a testament to its dedication to delivering the best user experience, allowing their viewers to access their preferred sports content effortlessly in one location, and boost exciting games based on external data sources, making it the best user experience platform.

Motorsport UK TV, an innovative OTT content hub accessible at https://motorsportuk.tv, has revolutionized the world of motorsport by providing an unparalleled user experience. With a strong focus on user-centric design, intuitive navigation, personalised content, and innovative features, the platform has redefined how the motorsport community, including competitors, clubs, volunteers, and millions of fans, engages with the sport.

At the heart of Motorsport UK TV’s success is its user-centric design, prioritising ease of use and seamless navigation. From the moment they visit our platform, motorsport enthusiasts are greeted by a visually appealing and clutter-free interface, ensuring a stress-free interaction. Well-organised content categories enable fans to swiftly access tutorials, all British Championships in a single location, live broadcasts, and behind-the-scenes footage, from a wide array of disciplines, with just a few clicks. We empower our audience to focus on what matters most: the exhilarating world of motorsport.

The platform’s commitment to delivering a personalized experience sets it apart. Utilizing advanced algorithms and data-driven insights, Motorsport UK TV curates tailored content recommendations for each fan based on their preferred disciplines and events. This personalized approach fosters a stronger emotional connection between fans and the sport, enhancing their overall user experience.

Trackable branded advertising banners strategically placed on Motorsport UK TV have proven to be effective in increasing revenue streams without compromising user experience. By using data analytics and user behaviour insights, the platform delivers relevant and non-intrusive advertisements to viewers, aligning them with their interests and preferences. The trackability of these banners enables accurate measurement of campaign effectiveness, leading to improved value and increased spend within brand partnerships.
With its personalized content offerings, responsive approach to reliability issues, and successful engagement strategies, Motorsport UK TV has become a groundbreaking platform that engages motorsport fans like never before.

WNBA fans traditionally have faced multiple barriers commensurated by being a young league when compared to others like the NBA or NFL, compounded by the deep-seated effects of inequality in women’s sports. The WNBA app relaunch is first of its kind in women sports and a direct response to fan demand and investment. While some of the developments may exist for mens’ leagues, they have had years and millions more to make those platforms a reality. The WNBA has only been around for 27 years and built the same app level of standard in 6 months lead by an all-female leadership team.
By revamping the entire UX experience, app-exclusive content, and a plethora of streaming options; the WNBA mobile app transformed for the 2023 season as a foundational “one-stop-shop”.

Upon launching the app, every fan is given instant access to highlights, behind-the-scenes, off-the-court, and on-court content consumable in an Instagram or tik-tok like format. Fans can watch WNBA games on the app as the League partnered with Endeavor Streaming to relaunch their direct-to-consumer (D2C) OTT streaming platform, WNBA League Pass. Powered by Endeavor Streaming’s Vesper Platform, WNBA League Pass offers fans a high-quality streaming experience to watch various new short form content, and live/on-demand games.

Game schedule and standings have also been modernized. iPhone users can add live updates to games directly on their lock screens and real time stats are available for every app user. The platform includes a “No Spoilers” feature, which allows fans to hide stats and standings from previous games so they can watch on-demand content and still experience the thrill of seeing how a game plays out.

The NFL Channel, a product of the National Football League, has emerged as a trailblazer in the ever-evolving world of sports broadcasting within the FAST industry. Since its inception in 2019, the channel has redefined the way football fanatics engage with the #1 Sport in America. With a captivating array of content, it provides an unrivaled fan experience that caters to the modern viewer’s preferences and demands. Its live game updates, bringing real-time action straight to fans’ screens, have set a new standard for sports coverage. Through our intentional programming slate inclusive of NFL Games, throwback content highlighting Football legends, riveting docuseries like A Football Life and Hard Knocks, live digital shows featuring charismatic hosts and analysts on Around The NFL and Power Rankings, as well as live coverage of major events like the NFL Draft, Super Bowl, and Schedule Release, the NFL Channel has captured the hearts of millions.

Kayo Sports is an Australian based streaming service, offering sports live and on demand from Fox Sports, ESPN, WWE and Racing.com.

Companion viewing and alternate commentaries are being produced more and more often in this landscape of consumers wanting more options for watching their sport. But what if we took that companion viewing experience, and coupled it with the real world experience of watching the game at a bar full of fans? Kayo took the hosts of the wildly popular “Hello Sport Podcast”, dropped them at a bar mere minutes away from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, which was hosting the NRL’s yearly “Magic Round”, and captured a one of a kind companion viewing experience for the Brisbane Broncos v Manly Sea Eagles NRL game! The result was a live, funny, unpredictable night of Rugby League commentary, with the crowd taking on a persona of their own, and allowing the viewer to feel like they were in a Brisbane pub in the thick of the fun, while also taking in the game and enjoying the hilarious commentary from hosts Tom Birmingham & Eddy Simpson. The production utilised picture in picture, so the viewer could watch the game, and at the same time watch the hosts deliver their unique brand of comedy. We utilised the combined social media presence of Kayo, Hello Sport and Caxton St Brewing Co (the venue) to promote the event on various fronts, to get not only a great viewing audience, but also a great crowd at the venue. Our aim was to create something different from the usual studio based companion viewing experiences, by adding the element of a live event atmosphere.

Best Digital First Production
This production was only available on our OTT platform and was created as a digital viewing companion for a live fixture.

DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH is a renowned organization responsible for managing and marketing German professional football on behalf of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga e.V., which represents the 36 clubs of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Established in 2000, DFL has consistently pushed the boundaries of sports innovation, transforming content consumption and fan engagement in the football industry.
Our project “Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” seamlessly integrates football content into car interiors, offering an immersive experience for fans on the move. Collaborating with BMW, we successfully implemented a pilot case in select BMW 7 and BMW 5 models, transcending global markets.

“Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” embodies true innovation and creativity, delivering highly valuable Bundesliga live and on-demand content tailored to every driving situation while ensuring safety regulations are observed. From live matches with dedicated commentary during longer stops to AI-generated highlight clips during shorter stops, the in-car entertainment is upgraded, connecting content even with a car’s interior features such as light, seats or audio systems. Driving turns into an immersive experience transforming ordinary car journeys into captivating Bundesliga spectacles that go far beyond traditional (linear) broadcasts, allowing football enthusiasts worldwide to bring their passion along the road.

By introducing an unparalleled “In-Car Entertainment Package” to the market, the initiative sets new standards for sports media rights holders and in-car entertainment, entering an untapped monetization avenue. This pioneering product provides benefits to the automotive industry by attracting customers seeking innovative and digitally enhanced experiences. OEMs awarded the right will stand out in the contested market, boost sales and promote their brand.

We believe “Bundesliga In-Car Stadium” to be a deserving candidate for the Best Digital First Production award as it embodies digital transformation excellence in the way fans experience Bundesliga content, tapping into the growing importance of in-car entertainment and the emergence of autonomous driving.

Paris Major 2023

The BLAST.tv Paris Major was announced to the world by French President Emanuel Macron in August 2022. A clear showcase of France’s support for the event and esports.

In May this year, BLAST.tv Paris Major took place, the most popular and prestigious esports event of the calendar year. 24 of the world’s best teams descended onto the French capital to compete for a $1.25 million prize pool and a chance at claiming the title of the world’s best Counter-Strike team.

The Paris Major became the biggest esports event in France’s history, drawing over 50,000 fans to the Accor Arena across four days of action packed esports, posted the third highest Counter-Strike peak viewership of all time at 1.5 million viewers and was broadcast globally in more than 100+ territories and in 24 different languages.

To take the digital viewing experience one step further, BLAST created the BLAST.tv platform, a tailored made destination for the competitive esports audience that allowed fans to get closer to the action than ever before. A number of fan-focussed integrations brought fans watching at home to the heart of the broadcast with live polls, the ability to control the showmatch, an interactive timeline feature, a built in 4K video player and a moderated live chat feature that enabled fans to connect with a like-minded community.

Introducing Dub Zone, a new era for women’s football coverage

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) administers the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions, and owns the football media business KEEPUP.

This nomination for Best Digital First Production is for the live and interactive coverage of the 2022-2023 A-League Women season via a new show, Dub Zone, commissioned to drive more interest in the top tier of professional women’s club football and to place the league at the forefront of coverage of female sport in a Women’s World Cup year on home soil.

Dub Zone, a homage to the league’s previous name (the W-League competition was nicknamed The Dub) is a strategy to build a broader community passionate about this league.

The show was different; live coverage of simultaneous games, with four panellists driving a discussion in a watchalong format, taking in fan comments and questions – a fresh approach to capturing the imagination of the audience and broadening the appeal of the competition.

It comprised the excitement of a match day with all the theatre of real time conversations played out live on the A-Leagues’ social channels, ensuring accessibility for fans and a two-way conversation.

The show’s strength was the amount of talking points and clips that could be distributed across social media channels to drive the women’s football agenda for the next week; with fans already time poor, and the league competing for attention, this helped deliver our league in the most snack-able, shareable, consumable way.

18 episodes of the show generated 1.6 million video views, making a significant contribution to women’s sports content with 1478 pieces of content generated, part of a broader dedication to female football coverage that culminated with a 56% increase in crowds season on season – a great tonic ahead of the success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Paris, La Vie Sportive

Paris, La Vie Sportive is Warner Bros. Discovery’s new and original documentary that kick-started its journey to Olympic Games Paris 2024.

As the ‘Home of the Olympics in Europe’ in nearly 50 markets in Europe and the only place to watch all of the Olympics live and on-demand via WBD’s streaming platforms discovery+ and the Eurosport App – WBD’s role is to tell the stories of Olympic athletes and their sports year-round through its live sports production and original programming and content.

The return of the Olympics to Europe for the first time since London 2012 represents a unique opportunity to generate heightened awareness and interest in the Games to engage an even broader set of fans.

Coupled with Eurosport’s heritage and affiliation with its home city of Paris, WBD’s objective was to celebrate its deep sports expertise, creative content and storytelling capabilities and connections with the Olympics.

To achieve this, WBD commissioned the production of an exciting new original documentary that celebrates the stories, history and amazing legacy sport has on the city of Paris in the 100 years since it last held the Games.

Featuring exclusive interviews, the highest quality archive footage and historically accurate accounts from eyewitnesses, historians and sporting stars – including narration by Thierry Henry – Paris, La Vie Sportive succeeded in raising awareness of WBD’s Olympic Games content while positioning it as home of the Olympics in Europe, while highlighting its sports expertise and storytelling ability.

The ultimate test of man and machine… The hardest race on the planet… The greatest motor-sporting event in the world. For as long as men and women have been competing at the Isle of Man TT Races, people have been trying to explain just how special it truly is.

Between the Hedges is an 8-part mini-series that was launched as part of the grid load of free content available for fans to watch on the TT’s digital channel, TT+. The original content series was filmed and produced for air on TT+ with the intention of attracting new audience for the Isle of Man TT Races as well as engaging with existing audience. Between the Hedges premiered on TT+ is January and was subsequently released on YouTube, since it’s debut the series has accumulated more than 1.8 million views and is directly responsible for the growth in TT’s audience across both digital platforms.

Between the Hedges takes fans into the fascinating world of the TT Races, featuring in-depth discussions with some of the greatest road racers of all-time. Throughout the series talks fans through the racing, the festival, the Island, the atmosphere, the spectacle, and what it’s like to tackle the Isle of Man TT and to live life ‘Between the Hedges’.

Between The Lines

Between The Lines, entered into the Best Original Content category, has proved to be one of the most popular digital-first sports series in recent seasons, securing tens of millions of views via social platforms to date.

The show, which has featured the likes of Erling Haaland, Luka Modric, Thomas Tuchel, Virgil Van Dijk and Mauricio Pochettino, has secured a string of impressive audience numbers.

TNT Sports presents exclusive live sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. discovery+ is the streaming destination for TNT Sports in the UK. TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, including BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels – TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4 – in high and standard definition, plus up to six digital or red-button channels. TNT Sports Ultimate offers fans selected coverage in up to 4K picture resolution with high dynamic range (HDR), presenting images and colour in cinema-level quality and Dolby Atmos sound. TNT Sports Box Office brings both subscribers and non-subscribers pay-per-view access to some of the most exciting events in the calendar. TNTSports.co.uk brings fans the latest news, views, live updates and expert analysis as well as free-to-view video clips from the sports TNT Sports presents live.

Sali’s Story: Growing Golf in the Pearl of Africa

The PGA TOUR traveled to Uganda, Africa and produced an original four-part YouTube series (promoted across our social and digital channels) titled ”Sali’s Story: Growing Golf in the Pearl of Africa”. The series follows Roger Sali, a 27-year-old Ugandan, and the incredible work he’s doing to grow the game of golf.

Roger Sali (https://www.instagram.com/saligolfs/) started caddying a few years ago when his father passed away and he needed to support his family. He fell in love with golf and quickly became a low-handicap player. From there, Roger developed an ambitious and inspiring mission – to grow golf in Uganda. On his one day off every week, using his own resources, he ventures into local schools and communities and teaches kids the game (https://www.instagram.com/p/ChBxPLeFSgq/). Roger’s personal goal is to continue to grow and learn as a teacher and become better equipped to teach kids.

The game of golf has changed Roger’s life. With the proper exposure to the sport and access to the equipment needed to play, he believes that it can also change the lives of many others in Uganda. Through Roger’s lens, the story expands to Uganda golf – its talent, its potential, and the challenges that we must navigate together to provide necessary opportunity. Along the journey of this captivating content series, there are some heartwarming surprises that will advance Roger’s mission.

The Redeem Team

Using unprecedented Olympic footage and behind-the-scenes material, “The Redeem Team” tells the dramatic and emotional story of USA Basketball’s quest for gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games following the previous team’s shocking performance four years earlier in Athens. The original feature documentary offers a fascinating portrait of how a new generation of players, led by LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, came together and persevered through historic challenges to win gold. But the narrative of the film goes well beyond simply highlights or box scores to explore what it means to build a team that represents American basketball – and one in pursuit of the ultimate act of redemption – both on and off the court. It’s a sports story that is really a human story, that will live on for generations.

When the film was released worldwide in October 2022 by Netflix, it immediately became a massive smash success, landing in the Top 10 in 63 countries and viewed more than 23 million total hours in the first 28 days. Just as significant, the film represented a watershed moment for the International Olympic Committee. Produced by its global content studio, the Olympic Channel, it marked the first-ever collaboration with a global streaming platform such as Netflix.

In May 2023, the film won the 2023 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Long Documentary, and it was named Sports Business Journal’s “Best Sports Documentary of 2022,” among other accolades. Olympians LeBron James and Dwyane Wade served as Executive Producers.

All Access: a weekly, in season, 23-minute docuseries

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) administers the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions, and owns the football media business KEEPUP.

In a bid to turbocharge interest in the A-Leagues, the APL, in partnership with Jam TV, created an ambitious weekly docuseries that aired every Thursday, produced in real-time during the season.

It was a brave undertaking, but 29 episodes later, season one was completed, with new heroes created, incredible insights provided into the inner sanctum, and box office drama from coaches and players being mic’d up, with cameras in the dressing room. It helped produce a format that focused on a high profile male or female star, with a fascinating backstory or compelling personality. We told their backstory by following them to training, or home, and in their spare time, before opening the doors to the inner sanctum on game day to follow their result beyond full-time, and into the dressing room.

The audience could not believe the level of insight they enjoyed, from dressing room bust-ups, coaching meltdowns, to deeply moving personal stories of triumph and tragedy.

Importantly, it got people talking about the leagues again; it was marketing through content, the creation of a news and content cycle in a milieu where the A-Leagues is looking to re-establish its ability to generate mainstream Australia media attention. It provided the league with rich long form material, subsequently curated and disseminated into short form snippets tailored specifically for different social media platforms.

Consequently, 29 episodes of All Access generated 1091 pieces of content across all the A-Leagues’ digital and social channels, leading to 9.33 million video views that hitherto did not exist for the sport, in a season that enjoyed 26% social community growth, 223% increase in social content impressions, and crowds up 56% (A-League Men) and 42% (A-League Women).

VersusGame is a technology entertainment company that allows users to put their knowledge of mainstream culture to good use. Thousands of creators have used Versus to provide fun interactive content to their followers while earning revenue.

In December 2022 VersusGame announced the commercial availability of its first B2B product called MiniGames which has quickly become the primary business. MiniGames are discoverable through our partner’s social media, websites, apps and QR codes. When users watch the short videos and answer polls and prediction questions, they are eligible for rewards and the complete experience keeps the user in the partner environment.

Engagement, proactive, lean-forward interactivity is such a fundamental tool in today’s digital marketing toolkit and VersusGame has very quickly become an important contributor to the digital business of its partners. We have been excited to see that engagement of MiniGames is comparable to that of social media platforms and is only exceeded by TikTok. Equally important to performance is where it occurs, exclusively on the websites and apps of the media companies and sports properties who invest so heavily in the core products.

Customers and partners who have started using Versus MiniGames in 2023 include Microsoft, Disney/ABC, Fox and UFC and some of today’s most exciting and innovative leagues and global federations have also jumped into action including PFL, World Chase Tag and FIBA.

We recognize the significant investments the sports media and entertainment industries have made to make tv viewing more accessible and the choices of what to watch and where to watch it seem limitless.

What does have limits is people’s time and attention. At VersusGame we understand better than most the mobile-first GenYZ consumer and what holds their attention and we transferred that knowledge into a product experience that serves our new primary customer, the enterprise.

Play Anywhere has created a patented platform that enables consumers to watch, play, bet and buy while watching live and VOD content, and enables full monetization of consumer interactivity. The platform tracks viewer activity and collects revenues associated with advertising, sponsorships, e-commerce and gaming. An interactive rights and clearinghouse engine clears and disburses interactivity revenue to stakeholders. Play Anywhere creates new revenue streams and a new value proposition for everyone in the media value chain, from sports leagues and clubs to content creators, rightsholders, and distributors.

This new value proposition is enabled by the innovative Interactive Rights framework. The framework, together with the Play Anywhere Clearinghouse, removes rights ambiguities and allows content owners to fully take advantage of rights on content they own.

By securing Interactive Rights with leagues and content owners, and by pre-defining revenue splits for the newly generated revenue between each stakeholder, Play Anywhere enables rightsholders and Pay TV / OTT service providers to roll out interactivity to the mass consumer market. Our partners benefit from enahnced viewer engagement and new revenue streams, with no setup costs or license fees – Play Anywhere is a profit center rather than a cost center and benefits everyone in the media ecosystem.

The Play Anywhere Interactive Panel works across all viewing platforms, including connected TVs, set-top boxes, mobile phones, PCs, and tablets, for both digital and linear broadcasts and streams. The Panel is easily integrated with just a few lines of code.

Founded in 2021 by a team of serial media-tech entrepreneurs with over a century of combined experience, Play Anywhere has already signed exclusive Interactive Rights deals with major sports leagues, agencies, and distributors. Our media-tech + fintech platform has launched interactive services in multiple territories, and is in the process of rolling out worldwide.

FX Digital is an innovative tech company at the forefront of OTT in the sports and media industry. Based in London with a team of 60 experts across design development and QA they are focused on delivering the very best solutions and have established themselves as a leading Connected TV technology partner for rights-holders in the sports industry. Having developed their own framework, FX Digital provides a highly scalable solution that accelerates time to market, whilst still providing the highest performance apps for Smart TVs, games consoles and set-top boxes.

FX Digital’s work with GCN on Apple TV and the Tennis TV app showcases their industry-leading OTT solutions. By leveraging the Connected TV technology, FX Digital has provided real-life solutions to broadcasters and their audiences around the globe. Creating unparalleled user experiences and propelling their clients to new heights in the OTT world. Their agile team of talented developers, designers, and quality assurers has transformed the fan viewing experience for Cycling and Tennis, putting fan experiences at the heart of app development.

FX Digital’s groundbreaking CTV Framework has allowed them to build once and deploy across multiple Smart TV, games console, and set-top box devices, helping content providers navigate an increasingly fragmented device landscape. This innovative approach sets a new standard for app development in the OTT space, inspiring others in the industry to adopt similar practices. With their transformative impact on the wider OTT industry, FX Digital’s CTV Framework exemplifies the essence of an emerging tech company making a profound impact on the OTT sports industry.

Sports Distribution for the Digital Generation: Turbo-charging OTT Growth in Africa

PM Connect’s mission is simple: provide sports distribution for the digital generation. We connect, invest in, inspire and enable the sports fans of tomorrow.

We’re disrupting sports distribution through strategic mobile partnerships, reaching new, diverse and younger audiences that were born in the digital revolution.

This is particularly important in mobile-first and mobile-only territories, such as Africa – the next frontier for sports consumption.

We have already had massive success with the NBA League Pass though our mobile-centric approach in Africa, where the mobile are the true kings of D2C.

Our accessibility solution and proprietary tech platform benefits both sports properties and sports fans, driving audience growth, commercial value and improving the consumer experience.

PM Connect is creating a new market segment – one that matches the might of mobile networks (MNOs), with top sports properties and our industry-leading digital marketing and mobile payments tech.

MNOs are the original kings of D2C consumption – with a smartphone subscriber base of 6.1 billion globally, and in Africa they are the route to the sports consumer.

Launching with the NBA League Pass in Africa in 2021/22 season – we have been instrumental in the growth of the product on the continent.

What the NBA said:

“NBA League Pass is all about giving our fans the best possible viewing experience, anytime, anyplace. As more basketball fans enjoy content streamed directly to their mobile devices, we are keen to meet their needs and provide them with a mobile payment option best suited to their viewing habits. By adding direct carrier billing to the suite of subscription payment types on offer, fans will be able to enjoy an enhanced transactional experience.”

Bastien Lacheny, Vice President, Media Distribution for NBA EME

Powering interactive overlays for the leading sports leagues, broadcasters and content providers

Ease Live AS, an Evertz company, is the global leader for interactive graphics platform, powering sports leagues, broadcasters, and content creators. Ease Live is a SaaS service for creating and distributing digital overlays to millions of end users on mobile and connected devices in real time. The platform enables the ultimate viewing experience for the audience, all frame accurately synchronised with the live streams. Ease Live unlocks new OTT monetisation with interactive ads, prediction games, celebrity watch parties, betting affiliate fees and more.

Ease Live has recently expanded it’s capabilities beyond publishing overlays for web, iOS and Android, and now supports connected TVs such as AppleTV, Roku, Android TV, Google TV and FireTV as well as 2nd screen experiences. With more connected devices coming soon, the new expansions allows our customers to reach all of their audiences with interactive content and new monetisation features.

Fueling Creator Networks of Leagues and Teams

Over the last year, the NFL have been using Videocites to fuel their own Creator Program. This program is aimed to collaborate with social fan-creators with the purpose of increasing the cultivate brand awareness and loyalty through collaborations with multicultural content creators, and to expand the reach of the NFL content, tentpole events, and league initiatives.

The problem was as follows: How to leverage Videocites’ innovative AI technology to identify new content creators and super fans to accelerate brand and audience growth. Doing so was and remains mission critical for the NFL – and all other leagues, teams, brands – to remain relevant in today’s intensely competitive sports industry where everyone is vying for a finite set of users and eyeballs.

With the use of Videocites’ technology, the NFL was able to identify super fans and organic creators throughout the season, to then strategically partner with them both before and during the Super Bowl to create an impact and reach that the league had never seen before in the history of its time – all made possible by Videocites advanced AI technology. In this past year’s Super Bowl, Videocites captured a 260% increase in non-affiliated NFL Super Bowl video views, from 2 billion views in 2022 to 5.4 billion views in 2023. That number may sound amazing, but the most insightful statistic of all is that over half of these posts, 53%, were organic posts from content creators and super fans. Normally, nearly 100% of these posts would go unseen if it weren’t for Videocites advanced abilities to identify user-generated content (UGC) across social media.

Unprecedented success combating social piracy of the most pirated sports events.

Social piracy is causing tremendous losses for rights holders and media companies, with PPV fights and other major sporting events losing millions of viewers. This creates a loss in the billions every year, mainly due to ease of access in today’s social ecosystem.

In the following case study with DAZN, Videocites presents the exemplary impact of its technological ability when it comes to Content Protection over social media:

Prior to DAZN’s selection of Videocites as their content protection provided, they were experiencing an average loss of 1.5M live illegal views per event, with a substantial number of illegal live streams lasting in excess of 40 minutes. There was little to no friction for pirates to be able to livestream, at the click of a button, and capitalize on the viewership that was unjustly earned. “By swiftly removing pirated streams from social media platforms, we disrupted the viewing experience, which in turn demotivates consumers from accessing them in the future and encourages them to seek a legitimate service”, said Chief Technology Officer at DAZN Group, Sandeep Tiku. “Ultimately, this will deter intellectual property theft and maintain a fair and sustainable digital environment, safeguarding the interests of broadcasters, rights owners, and athletes. The potential upside is remarkable.”

Videocites automated services run on the cloud to offset this growing segment of internet piracy with scale, speed, and accuracy. The detection services can simultaneously handle any number of streams and events, providing unparalleled high-touch, custom service to each event and customer, regardless of the piracy level and of the number of parallel simultaneous events.

VO Anti-Piracy Center

Piracy of live sports content is constantly evolving. One of the most recent threats is CDN leeching, which involves using a variety of different attacks to allow an unauthenticated user to acquire content from a CDN.

Viaccess-Orca (VO) — a leading provider of data-driven, end-to-end solutions that offer robust security and anti-piracy services, and more — is tackling this critical issue with new analytics capabilities on its Anti-Piracy Center. With VO’s solution, sports content providers can measure the extent of the leeching within their CDN and shut down sessions initiated by pirate services. Thanks to powerful new AI and ML capabilities on the Anti-Piracy Center, content providers can prevent piracy and cybersecurity issues across the entire content distribution chain — from the service delivery platform to the end-user device. This is particularly crucial for protecting live sports content.

VO’s anti-piracy approach is based on a combination of intelligent technology monitoring, customer and local investigator feedback, and the expertise of a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team. The services utilize a three-step strategy to fight piracy. The first step involves assessing whether the service, device, or website is indeed sharing illegal content. Next, a massive amount of data is collected and fed to the monitoring modules of VO’s Anti-Piracy Services, and finally, countermeasures and actions are taken to stop piracy in its tracks.

Viaccess-Orca’s Anti-Piracy Center, with AI/ML-based services, deserves to be considered for the Best in Anti-Piracy Award because it constantly evolves to meet the latest forms of video piracy — while enabling sports content providers to fix the problem at its roots via the front and the back end of the streaming infrastructure. Allowing content providers to monitor and shutdown illegal sessions, VO’s solution helps them to respond quickly to this critical issue and protect their service and revenue streams.

A successful strategy against pirated content must encompass the monitoring of multiple platforms. Swift and widespread actions are necessary to mitigate the impact, including targeting not only the hosting site but also other entities utilized by the pirates, such as CDNs, ISPs, and payment service providers.
Irdeto Online Piracy Detection leverages AI-based channel logo detection and advanced screenshot analysis to expedite the process of detecting and verifying infringing streams, leading to quicker notice sending and removal. The company has also implemented a scalable infrastructure to facilitate the monitoring of reference feeds for automatic blocking on platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Furthermore, a “machine-manual” hybrid workflow ensures speedy and high-volume social media discovery, takedowns, and compliance checking. The solution is complemented by a global team of anti-piracy specialists who provide round-the-clock coverage.
Irdeto’s OPD utilizes advanced crawlers that scan over 2000 live piracy sites, with new sites being added regularly based on website traffic statistics. The system also enables targeting of pirate hosting providers, CDNs, and ISPs for a single infringement, utilizing customized notice templates including support for Advanced Copyright Notice System (ACNS 2.0) and eXtended Abuse Reporting Format (XARF) standards.
The efficacy of Irdeto’s solution is evidenced by its successful track record over the last five years. It has been used by leading rights holders, sports organizations, and broadcasters to protect various sporting events, including popular leagues and championships. Over the past 12 months alone, Irdeto’s Online Piracy Detection solution has protected over 2800 rights holder live events, sent over a quarter million DMCA takedown notices, disrupted over 562 million views of infringing streams on social media platforms, ingested over 3000 hours of reference feed into YouTube Content ID and Facebook Rights Manager fingerprinting platforms, and maintained a 98% removal rate on social media platforms.

WebRTC-DRM

EZDRM offers a straightforward, one-stop solution for protecting and monetizing your video content. EZDRM is Digital Rights Management—Simplified.
The new, patent pending EZDRM WebRTC-DRM solution enables true low-latency streaming applications without compromises on the use of studio-approved DRM security.

Changing the Sport Piracy game

DAZN is the ultimate sports destination platform. We are the world’s leading live sports streaming service and are building a single frictionless platform where fans can watch, bet, share, play, socialize, and buy tickets, merchandise, and NFTs. As pioneers in the digital sports broadcasting arena, DAZN is delivering a richer, more immersive experience than fans have ever experienced before. All this is underpinned by an industry-leading anti-piracy program and cutting-edge technology, ensuring maximum content security and quality.

While technological advancement presents many opportunities to enhance how fans engage with sports, it is also a catalyst for online piracy. Given the increasing financial threat and risk this represents to sports rights holders, broadcasters, and consumers, DAZN has sought to evolve its anti-piracy approach in the last 12 months. We have expanded our anti-piracy operations, established a cross-company task force with ExCo steering, and formed transformational global partnerships with organizations like the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). DAZN’s approach includes disrupting the piracy supply chain at every stage, utilizing cutting-edge technology, and engaging with governments and regulators to improve legislation. We also work, collaboratively and transparently, with rights holders to address piracy collectively rather than in siloes.

This multi-faceted approach to combatting piracy is innovative and industry-leading and facilitates a uniquely comprehensive and strategic approach. This enables us to not only protect our partners, consumers, and revenues but also to rally the industry to drive change at a global level in relation to how piracy is effectively tackled. This is the only way meaningful change will be achieved.

Single-screen user driven content with audience rewards

The YES Network continues to lead the industry in innovative firsts for its users and fans. The Emmy® award winning YES App has been a success from its launch in 2021. YES has seen increased unique Yankees viewership of 34% (year-over-year through the first half of baseball season) and a 35% increase in time spent per unique viewer over the same period. Meanwhile, since the end of 2021 the YES App has grown its registration base by 97%.

Building on the success of the YES App, YES Network became the first sports network – regional or national – to provide single-screen user driven overlay of live statistics for connected TV including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google TV. This new feature coupled with the launch of its direct-to-consumer subscription product allows YES to grow its audience and enhance the user experience across all platforms – from mobile devices to large TVs in the home. For the YES App on mobile devices, up to 20.8% of audience engages with the overlays during live games and spent up to 66% longer viewing duration times. Weeks after its launch, there has been up to 36% adoption of overlays by users on connected TVs.

Fans can control the YES App Live Stats experience via either their TV remotes or their phones. More than ever, YES is giving their fans the ability to watch the game how and where they want to watch it. Fans, in essence, are in the director’s chair.

The new YES Rewards initiative, the first app-based loyalty program for live sports streaming, provides prizes for fans who engage with YES App content and features. Fans earn points based on the number of games and other YES App programs they watch, the amount of time spent engaged with content and how frequently they engage with the YES App’s innovative features such as Pick-N-Play and Pick-N-Play Live.

The YES App has a complete eco-system for the fan experience. The YES App now provides content to a fully engaged fan community that is first of its kind in the live sports streaming with continuing opportunities for content monetization.

Paddy’s Pick 5 free-to-play game

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) is the holding company responsible for managing the media and data rights for 35 British racecourses, including direct-to-home to consumers via the subscription OTT and pay-TV channel Racing TV.

Racing TV achieved record subscriber volumes in 2021. In 2022, however, in line with the wider pay-TV and SVOD market, Racing TV subscriptions began softening in the wake of the pandemic. In anticipation of this, and with a tightening regulatory outlook expected for third party cookies, the strategic priority to drive subscriber acquisition for Racing TV became first-party data growth. At the same time, RMG significantly revised its core commercial model for media rights, necessitating Racing TV to engage broader racing audiences and grow betting turnover on Racing TV content – without sacrificing subscriber growth and retention.

The solution: Paddy’s Pick 5. A digital, free-to-play horse racing game, launched in partnership with Paddy Power, which has generated over 2.6m entries in its first year.

RMG is entering Paddy’s Pick 5 for your consideration as Best in Fan Engagement. The free-to-play game has been played by 629k unique horse racing fans in the UK and Ireland. Through the game, Racing TV has nearly doubled its customer database, adding over half a million new customer records, with 258k new customers opting in to receive marketing. The conversion rate for new Racing TV subscribers has been 68% higher from this game-driven data, and the CPA has been 34% lower. Paddy’s Pick 5 players have also clicked 765k times to bet with Paddy Power, betting nearly twice as much as other customers, with higher APRU, week-on-week retention and projected first-year value.

In short, Paddy’s Pick 5 has successfully engaged more fans, generated more Racing TV subscribers, and grown betting turnover on Racing TV content.

Digital fan engagement has been a focus for Formula E in Season 9, working to create gamified experiences that truly add value for fans.

When choosing a solution, Formula E identified Monterosa / Interaction Cloud as an ideal fit, in part due to its existing suite of Experiences that could be adapted to fit into Formula E’s existing website and app. This made it the ideal platform to supply the power behind their objectives; to not only increase the number of fans engaging with the sport but also to improve the quality of that experience, bringing best-in-class interactivity and connectivity, delivered quickly, in short timescales.

The Predictors, powered by Monterosa / Interaction Cloud, deliver an innovative solution to engaging fans during the races, with results from fan votes being fed into TV graphics in real-time. This has allowed fans to feel involved and connected to the season on a deeper level.

Kayo wins the Cricket World Cup through multicultural approach

CLEAR STRATEGIC THINKING
In October, 2022 the T20 Cricket World Cup came to Australia.
The challenge Kayo faced was that every Australian game along with all the finals were also simulcast on Channel 9 for FREE!

We had to be clever with the strategy:
The Australian team was the only team that had every game free so we focused on the biggest multicultural cricketing communities in Australia from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand, England etc.

Now that we had a clear strategy, we needed some INNOVATIVE CREATIVE THINKING ….

Kayo Sports launched a new brand campaign featuring international cricket star David Warner, familiar voice Brett Lee and one unfortunate Indian Cricket Fan who was Kayo-less, who gambled on catching the action… and lost.

The campaign debuted during the NRL Grand Final to ensure that we were transitioning Footy fans into Cricket. However, we needed to go deeper into the Indian community and also secured the World Cup rights in Hindi as well. Taking the same broadcast that is seen in India.

THE RESULTS: The stand out was motivation with 8 in 10 non-users towards Kayo being motivated to sign up to Kayo after seeing the campaign. Successfully delivered our highest brand consideration score that Kayo has ever seen. On top of that of that it fast started our summer by getting in New Kayo Customers that helped drive record breaking viewership for the rest of our Cricket Summer.

The 10 Group partnered with IWC Schaffhausen, a renowned luxury watch brand, to enhance its global brand visibility.

Taking advantage of the buzz around the Miami Grand Prix™, an important moment in IWC’s partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, our objective was to create a campaign that would raise awareness of IWC’s brand and engage sports fans globally. We also aimed to create greater inclusivity in the community through our partnership with non-profit Dibia Dreams.

Although the campaign was physically based in the US, we wanted to generate global excitement – which is why we invited IWC’s biggest ambassador – seven-time Formula One™ World Champion Lewis Hamilton – and Hollywood actor Simu Liu to captain a basketball team ahead of the Grand Prix, inviting 130 hand-picked guests, including key media and fans, to attend. The branded court was open for hundreds of sports fans in Miami to partake in basketball clinics.

We also produced a web video and B-roll for distribution to media outlets and produced a highlights video for social media. The campaign led to a huge increase in website traffic (in terms of webpages visits and time spent on webpages) and 23% of F1 fans named Lewis’s basketball stunt as the most memorable content from the Miami GP (source: F1 Fan Voice Survey).

Fans from all over the world engaged through social media and in person by attending the event and taking part in the basketball clinics. The 10 Group facilitated interviews with international media outlets, ensuring proper product placement and branding in all shots. The campaign was featured on TV over 200 times and online over 350 times, reaching a global audience of over two billion people and driving commercial success for IWC.

The campaign engaged and created synergies between sport-loving communities – inspiring young girls and promoting inclusion for local underserved minorities.

Aurora is a multi award-winning agency renowned for capturing breath-taking global content across sport, adventure & lifestyle.

‘FIFA World Cup Daily by Hisense’ was a 31-episode series produced by FIFA+ and Aurora, sponsored and funded by Hisense.

The brand goal was to create a fun, entertaining show, conveying World Cup excitement, the tournament’s global nature, all while placing culture and fandom at the heart of the action. Distributed worldwide on FIFA+ and Hisense’s VIDAA streaming network.

The editorial concept for this World Cup daily show was to give it a true fan voice, to create a show for the fans, by the fans, highlighting the passion that fans bring to major tournament sport.

FIFA and Hisense shared this vision, and their goal was to create a show that was fun and entertaining, conveying the excitement of the World Cup, as well as its global nature. Not just another “football analysis” show, it needed to be flexible, authentic and fast paced, placing fans at the heart of the action.

Presented from Doha every day of the tournament, the shows integrated fans, match highlights, archive moments, special guests and content created globally. The unique FIFA+ Creator Network was a key element – a platform showcasing up-and coming young content creators – and by using ground-breaking production workflows our remote 32 “Superfans” gave a unique fan culture perspective from around the world.

The show generated millions of organic views, engaged a global audience, provided an authentic connection for FIFA and Hisense with fans, and delivered on the creative theme of “How The World Cup Feels”.

WWE was an early adapter to social media platforms and new technologies as ways to engage and connect with its fans around the world. Now a digital powerhouse, WWE currently boasts more than 1 billion social media followers and is one of the most influential sports brands in the world across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

As the global media landscape evolves, WWE continues to adapt to stay ahead of the curve in the digital world by creating engaging content specifically tailored for each of WWE’s social media platforms. This unprecedented approach to content creation ensures WWE’s ability to feed the insatiable appetite of the WWE Universe. With non-stop, edge-of-your-seat content, in 2022, WWE had more than 1 billion social media engagements, more than 45 billion video views across all platforms (an increase of 7% YoY), and more than 1 billion hours of consumed digital and social WWE content. Further cementing its position as one of the most-followed and influential brands, WWE is also the #1 most-viewed sports channel on YouTube (ahead of the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, ESPN, NASCAR and FIFA) with more than 95 million subscribers and 70 billion lifetime video views, the seventh channel ever to reach this milestone.

Today, WWE is continuing to create measurable impact and results across the company’s global social and digital platforms. Staying slightly ahead of the curve and understanding media consumption habits have shifted away from linear television, WWE is taking its digital presence to new heights where the company is working to invest and create new content to grow our fanbase across multiple channels.

Fan engagement to the next level with live TikTok show from FIFA Fan Festival (FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™)

Optus Sport is the official broadcaster of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ in Australia. Our premium live coverage plan will engage football fans and target growing interest in the tournament across Australia.

We wanted to move to a fan-based show model on social rather than highlights, and deeply engage the community to celebrate the culture and colour that a tournament like this brings to Australia. The Women’s World Cup was a chance for us to stoke national pride in the event, and introduce new audiences to football and the Optus Sport brand.

We delivered live pre-match shows from the FIFA Fan Festival’s in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, in an authentic, engaging and creative way.
This live 30 minute video stream on TikTok was built to drive awareness and consideration for Optus Sport’s OTT product. One of our key goals for the tournament was to create FOMO (fear of missing out) as we knew a live fan show on TikTok would help us achieve those results.

This production was a vertical-first execution with our Sony FX-6 mounted vertically on the Tilta vertical mount plate which was attached to the camera for easy clip into the tripod for a end-to-end native 9×16 production which ensures the format is fit for platform and the target audience. Technically we sent back vision and audio back from the fan site to our Vmix control room and then out to TikTok from vmix.

This execution was entered into Best Social Media strategy, as this has been in partnership with TikTok Australia and a pure fan engagement play that sits within Optus’ broader fan engagement strategy.

Gol Mundial – Emotional connection in social media community

MEDIAPRO carried out a social media strategy during the World Cup with the aim of creating the leading social media community for World Cup-related content, increasing engagement around the tournament and reaching new audiences. The World Cup and Gol Mundial’s social media profiles had a huge social media impact, generating record-breaking figures in Spain. Gol Mundial’s social media content attracted over 360 million impressions, 120 million views, 9 million interactions, 3 trending topics and more than 40,000 mentions of the Gol Mundial hashtag on Twitter.

The group entered into agreements with the main social media partners, such as Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Snapchat, and these joint efforts made it possible to maximize the promotion and extend the impact of World Cup content. Thanks to the multiplatform strategy, the reach of Gol Mundial’s content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitch far exceeded all expectations.

We are Little Dot Sport, leaders in premium, entertaining, and data-led digital marketing for sports brands. We specialise in social strategy, content creation, channel management, audience development and digital monetisation.

We have been working with the LTA for the past 18 months, as the governing body for tennis in the UK continues to deliver its ‘Tennis Opened Up’ vision. Our role is to make tennis more entertaining, relevant, inclusive, accessible and inspirational via a best-in-class social strategy, utilising tailored, creative social content to reach and engage with new and more diverse audiences.

Our work across all of the LTA’s digital channels involves developing an always-on schedule of creative video and graphics content, ensuring the voice of the LTA on social effectively & consistently delivers the LTA’s broader organisational objectives and successfully positions tennis in the UK as a game for all. This ‘always-on’ content is then elevated periodically throughout the year via the use of ‘hero’ episodic video assets created by the LTA’s production partner which are also reversioned for use across all appropriate channels.

From 1st August 2022 to 24th July 2023, views on LTA content have risen 25% year-on-year and follower numbers have grown by 24% across the year. We’ve delivered particularly strong growth on instagram and TikTok, as we have sought to reach younger audiences and more female sports fans, and as we’ve aimed to engage audiences beyond the existing LTA community.

We therefore believe that this was the standout sports social media strategy last year. Not only do the results on the platforms speak for themselves, but the impact of our work is being felt far more widely. Throughout our entry we will explain how the LTA’s social strategy is playing an integral role in contributing meaningfully to their ‘Tennis Opened Up’ ambition.

Roland-Garros 2023

As the exclusive home of Roland-Garros across Europe (excluding France), Eurosport is recognised for its tennis expertise, engaging storytelling and content and unmatched level of coverage – screening every match from every court during the tournament across its linear channels and streaming platforms including discovery+ and the Eurosport App.

Serving a highly diverse and localised audience across 67 social accounts in 21 languages across six platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, TikTok and Twitter), Eurosport required a social media strategy that maximised its premium rights and audience scale.

Its campaign objectives included hitting 250 million video views and 10 million engagements across all platforms.

Within this, Eurosport targeted a younger target audience (Gen Z – 25 and under) and an increased number of female fans to broaden the appeal of the sport and tournament.

Successfully reaching the widest possible audience across Europe with engaging social media content that promoted Eurosport’s tennis expertise, unrivalled athlete access and exclusive content and live rights, Eurosport’s social media content exceeded its campaign objectives across all platforms.

Best Social Media Strategy

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) administers the A-League Men and A-League Women competitions, and owns the football media business KEEPUP.

The nomination for the Best Social Media Strategy is for a campaign launched to tackle two challenges simultaneously: to reignite interest in Australia’s top professional male and female leagues, and attract fresh audiences.

After three COVID impacted seasons, the A-Leagues in Australia needed to revive its approach to fan engagement within a unique context: the competitive Australian sporting landscape, and as a smaller league in football’s global ecosystem.

Turning to a Social Media Strategy driven by original video, the A-Leagues took fans closer to the action than ever before, created new heroes, and focused on also appealing to the nine million football fans in Australia who might not yet support an A-Leagues club.

Our results, including a 193% increase in social media engagements and 219% improvement in video views, show we have not just rekindled the interest from our audience; we have also enjoyed 26% growth of community size, through the authenticity of our story telling, and producing bespoke video content appropriate for each social platform.

We have also added new brands to our portfolio to place our competitions into the global football content cycle to attract new audiences; KEEPUP, to cover Australian football content beyond our own competitions, and to track the progress of our former players, and DUB ZONE, which is dedicated to women’s football, and has flourished throughout a home Women’s World Cup.

The Social Media Strategy has been a key part of the APL’s approach to drive engagement with men’s and women’s elite football through the A-Leagues; and build on football’s undisputed position as the country’s most popular team sport.

Software Defined Video Platform (SDVP)

The Zixi Software-Defined Video Platform (SDVP) is a complete market proven solution for managing high performance live video delivery at scale. The SDVP modular architecture manages all facets of a live video platform such as distribution over IP networks, with traffic and congestion aware routing, diverse signal path bonding, patented hitless failover technology and available in-transit processing delivering unparalleled performance and network efficiency. The SDVP is trusted to successfully deliver over 20,000 premium live channels and events, error free, every day.

The Weekend of Champions

The Weekend of Champions on 10-11 June 2023 represented an extraordinary feat of engineering and technological innovation delivered by Warner Bros. Discovery Sport’s world-class live sport presentation and production operation.The sheer volume and diversity of live content simultaneously broadcast across numerous territories, brands and platforms in 20 languages across 50 markets delivered live sport at an unprecedented scale and level of complexity. From Germany to Switzerland, Canada to the Netherlands and right across France including Paris, Cannes and Le Mans, Warner Bros. Discovery is one of the few media companies capable of delivering an operation of this scale.

Across its linear and direct-to-consumer services, Eurosport, BT Sport (now TNT Sports) and discovery+, screened wall-to-wall live content from some of the biggest global events in sport, including the UEFA Champions League Final, Roland-Garros Grand Slam finals, 24 Hours of Le Mans and MotoGP. It showcased Warner Bros. Discovery’s strength and depth of premium sport rights and a demonstration of unrivaled storytelling as champions were crowned and sporting history was made.

It served a vast array of sport fans across multiple sports, from two and four-wheel motorsport, to football, tennis and cycling but also exposing them to new sports through streamlined talent interaction and seamless cross promotion.

Sign Up Accessibility Programming

Through TNT Sports’ ‘Sign Up’ series, Warner Bros. Discovery created some of the most accessible programming yet seen of the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, with cutting-edge broadcasts presented in British Sign Language.

The team delivered new levels of cloud production innovation to bring three broadcasts to screen, presented by Rolf Choutan and Damaris Cooke. These included: last May, the UK’s first feature-length dedicated show covering a single Premier League match in BSL, with a discussion and highlights programme around the Premier League fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford. In June, Damaris and Rolf were back on screen ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final, fronting a preview show in BSL – a first for the competition, looking ahead to the Istanbul showpiece. And in June, Damaris and Rolf made their live TV debut, presenting coverage of selected matches from the FA Disability Cup from St George’s Park.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe represents WBD’s portfolio of sports brands, channels and platforms in Europe. It collectively reaches 130 million people every month, engaging fans and broad audiences in more than 200 markets and in over 20 languages across all platforms where consumers are spending time, free-to-air TV, pay-TV, streaming, online and social. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe includes the much-loved consumer brands Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN), Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN), TNT Sports in the UK & Ireland and Golf Digest, as well sports programming and content on discovery+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air TV networks. They connect audiences with the greatest sporting events in the world including the Olympics; tennis’ Grand Slams; cycling’s Grand Tours; the UCI Track Champions League; the UCI Mountain Bike World Series; the PGA TOUR; The Ocean Race; the Snooker World Tour; and much more.

Nokia has developed an advanced and optimized CDN for live streaming solution that revolutionizes the distribution of IP live broadcast TV. This solution offers the following advantages:
• eliminates excessive content delivery costs
• reduces network congestion
• minimizes negative environmental impacts
• delivers real-time streaming experiences that surpass traditional over-the-top (OTT) live streaming
The optimized CDN for live streaming solution incorporates innovative technologies from Bell Labs, including ultra-fast channel change, which enables incredibly quick channel switching times. Users can seamlessly navigate between channels with minimal delay, ranging from 90 ms to less than 500 ms. This feature enhances the user experience and makes channel surfing smooth and efficient.

The solution also utilizes ultra-reliable RTP streaming, which ensures reliable streaming even under challenging network conditions. It can sustain up to 30% packet loss and temporary localized network congestion, with a network round-trip time (RTT) of 150 ms or more. This ensures uninterrupted streaming even in less stable network environments.
A key feature of the IP streaming solution is its ability to dynamically adapt to network conditions and capabilities. It efficiently distributes content through multicast streaming in managed networks or devices that support multicast. In unmanaged networks where multicast is not available, the solution seamlessly switches to routed unicast streaming automatically, ensuring uninterrupted content delivery. This flexibility ensures efficient and reliable content delivery regardless of the IP access network infrastructure.
The solution includes the PerfectStream feature, which enables flawless multicast distribution over the internet. This feature ensures high-quality streaming experiences for users, even over long distances and diverse network conditions.
Nokia’s optimized RTP video streaming solution sets itself apart from traditional Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) OTT solutions that rely on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). It achieves significantly lower latency, ranging from 21 seconds to more than 180 seconds ahead of traditional ABR OTT. This low latency is crucial for broadcasting live events such as live sports and news, where real-time delivery is critical.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT), organiser of the globally popular annual French Open tennis championship at Roland-Garros, and its long-term partner and line producer, Host Broadcast Services (HBS), have developed an easy-to-use, fast and successful social media content platform to allow broadcasters to populate their social channels with quality content throughout the tournament.
The Social Media Interface (SMI), rolled out for the first time at Roland-Garros in 2023, is specifically designed to assist social media managers, simplicity is the key to its success. Over 200 content items were produced – between short-form video, craft edits and illustrations – and were downloaded over 1,200 times.
A straightforward user interface pushes the newest content to the top of the page, while the download option uses limited settings to allow users to get their clips or images fast and push out to their audience reactively to events on the court. An agile and adaptive solution, it has been developed with the end user in mind and with ‘ease’ and ‘speed’ the key words when visualising the final product.
The speed and ease ultimately allows the broadcasters to achieve their objectives of engaging their fan base, promoting the event and brand and ultimately driving users of their social media accounts back towards the rights holders’ traditional TV output.
End user feedback from this first deployment of the platform was overwhelming positive, with many rights holders responding that they would like to see this proof-of-concept fully rolled out at the 2024 edition thanks to the benefits it offered them.

The Appear X Platform is a high-capacity, versatile, ultra-low latency platform for high-speed video networking, enhanced IP security and advanced compression for the remote production, contribution and distribution markets. Pioneering the field of live sports contribution, Appear has consistently demonstrated innovation and excellence in technology, revolutionizing the delivery of live sports content. The platform excels in addressing critical challenges, boasting low-latency technology that provides fans with a real-time, immersive experience in major sporting events. Scalability is another strength, seamlessly handling both large-scale and niche sports events, ensuring uninterrupted content delivery.

Moreover, the Appear X Platform sets itself apart through its unwavering commitment to quality of experience. Utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, it delivers unmatched resolution and clarity, captivating viewers with stunning visuals and crisp audio.

Beyond technical prowess, the platform empowers broadcasters to offer interactive viewing options, allowing fans to personalize their experience with multiple camera angles, on-demand replays, and real-time statistics. This interactivity fosters deeper engagement and emotional investment among fans, enhancing overall user satisfaction.

The platform’s relentless pursuit of innovation is evident through its ground-breaking implementation of accelerated SRT for live sports contribution over the public internet, solidifying its position as a technological leader. Notably, the Appear X Platform has received accolades for its excellence in sustainability, consuming significantly less energy than competitors and reducing CO2 emissions.

Lastly, the Appear X Platform has been instrumental in advancing 8K contribution in sports broadcasting, redefining the viewer experience with ultra-high-definition content. Overall, the Appear X Platform stands as an exemplary solution that effectively addresses challenges in live sports content distribution, delivering an exceptional user experience, and setting new industry benchmarks.

The Rugby Network stands as a groundbreaking partnership between Major League Rugby and RugbyPass/World Rugby, setting a precedent in both North America and the global rugby community. It stands as a unified hub catering to the diverse needs of rugby enthusiasts, consolidating a vast array of content under one virtual roof. This encompassing platform offers an array of rugby-related content, ranging from live broadcasts of riveting Major League Rugby clashes, international showdowns, and USA Collegiate Rugby matchups to compelling highlights, enlightening podcasts, and exclusive peeks behind the curtain.

Remarkably, the platform’s debut season and subsequent edition were marked by an altruistic decision to provide free access, strategically aligned with a broader long-term monetisation approach. These initial phases witnessed The Rugby Network amass an impressive surge of subscribers, thus instilling the courage to set even loftier benchmarks for 2023.

Having successfully emerged triumphant in competitive pitches with RugbyPass during the years 2021 and 2022, the capable stewardship of Fifty-Three Six once again ascended to the forefront. This acclaimed team was entrusted with the task of crafting and executing a digital marketing strategy, one poised to engage established fans while concurrently luring fresh aficionados in strategically significant global markets throughout the ensuing year.

As it marches into the future, The Rugby Network is more than a mere platform; it is a unifying force for the global rugby community, cultivating camaraderie and zeal among ardent fans while staking its claim as a beacon of innovation in the realm of sports entertainment.

Cheltenham campaign 2023

When the most famous meeting of the racing calendar comes around race fans do not want to miss a single minute.

Racing TV is the only channel to deliver all of Cheltenham. With every single race live, on air for 8 hours a day and with analysis from the best presenters and pundits, it really is the complete experience.

We wanted to show Racing TV has all of Cheltenham covered, in a premium way and with a light tone, avoiding the sometimes ‘stuffy’ perception of the racing industry.

The concept set up Cheltenham as a number of component pieces and we brought this to life as a jigsaw. Visually we wanted to show that every piece was included with Racing TV – nothing at all was missing. To bring to life the emotion of the event we knocked some of the jigsaw pieces out of position – suggesting the full-on, engrossing nature of the action was running through the creative and causing this effect to happen.

The campaign used 2 key messages. ”Complete your Cheltenham” was used to launch, suggesting you might not have everything in place. Then as the Festival got closer we moved to a more direct message for the subscription proposition – ”Watch every piece of Cheltenham”.

We also ran a half price offer inviting prospects to watch every piece of Cheltenham for half price.

New subscribers were up a massive 48% year on year with paid media delivering a CPA of £53 which was £33.92 less than the previous year and had almost double the number of conversions.

From the Free month trial we had 1,860 take ups – a 54% increase on the previous year and 56% were converted into paying subscribers.

Not bad for a content subscription brand post pandemic!

Sports Distribution for the Digital Generation: Turbo-charging OTT Growth in Africa

PM Connect’s mission is simple: provide sports distribution for the digital generation. We connect, invest in, inspire and enable the sports fans of tomorrow.

We’re disrupting sports distribution through strategic mobile partnerships, reaching new, diverse and younger audiences that were born in the digital revolution.

This is particularly important in mobile-first and mobile-only territories, such as Africa – the next frontier for sports consumption.

We have already had massive success with the NBA League Pass though our mobile-centric approach in Africa, where the mobile are the true kings of D2C.

Our accessibility solution and proprietary tech platform benefits both sports properties and sports fans, driving audience growth, commercial value and improving the consumer experience.

PM Connect is creating a new market segment – one that matches the might of mobile networks (MNOs), with top sports properties and our industry-leading digital marketing and mobile payments tech.

MNOs are the original kings of D2C consumption – with a smartphone subscriber base of 6.1 billion globally, and in Africa they are the route to the sports consumer.

Launching with the NBA League Pass in Africa in 2021/22 season – we have been instrumental in the growth of the product on the continent.

What the NBA said:

“NBA League Pass is all about giving our fans the best possible viewing experience, anytime, anyplace. As more basketball fans enjoy content streamed directly to their mobile devices, we are keen to meet their needs and provide them with a mobile payment option best suited to their viewing habits. By adding direct carrier billing to the suite of subscription payment types on offer, fans will be able to enjoy an enhanced transactional experience.”

Bastien Lacheny, Vice President, Media Distribution for NBA EME

Gol Mundial – The World Cup for everyone

At the start of 2019, it was officially announced that GRUP MEDIAPRO would acquire all the rights to the 2022 World Cup to be held in Qatar in November. For legal reasons, 20 matches were sublicensed to RTVE free-to-air on a non-exclusive basis and to Movistar (telecom operator) for its channel dedicated to carrying all 64 matches of the competition. This left a large segment of the population without access to the World Cup in full.

With the aim of NOBODY missing out on experiencing the World Cup in full due to a lack of access, and in order to make the competition accessible to all audiences, Gol Mundial was launched, a multi-device online platform providing all the World Cup matches along with related shows and exclusive content. This disruptive initiative made the entire World Cup available on all devices, without being tied to any operator, and at an affordable price for everyone – a one-off payment of €19.99.

In just one month, Gol Mundial achieved subscriber numbers that not only exceeded the most optimistic projections, but also marked a milestone in the history of pay TV in Spain, with peaks of up to 1 new subscriber per second, more than 820K unique devices, a spot with more than 8M views and the kind of social media impact usually only achieved by big brands: 360M impressions and 9M interactions.

The Game Changers: Kayo Sports’ Epic Rebrand

In the wild world of sports streaming, Kayo Sports faced a new challenge: how to win over the time-poor sports fanatics who were always racing against the clock? The cunning minds at Kayo hatched a game plan that involved unleashing the power of hyper-personalization!

Armed with mountains of data, they targeted growth zones like treasure-hunting pirates seeking hidden gems. They tailored their cunning creatives to specific NRL and AFL teams, mesmerizing fans in these untapped territories. Picture this: an ad for a footy team in Newcastle popping up like a genie, conjured precisely for the locals’ eyes!

But wait, it gets better! The “Whenever Sport is Everything” campaign was a stroke of brilliance! It followed a devoted dad through life’s crazy roller coaster—surfing with Dad, scoring promotions, fighting karate battles, and even squeezing in some romance. Yet, amidst the chaos, there was a moment of sweet victory when he finally got to sit down with his crew and cheer on his beloved team. Oh, the goosebumps! This ad was like a magic spell, captivating the hearts of fans with action-packed lives who cherished every chance to savor their favorite sport.

The creative wizards at Kayo knew they couldn’t mess with the brand’s identity. So, they preserved the iconic Kayo green, but they sprinkled in a dash of elegance with a new “sea” (dark blue) hue. The logo got a makeover, the font got edgy, and the green stripes cleverly directed everyone’s attention like a secret map.

And lo and behold, the results were mind-blowing! Kayo’s awareness skyrocketed to an all-time high of 71%! Consideration surged to an impressive 36%—a magical transformation indeed!

But that’s not all! Kayo gained new subscribers, like an unstoppable army of sports enthusiasts charging into battle! The hyper-personalization strategy was like a magic potion, converting fans in their droves and setting Kayo on a course to conquer the sports streaming universe!

In a world where time is a precious commodity, Kayo Sports had found the ultimate solution for fans—their sports sanctuary that fits seamlessly into their busy lives. With hyper-personalization as their secret weapon, Kayo had redefined the game and secured its place as Australia’s ultimate sports streaming champion!

History Untold

ELEVEN Belgium launched in 2015 and is now the leading sports platform in the country, with an award-winning OTT platform at the centre of its offering.

Synopsis – Eleven’s in-house team devised their first ever AI campaign by ageing 4 star players at the 4 teams competing in the Belgian Pro League’s end of season Playoffs. Using AI, the players were able to reminisce from their armchairs in the year 2063 about what turned out to be a very exciting Playoff.

The case is entered into the Best Marketing strategy as the reach, impressions and talkabilty were impressive, especially given the incredibly low spend of €6000. Eleven is excited about AI’s potential as a marketing tool and many learnings from this action will surely be used in the future.

ScorePlay is an AI-powered all-in-one media hub designed for sports organizations. With a monthly subscription, they can centralize, classify, and distribute their content automatically. The platform offers photo-only, video and photo, and live broadcast ingestion for teams, organizations and leagues. Photographers and videographers can connect directly to the platform via FTP and RTNP servers, and the AI technology automatically tags photos and videos with match events, players, and partners, and sorts everything based on a calendar integration. Players and partners receive notifications when they are tagged in an asset, which allows them to share content to social media in seconds from the App.

The platform was designed with Toulouse FC using design-thinking. It allows sports organizations to automate tasks using AI and save time, getting rid of bottlenecks so they can focus on content creation. It’s used daily by over 120 sports organizations worldwide, covering 30 different sports, and distributing content to 10,000 athletes. The software is usually used by content and marketing teams, but is also used by some across the entire organization and for partnerships. Recently, they closed a $5M seed round led by Angel City and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Seven Seven Six, as well as numerous athletes including Raphaël Varane, Mario Götze and Dominic Thiem.

In less than 2 years we have become the go-to digital asset manager in the sports industry, all this with relatively little funding and a team of just 10 people. Our submission for Best Start Up Tech Company is not only about what we have achieved, but about what we can achieve with our current path and the speed at which we have developed and grown in the sports industry.

QUANTEEC is an innovative French startup, heralding a revolution in the OTT industry through its pioneering solution for video streaming. Born out of the challenges spurred by the OTT Boom, QUANTEEC addresses the industry’s pressing issues: massive server deployment, crashes during peak audience times, decreased viewer satisfaction due to poor quality of experience, and a dreadful environmental impact.

The vision, centered around the ‘Collaborative Streaming’ concept, promotes the implementation of a decentralized system tailored to tackle the existing drawbacks of OTT delivery. QUANTEEC harnesses the power of decentralization to minimize energy consumption, reduce costs, and ensure excellent streaming quality, even during high-demand periods. Through QUANTEEC, any actor of the streaming industry (broadcasters, OTT platforms providers, operators, video training services providers, PR agencies, etc.) can reduce delivery costs by minimum 30% and energy consumption by 50%, while guaranteeing optimized viewer experience.

Why the ‘Best Start Up Tech Company’ category ?

QUANTEEC epitomizes the essence of the ‘Best Start-Up Tech Company’ category by not only leveraging cutting-edge technology to tackle the inherent challenges of the OTT industry but also embodying the archetype of a thriving technology startup. Continual achievements and advancements both for our company and our product have followed since the inception of our streaming solution.
Our collaboration with globally recognized companies and our recognition as Product of the Year at the NAB Show bear testament to our potential. Combined with a strong technical team and deep engagement within our company, our projections of growth affirm that this will likely be the last year we could be qualified as a startup for candidates in this category.

id3as has built custom live streaming solutions that are behind hundreds of thousands of live events annually and thousands of 24/7 live linear channels for the likes of DAZN, Stats Perform, Notified, NASDAQ, and Arqiva. id3as’ solutions have been deployed at every stage of the workflow, from onsite signal capture through encoding, packaging, CDN distribution, and client statistics gathering. id3as is the pioneer in “self-healing” systems, with numerous real-world examples where our solutions didn’t miss a beat, even in the face of infrastructure failures that caused major outages for others.

We believe media companies should be able to build live streaming experiences that thrill viewers without having to worry about the details of codecs and delivery protocols or being forever at the mercy of a third-party technology provider. And so we built Norsk, a low-code SDK that enables customers to build their own sophisticated live streaming workflows in a fraction of the time and cost previously required—think days and weeks instead of months and years. With the launch of Norsk, the timing couldn’t be better for id3as to be recognized as Sports Pro’s Best Start Up Tech Company.

Norsk does much more than simply transcode and deliver video. It lets you easily handle multiple inputs, switch between or compose them, add rich overlays, and insert metadata such as SCTE-35 markers before publishing to a CDN. Norsk understands the vagaries of real-world live events—sources come and go, events overrun or finish early—and ensures your event keeps running even in the face of infrastructure failures. Norsk puts you in control and it makes it easy to “do the right thing” for your viewers, all in just a few lines of straightforward code.

Norsk is the media technology expert so our customers don’t have to be.

Multicasting.io real time video platform

How many tech startups have deployed their technology in partnership with Microsoft at the NBA All-Star game, with only five working members and completely 100 percent self Funded? We did this on our own, we didn’t have millions in funding, and we didn’t have everyone working full time and started our company at the height of the pandemic. We did all of this off our own funds and backs. We have deployed our technology to all cloud partners, and we are partners and launched our technology with Google for Comcast, Wells Fargo Arena, and Amazon on AWS Wavelegthn for Verizon Wireless and on Azure with Microsoft for the NBA. We are even on Cox’s edge as a partner as well.

Multicasting.io enables the next generation of wireless real-time video sharing and content creation. We leverage the power of wireless infrastructure to create a new viewing experience in and out of the stadium. Multicasting.io provides a truly unique experience to sports leagues, venues, and fans. Our real-time multi-angle live video feed can connect the fan’s view directly to the stadium infrastructure for display or broadcast, social media, and content creation. Using this technology, the NBA was able to add an additional 18 camera angles to the NBA All-Star game and provide these live video feeds to the jumbo tron. The extra cameras were provided to entertainment staff and installed in all areas of the arena, including the Baskets and places you can’t put cameras, such as the scorer’s table. With these new angles, the leagues were able to generate hundreds of real-time video highlights of the event from all the cameras simultaneously, share them with the video boards, and share them on social media.

Content creation can be done with stationary, mobile devices, fan mobile devices, and influencer mobile devices. The content is all Synced and available for display on the Jumbotron, Broadcast, or social media, all in real-time. Our time-based highlight technology is patent pending.

Paving the way for digital transformation

HiWay Media is a digital tailor lab where innovation meets simplicity.

We offer solutions to manage the entire digital experience with a big focus on video delivery: from production to connectivity, transcoding, Digital Assets Management, FAST channels, OTT platforms, web, mobile and Smart TV apps.

Too often we hear from content owners their frustration in using multiple solutions and dashboards to manage their digital platforms. Our main goal is to make our partners’ lives easier, helping them to take advantage of the full potential of digital, automating the workflows and minimizing efforts and costs.

Thanks to PIVOT, our cloud-based platform, where we merge different products in one single dashboard, from Content Management System (CMS) to Video Management System (VMS) and Digital Assets Managements (DAM), our partners can now manage the entire multimedia workflow from one single point of control.

In addition, being aware that live streaming distribution can be incredibly challenging and expensive, we developed a proprietary encoding system, based on decentralized platform and blockchain technology, which offers a wide range of solutions that allow our partners to cut their streaming costs.

We strongly believe in a real tailor-made approach to make the difference. At a first sight this may seem unsustainable but through our modular innovative technology, we created a new unique and innovative solution to scale up quickly, maintaining a great focus on UX and fan engagement.

Founded in July 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, our disruptive approach allowed us to grow very fast. Today HiWay Media has 50+ employees in Italy, Austria, Spain and India, and can proudly list industry leaders such as LaLiga, Italian Serie A and Serie B, Ferrari, S.S. Lazio, FIBA, Sky, and Infront amongst its partners.

Women’s sports gets only 5% of media coverage. Launched in November 2022, the Women’s Sports Network (WSN) is a new multi-platform streaming linear network solution to help close that gap. WSN is available in 95mm households in the US and Canada, distributed across 10+ streaming platforms and connected TVs including Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Roku, and more; provides 1000+ hours of programming with support from every major women’s sports league, and a growing number of Fortune 50 brand partnerships. WSN meets the demand for more access to women’s sports coverage with its signature series “Game On,” the only studio sports show dedicated to women, featuring league highlights, latest news, and interviews with leading women in sports. The network provides sports fans with 24/7 coverage including live sports, weekly league highlights, signature originals, and award-winning documentaries. WSN is the single point of access for women’s sports answering the demand for fans, leagues, and brands to support female athletes, like Michelob Ultra as the network’s official beer. As the first-of-its-kind hub for all things women’s sports, WSN steps up to the plate for BEST FAST CHANNEL. Within six months of launch, the network successfully leveraged its FAST approach to sports content with a growing number of partnerships across women’s sports leagues, top tier brands, and distributors across major streaming platforms.

TENNIS CHANNEL & FAST: Reinventing Tennis Broadcasting for the Global Fan

Tennis Channel is honoured to submit for the esteemed FAST CHANNEL Awards, a testament to our relentless pursuit of delivering premium, live tennis coverage via customized FAST channels across diverse nations: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands, India, Greece, USA.

Our submission reflects an unwavering commitment to immersing fans worldwide in the grandeur of tennis. As many entities explore FAST with filler programming, we’ve meticulously curated an extensive premium collection, encompassing prestigious tournaments and thrilling matches, readily accessible for the global viewer.

In each nation, Tennis Channel utilizes innovative technology to devise tailored FAST channels, ensuring an unparalleled and authentic tennis experience for fans.

Our global suite of FAST channels is revolutionizing tennis viewership, fostering a vibrant, global tennis community.

As pioneers in the FAST arena, our submission underscores our steadfast belief in FAST’s potential to fundamentally transform mainstream viewing habits in the future.

We thank you for considering our submission and look forward to contributing further to the growth of global sports broadcasting.

Pac-12 Insider is one of the only FAST channels delivering live collegiate sports around the globe. The channel provides live events, exclusive programming featuring behind-the-scenes access and classic encores that showcase the heart and soul of Pac-12 student-athletes, coaches and legends. Pac-12 Insider is currently available on eight partner platforms, as well as the Pac-12 Now app and Pac-12.com to ensure wide-ranging availability on every piece of glass connected to the internet for all fans.

During the 2022-23 collegiate season, Pac-12 Insider aired 105 live events beginning with “Pac-12 Football Media Day” which allowed all fans to tune into the Pac-12’s day-long premier event ahead of the highly-anticipated Pac-12 football slate. The 2022-23 season programming also included live sports featuring California men’s water polo and men’s swimming, and UCLA women’s soccer, each of whom went on to win their respective sport’s NCAA National Championships.

Original programming this past season was headlined by “The IT Factory: Pac-12 Football with Yogi Roth,” presented by Zayo, “Pocket Presence with Max Browne,” “Pac-12 Shootaround,” and “Women’s Basketball Postgame.” These shows provide exclusive interviews, insights and analysis of Pac-12 football and men’s and women’s basketball that fans can’t get anywhere else, while promoting the league’s student-athletes, alumni and programs at an elevated level.

In addition to live events and original programming, Pac-12 Insider is also home to classic encores such as “Football in 60” replays, some of which air 24-48 hours following most games to capitalize on the recent big plays and moments from the weekend.

Pac-12 Insider’s programming lineup coupled with its vast discoverability allows the platform to bring fans closer to the teams they love and the continued elevation of the Pac-12 Conference, making it the Best Sports FAST Channels available.

The NFL Channel, a product of the National Football League, has emerged as a trailblazer in the ever-evolving world of sports broadcasting within the FAST industry. Since its inception in 2019, the channel has redefined the way football fanatics engage with the #1 Sport in America. With a captivating array of content, it provides an unrivaled fan experience that caters to the modern viewer’s preferences and demands. Its live game updates, bringing real-time action straight to fans’ screens, have set a new standard for sports coverage on FAST with the renowned NFL GameCenter Live. Through our intentional programming slate inclusive of NFL game re-airs, throwback content highlighting Football legends, riveting docuseries like A Football Life and Hard Knocks, live digital shows featuring charismatic hosts and analysts on Around The NFL and Power Rankings, as well as live coverage of major events like the NFL Draft, Super Bowl, and Schedule Release, the NFL Channel has captured the hearts of millions.

MTRSPT1 is the leading motorsports live-streaming network, delivering premium motorsports entertainment to a worldwide audience 24/7. As such, it is the only sports-focused FAST channel that carriers live events, and the network can flexibly and rapidly add live feeds for viewers. MTRSPT1 is also the only sports-focused FAST channel that enables digital subchannel pick-up of the network. This is one of the first FAST channel-into-broadcast carriage integrations of its kind with fully rights-cleared availability.

MTRSPT1 super-serves its audience, as it represents a true one-stop destination for all motorsports fans. MTRSPT1 delivers more than 200 live races annually, and more than 2,000 hours of content. The network features racing action on 2-wheel, 4-wheel, no-wheel, on-track, in the street, off-road, on water, or in-air. Serving motor enthusiasts, a wide variety of motorsports reality, magazine and builder shows, documentaries, and lifestyle programming. With more than 60 different racing series on-air, half of which is new content, MTRSPT1 includes everything from kid-friendly iRacing (Sim Racing) for F1, IndyCar, NASCAR, GT, LeMans to MotoAmerica’s Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup series, and international events including FIM Super Enduro, Ultimate Kart Racing, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, PanAfrica Rally, UIM XCat World Championship, Targa Series, and Garage/DIY content, including ‘Lifted Life’, ‘Sam’s Garage’, ‘The 900 Series’, ‘Global Garages’, ‘Aviators’, and ‘Curators’ Vault’. MTRSPT1 can be viewed on Sling TV, Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, TCL Channel, and Xiaomi MiTV+, among other systems.

Rise – Women’s Sport FAST Channel in Germany

DAZN is a leading sports streaming service in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the US and UK.  Its wide range of content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions. DAZN is building the ultimate sports entertainment business where fans from across the globe can watch, read, bet, play, share, socialise, buy tickets and merchandise, all in one place, with one account, one wallet and on one app.

DAZN Rise is Germany’s first woman’s sports dedicated FAST channel. Launched earlier this year, DAZN Rise provides a dedicated home for women’s sport content, utilises DAZN’s premium women’s football content to drive viewership and cross-promote women’s sport more generally, increases visibility for DAZN’s content, products and services, and combines the best of both linear and streaming experiences. Rise has helped deliver more distribution partners, mainly via Living Room app deals with the likes of Samsung, increased partnership and advertising revenue, and added to DAZN’s brand equity in market.