Live Sports Aren’t Just For The Living Room As OTT Viewing Takes Off
With Australians having endured a brief hiatus from live sport earlier this year, audiences are now primed for a shift in consumption, argues James Young, Managing Director of Australia at Magnite in this piece.
There’s no denying sport is part of most Australians’ DNA and while we faced lock outs from attending games in person, live sports on TV have been a welcome distraction for many. Before COVID-19 hit, the broadcast industry was already in the midst of a technical evolution (or some might say revolution) and the events of the last few months have only accelerated the shift to digital viewing. This means that there’s a real opportunity for brands to make the most of this emerging opportunity and engage with these passionate sports fans during OTT live sports broadcasts.
Internet-Connected Viewing Shifts Habits
The arrival of home lockdowns undeniably acted as a catalyst for people watching more TV generally this year. Indeed ThinkTV has reported that the crisis has sparked a rise in TV and catch-up viewing and their latest data shows BVOD viewership remains high with more than 19 million hours watched last week alone and consumption up 26 per cent compared to pre-lockdown.
While catch up and catalogue content is a dominant force in streaming TV, live BVOD viewing is also showing encouraging signs of growth. A third of broadcast video on demand (BVOD) is now live linear and two thirds video on demand (OZTAM VPM data). With companies such as Optus winning sports rights and Kayo leading the charge on flexible viewing options for multiple sporting codes – the stage is set for live sports on OTT.
Experience and Engagement
One of the key benefits to consumers when it comes to viewing live sports on OTT is that they have more flexibility to watch what they want. For example, Nine made it possible for viewers to live stream the matches they wanted to see during the Australian Open, rather than having to watch just the ones shown on the main channels. Some broadcasters are taking this up a notch by delivering experiences that bring fans even closer to the action. This includes giving viewers the option of choosing what area of the stadium they want to sit in or putting them in the perspective of the athletes, as was the case with the F1 Austrian Grand Prix.
While broadcasters work hard to deliver the optimum viewing experience across any screen, whether it be through an internet-connected TV set or a mobile phone, it falls to brands to ensure their advertising creative aligns with the engaging nature of live sport content. A unique opportunity that the live sport environment presents is the chance to have ad creative play off of what happens throughout sporting events such as time outs and goals.
Optimising Ad Buying In a Live Sports Context
Beyond the contextual framework, advertisers need to prepare to capitalise on the traffic spikes that naturally occur in live events and protect against overspending which means there will be a few differences in how campaigns should be set up.
The first of these is budget fluidity. Consider how much you are willing to spend on the live event and be open to the fact that a close game that goes into overtime might see a huge spike in viewership – which is a huge advertising opportunity – if you still have budget.
Building on this, it’s worth reconsidering how you pace your budget over a period. For example, if you spread your budget out carefully over a week, you may not have sufficient budget to take advantage of the opportunities in a weekend game. Instead, consider having separate pacing goals for live sports.
Finally, think beyond hard frequency caps when buying. Think instead about ‘peak audiences’ and consider interval caps. Should your ad be in front of a viewer once a quarter, during half time or once a game?
A word to the wise on viewer forgiveness, or lack thereof, with live sport CTV ad experiences. Load times and glitches are simply unacceptable because, let’s face it, major sporting moments won’t wait so the viewer will not accept interruption.
The reality is that viewers still very much want to tune into live sports and they are increasingly tuning in on various devices, in addition to watching on the big screen in the living room. With the innovation in technology, demand for sports content and the thirst from passionate and digital savvy TV viewers seeking greater all-round live video experiences, as well as brands looking for greater cut through on new platforms, 2021 seems perfectly poised to be the year that live sport in OTT will reach new highs.
Latest News
Kathmandu Launches An ‘Out There’ Sonic Logo
Outdoor lifestyle brand, Kathmandu, has teamed up with international music agency, MassiveMusic, to bring the brand sonically to life with the launch of a distinctive audio identity. What do you get when you combine the sound of you outdoors, a wooden melody and a unique bird call? The Sound of Kathmandu. Sound gives shape to […]
#OnlyOnTwitter: Top Moments In Australia 2021
Twitter’s top moments in Australia revealed that this year, not unlike last, has been a unique one for us Down Under but our sense of humour and shared love of sport were a few things that helped us get through together. Twitter has been focused on serving the public conversation while connecting people with the […]
Method Announces Agency Development Partnership With Snapchat
Creative technology studio, Method has been selected as one of Snapchat’s first agency development partners across Australaisa. As one of a group of early Snap Development Partners selected across Australia and New Zealand, Method is able to provide clients with the opportunity to design and create Snapchat filters and games aimed to reach audiences across […]
Big Ads’ Rich Media Solution Now Integrated With The Trade Desk
Big Ads and The Trade Desk have joined forces to enable traders to build rich media ads which are ready to serve at the touch of a button. Once built-in Big Ads’ creative & deal ID platform Buddy, the tags are deployed directly to The Trade Desk for the campaign to go live. Tech teams […]
Pinterest Expands Parental Leave Policies
Pinterest’s progressive parental policies are being expanded company wide. Beginning on January 1, 2022, employees in all global offices will have a minimum of 20 weeks of parental leave. This benefit extends to adoptive parents who will also have 20 weeks of paid leave which was previously 16 weeks. This is in addition to an […]
Today Extra’s Festive Instagram Post Gets Taken Hostage By Anti-Vaxxers
Note to anti-vaxxers - if Pfizer was going to make us sterile, autistic, Democrat voters, it would've happened by now.
Triple J Announces Dates And New Partnership For 2022’s Hottest 100
B&T upping our cool cachet with this Hottest 100 news. And that's despite Barry Manilow on high rotation in the office.
Brittany Lefave’s Top Of the Agenda Predictions For Publishers And Buyside Partners
It's what's hot in the world of addressability & supply path optimisation. Bad news if you were after cupcake trends.
Acast Nabs Daisy Smith As New Regional Automation Director
Independent podcast company, Acast, has further grown its Australia and New Zealand team, hiring Daisy Smith as the region’s new automation director. Having jumped ship from Nielsen, Smith will now lead Acast’s local programmatic advertising offering, as the company continues to develop automated ad buying for agencies and direct clients. Smith boasts previous experience with […]
Seven West Media Gets Green Light From ACCC To Aquire Prime Media Group
Seven continues with its impressive string of wins, as the gnashing of teeth emanates out of the Nine boardroom.
One Green Bean Announces Two Internal Promotions
One Green Bean has promoted two senior staffers. Presumably making them senior senior staffers.
SCA Teams Up With Salesforce
SCA has teamed up with Salesforce. Although that's not to suggest Salesforce will be hosting the Triple M Grill Team.
Rethink Ink: A Fire Inside
It's the latest in B&T's series of Re-Think Ink. That's the power of print and not anaphylaxis from ordering the squid.
“Dangerfield, Like Many Brands, Has A Problem With Fat People!” Aussie Label Goes Viral For Axing Plus-Size Range
With all the lockdowns and working from home, B&T's surprised not to have seen the resurgence of the shell suit.
Ryan Reynolds Spoofs 80s Ads And It’s Bloody Hilarious!
You'll laugh & cry at this 80s ad retrospective. Or, you'll be nonchalant & indifferent if you don't remember the 80s.
ABC Appoints Jessica Ellis To Head Of Commercial
News from ABC headquarters today amid revelations someone's been using Ita's Nuttelex from office work fridge.
Meltwater Appoints John Bissinella As Enterprise Solutions Manage
Meltwater has appointed seasoned media intelligence executive, John Bissinella as enterprise solutions manager for ANZ to help drive the continued expansion of its Enterprise solutions. He joins with a remit to consult Australia and New Zealand’s largest organisations on how to leverage the most comprehensive news, social and customer insights data available. Meltwater’s enterprise team […]
oOh! Grows Out Of Home Portfolio With Regional NSW Rollout
oOh!media has ramped up its regional offering and is now alerting drivers of the next McDonald's in 156kms.
Messina & Special Launches Campaign To Promote Exclusive Uber Eats Partnership
Special unveils new work for Uber Eats. Sadly it's not as good as the stuff it did with The Wiggles & Sharon Strzelecki.
Carat Australia Releases Its “Forgotten Generation” Gen X Report
Drop an E, whack on some Nirvana and feel the arthritis in your left knee as you read this Carat report into Gen X.
The Hallway Drives Off With Auto Brand GWM’s Creative & Social
The Hallway nabs ute brand GWM's creative. Confirms it's not in a position to move any fridges this Saturday.
Spark Foundry Launches The Spark Planning Academy
Spark Foundry launches the Spark Planning Academy amid reports it was a long time in the planning.
Brett Lee Launches Weekly Summer Podcast
Former Aussie quick, Brett Lee, announces new podcast. Sadly, still no news on Six & Out reforming.
Shaping The Stories Everyone Is Talking About On Saturdays: Meet Good Weekend’s Editor Katrina Strickland
Who doesn't love the Good Weekend & coffee on Saturday mornings. Unless, of course, children have destroyed your life.
Havas Media Nabs IPG’s Daniel Tozer As Trading Director
Havas Media names Daniel Tozer as trading director. Promptly bags himself the office 42.5-inch Dell dual monitor.
Spikes Asia Announces Full Jury Line-Up For 2022
Spikes Asia announces its jury line-up for 2022 & it's as long as your arm! Fractionally shorter if you're long-limbed.
Sixt Teams Up With Bastion For A New Integrated Campaign
Global vehicle rental and mobility provider, Sixt, has teamed with Bastion Creative and Bastion Experience for a new integrated campaign. After launching into the Australian market, Sixt is now leveraging its “Above and Beyonding” brand positioning with eight separate film executions, several digital, print, and outdoor components, and specific creative to support its 163 retail […]
Shane Warne Brutally Mocked After Mitchel Starc Criticism Falls Flat
The Ashes isn't merely compelling cricket, it's also the perfect opportunity to hang shit on British colleagues.
Six Things To Stop Doing To Become A Better Leader
Here's six things to STOP doing to be a better leader. Had we included farting & robot dancing, it would've been eight.
Pinterest Predicts Future 2022 Trends
As predicted, the 2022 prediction articles have turned from trickle to flood. Read the latest predictions here.
