53 ROUND TABLE Sports streaming THISMONTH’S FEED ROUNDTABLE GUESTSARE:
Hi, we are the owners of the Chums, one of Freedonia’s top shark polo teams. Previously a niche sport, interest in shark polo is growing, as evidenced by the recent biopic about shark polo legend Ben Gardner, and the new hit song Don’t Play (Shark) Polo With My Heart . We think shark polo has an opportunity to go global, but most teams in the league are still operating under tight budgets. Our team wants to use innovative video coverage to attract new fans, reach a global audience and attract sponsors. In 2020, the Chums will be hosting the Shark Polo World Championships. By then, we want to have full coverage, with high quality presentation, great graphics and solid social engagement. But right now, we’re starting from scratch. I hope you can help us by answering a few questions… CHUMS: First of all, we have an iPhone on a tripod with an announcer on a USB mic. Surprisingly, we can get pretty good coverage out of this set-up. But what is the next step up? What kind of production gear should we be looking at to take this to the next level? OLALLA CERNUDA: Focus on technology, but don’t forget the content. If you really want to engage audiences, live streaming is vital, but giving your audience a bit of interaction is almost as important. With the same technical set-up, why don’t you try to do a pre-live show in which you can do quick interviews with the players and coaches, explain tactics, get experts to talk about the sharks – something that
engages the audience and also gives you extra airtime? Try to have technology always working in your favour, too. Get unlimited data local SIM cards for your iPhone (you don’t want to run out of data in the middle of the match). Prepare graphics with start times of your event in all different time zones. Use social media to tell people what you are doing and to engage with them, but don’t give away live content for free if your channel is a pay one. LIAM J. HAYTER: Installing Skype on the iPhone and using Skype TX on NewTek’s TalkShow or TriCaster/VMC production systems would allow remote presenters to ‘dial in’ to any production. And NDI Camera for iPhone and Android will turn your existing set-up into an NDI source over Wi-Fi, and again a TriCaster/VMC connected to the same network can then bring this in over Wi-Fi. Once you’ve got your live sources coming in, the next step is adding the right live production environment. The great news is that an NDI IP environment will allow you to effortlessly grow. CHARLIE PRICHARD: With the minimalist approach you’ve already taken, it’s worth asking why you’ve minimised the type and amount of equipment to achieve the results you need. Is it cost? Is it manpower and resource? Is it striving for simplicity? If any of these ring true, then it’s certainly worth looking at automated production, driven by artificial intelligence, where single cameras and no human intervention can create authentic broadcasts. We at Pixellot are at the forefront of this sector.
OLALLACERNUDA,HEADOFMEDIA& COMMUNICATIONS, INTERNATIONAL TRIATHLONUNION OIalla is a journalist with over 20 years of experience in television, digital media and sports. Since 2015, she has been in charge of all the media and communications for the International Triathlon Union (ITU), the world governing body for the sport of triathlon and its related other multisports. The ITU’s web outlet, triathlon.org, was a pioneer in online sports streaming.
LIAMJ.HAYTER,NEWTEK Liam is NewTek’s workflow and solutions architect for EMEA. Based in London, with over 18 years experience as a creative technologist, Hayter joined NewTek in June 2017 and provides pre-sales product knowledge, IP workflow and systems architecture to customers.
CHARLIEPRICHARD,PIXELLOT Charlie is the UK director of sales and business development for Pixellot. Pixellot uses AI to enable professional and amateur sports organisations to cover and monetise their events. Pixellot’s patented technology streamlines the production workflow, and helps provide interactive coaching capabilities and new kinds of sports content.
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