WHITEPAPERS
The New ‘Content Continuum’: A Growing Spectrum of Cloud Services Powers a Fast-Evolving Array of Sports Coverage By Robert Szabo-Rowe, SVP Engineering and Product Management, The Switch
F
rom the first PC to the introduction of the smartphone, it has always been hard to grasp the precise point in time when the world we inhabit has been fundamentally changed from what it had been up until then. We appear to be experiencing one of these pivotal tipping points now in the world of content consumption — one where younger live sports consumers are shifting away from the traditional habit of watching full-length games to, instead, embracing short, snappy, on-demand highlights. Data from the analytical firm The Maru Group, which partnered with VIP for the “Sports’ New TV Formula” report, found that almost half of young NFL, NBA, and MLB fans prefer watching highlights over a complete game. Many younger viewers want to experience the highlights and highs without the boredom or the lows of a long game. Many are consuming multiple games — or even multiple sports events — across several sources concurrently. As clips of sports highlights and critical moments revolutionize the way we consume live sports, a question mark arises over where the true value of media content lies today.
It is now unquestionable that there is enormous value in leveraging the cloud to produce a range of broadcast-quality content that appeals to many audiences — from the traditional watch-thewhole-big-game at home sports demographic, to modern anytime anywhere viewers, to fans whose consumption habits sit somewhere in between. Indeed, cloud-based production, clipping and editing, and transmission are already powering a new broader array of connected sports assets that feed all fans’ hunger for sports content. This expanded gamut of content can run from online pre- and post-game shows and the live broadcast itself, to data-driven betting feeds and near-real-time social media highlights, to streamed player-cam feeds and on-demand replays of the whole game.
> AN EMERGING ‘CONTENT CONTINUUM’ The consumer shift away from scheduled TV programming is creating a ‘content continuum’ that spans live, social, replay, shoulder, and on-demand elements of sports properties across a range of screens and devices. As a result, broadcasters, content owners, and other rightsholders are increasingly relying on cloud-based services to power unique and engaging live content. Cloud capabilities have come to full fruition within live sports production, including clipping and editing for social media highlights and replays, low-latency comms, editing and graphics creation, and transmission. Employing cloud tools for all or any of these functions is simply a matter of having an internet connection and a laptop. It is now clear that a shift to a cloud-first approach can empower leagues, broadcasters, and other rightsholders to enhance the viewing experience across today’s sports viewing landscape. It is a good time for sports media organizations to look to make this shift. The growth of cloud-based production and delivery in live sports over the past two years has been nothing short of spectacular. Before that, few in the industry would have predicted just how soon it would be that broadcasters and other rightsholders would commonly deploy cloud methods and technologies as a reliable means of capturing and distributing live sports content. Accelerated by the pandemic, the adoption of cloud video techniques became widespread and proven. Fast forward to today, and the industry-wide acceptance and excitement around cloud production, transmission, and clipping and editing are beyond the most ambitious pre-pandemic predictions. The upshot is greater efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness across more live sports and related content than ever.
> A NEW WAY TO DELIVER LIVE SPORTS The transmission capabilities of the cloud bring added flexibility and opportunities for broadcasters and rightsholders, offering IP delivery of feeds from any location to multiple — up to hundreds — of destinations via the internet. They can also tap into cloud and private delivery networks spanning the globe, such as The Switch’s, and often combine these with public internet access. One of the reasons broadcasters and rightsholders look to the cloud to deliver their feeds is that it enables cost-effective, high-quality trans102
SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2022
