Friend Or Foe?

Following our previous article on the impact that the likes of Periscope and Meerkat can have on the world of sport, SportBusiness International takes a look at how they can be embraced to produce new revenue streams.

Just as sports teams, leagues and rights-holders have started to get on top of the commercial opportunities and challenges presented by social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a new phenomenon has come along and shifted the goalposts.

Live-streaming apps – the most popular currently being Twitter-owned Periscope and rival platform Meerkat – allow users to broadcast live video filmed on smartphones to a following on the social network.

Twitter does state Periscope is in a “highly experimental” phase, and it has been subject to a significant amount of negative attention.

Breaches of copyright are the main point of contention. Periscope, Meerkat et al are different from established online video platforms such as Google-owned YouTube and Twitter-owned Vine because of their live element; YouTube, for example, automatically scans new uploads using Google’s Content ID system, enabling the rightful owner of the copyright to block content as appropriate.

However, if sports content goes out live and millions of people tune in to watch, by the time it finishes it could well be too late for the copyright owner. The obvious stakeholders that see this as a danger are the TV broadcasters who pay significant rights-fees for the same content that can be accessed on the platforms, albeit at a lower-quality, for free.

A prime example of this was the ‘Fight of the Century’ between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao last month, which took place in Las Vegas and was available on pay-per-view (PPV) in the United States for a record $99. The fight went on to shatter PPV records – generating $400 million from 4.4 million domestic buys across the States – however it was also filmed by certain members of the crowd on Periscope. According to ESPN, certain streams of the fight had more than 10,000 viewers at their peak.

However, when used behind-the-scenes with sports teams – or the smartphone is put in the hands of a high-profile athlete – the platforms give fans never-seen-before viewpoints.

“We’ve seen a lot of Q&As with players, behind-the-scenes looks into locker-rooms, workout routines…lots of different and creative uses,” a Twitter insider told SportBusiness International.

Currently, Eight English Premier League clubs – including Arsenal, Manchester City and Southampton – have official Periscope accounts, using the platform to provide fans with such unique content.

Showtime, the American broadcaster that was a rights-holder for the event, also used Periscope to stream scenes from Pacquiao’s dressing room pre-fight.

“The pre-fight usage was an excellent case study for Periscope to show its usefulness in engaging with an audience, building up an appetite for the fight and perhaps persuading a final few people to sign up for a PPV subscription,” adds Gearóid Godson, social insight manager at media agency giant MEC.

This is an edited version of a cover story from June’s issue of SportBusiness International magazine.