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The way that sports are consumed is changing. We are seeing a fundamental shift in viewing habits as audiences move away from linear consumption and towards content delivered on their own terms.
There is no doubt that COVID has accelerated this transition. The sudden halt to sports in 2020 left room for viewers to alter long-established behaviors. With major sporting events canceled, the demand for gamification, documentary formats, archive compilations and detailed analysis increased dramatically.
When matches returned, audiences retained an interest in supplementary viewing and additional features. This increased awareness of new ways to interact with sports content has led many consumers towards the OTT platforms capable of delivering more engaging viewing.
The video industry is growing, and OTT is booming. OTT media revenue is expected to reach more than $167 billion by 2025. But with this growth comes a more discerning consumer, expecting a dynamic user experience (UX) from the services they subscribe to.
Having witnessed some gaming-changing innovation over the past 12 months, here are features likeliest to be most critical to sports video services attracting and retaining viewers.
Interactive Features
OTT services are exploring opportunities to give viewers the opportunity to become fully immersed in sports content, using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) features.
VR may have roots in the gaming industry, but the technology is just as relevant for live sports. At the same time, the inexorable rise of esports is further driving consumer demand and expectation for more enhanced and immersive experiences.