Over the last few years there has been an explosion in the amount of sports coverage available to consumers, as new providers and platforms have sprung up in order to meet the public’s apparently insatiable appetite for sports content. Many of these new providers have been using the latest in broadcast technology (virtual studios and augmented reality, for example) in order to make their content more creative and more visually appealing as the broadcast market they operate in has become fragmented and the competition for eyeballs becomes ever more fierce. This, in turn, has forced sports teams and stadia to focus more on the game day experience for fans in-venue, and ‘fan engagement’ has become the latest buzzword in the business. During the summer of 2018, Amazon announced that it had secured the rights to broadcast a selection of ATP tennis tournaments. This was arguably the first time that an SVoD (Subscription Video on Demand) brand had made a move into the live sports market, and commentators were quick to claim that most of the other players would follow. This widespread move into live events by the VoD companies has put enormous pressure on sports teams and stadiums to do more to engage with fans in order to tempt them off the sofa and into the stadium or arena. This new focus has brought about a new wave of investment by sports teams in both the stadium infrastructure and in the AV facilities they use. Video content has played an important role here, as stadia have realized they can use video to more effectively monetize advertising, to increase the spend on catering and merchandise in-venue and to provide fans with a more exciting and immersive experience before, during and after the game or event. A key moment in the evolution of fan engagement as a concept was the opening of the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The world’s most expensive stadium build project, this venue is the joint home of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer, as well hosting a variety of music concerts and other live events. One of the standout features of the stadium is its retractable ‘rose petal’ roof, underneath which runs a 365 degree ‘halo’ video screen. During the planning of the stadium, Ross Video was approached to offer advice on how to render video content on such a large and usually shaped canvass, and the resulting solution (Xpression Tessera) is now used to power the graphics that appear on the halo screen as well as the other digital signage in the concourse and around the venue. XPression Tessera is also being by a number of well-known sports arenas such as the Adelaide Oval in Australia, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York (home of the US Open) and the iconic Happy Valley horse-racing track in Hong Kong. Commenting on the Mercedes-Benz stadium, Stuart Russell, Communications Manager with Ross Video, sees the opening of the venue as a real step change for the sports world. “This stadium is incredibly sophisticated, and the quality of the video presentation has to be seen to be believed. There’s no doubt in my mind that this has made other sports teams and stadia sit up and take note, and we’re going to see a number of new venues being commissioned and built in the next 2-5 years that will also feature amazing video displays that are being powered by highly advanced AV and control systems”. Control is a key issue for venues. Many stadia are multi-purpose and need to be able to use different kinds of video content depending on the event taking place. Furthermore, these stadia often want very high-quality production values when it comes to their video content and are employing professionals with a broadcast background to run their game-day productions. In response to this developing market, Ross Video recently launched a Unified Venue Control System that is based on DashBoard, the fully customisable touchscreen control platform. The Unified Venue Control System can control Ross equipment (including production switchers and the Xpression graphics suite) as well as other third-party products such as lighting and lasers/pyrotechnics; everything can be managed from a touchscreen panel that can be completely customised to suit the user’s level of expertise with the system. In addition, products such as PowerPlay from Ross can be used to automate the playing of graphics around a venue – ideal for when advertising or other video content needs to be shown on rotation or triggered at a specific time. The sports content market continues to change and evolve, and companies like Ross Video are bringing their expertise of the broadcast and live production sector to bear, helping sports team and stadia with a suite of solutions that enables them to boost fan engagement (and profitability) through more compelling and exciting video content that can be produced and managed more easily and cost-effectively than ever before.
