Summer of Sports Brings Home the Gold Medal for Innovation 

Shifting Broadcast Dynamics

Sports rights are gradually shifting from sitting solely with traditional linear broadcasters to now include streaming services and this is changing how they can exploit those rights. As Rory Renwick says, “many broadcasters are now not just linear broadcasters, but have streaming capabilities, and so they’re able to show more coverage than ever before and squeeze more juice out of the lemon.” Renwick adds that “streaming platforms are also able to experiment and showcase new experiences around personalisation as well as improving search and so forth.”  

George Bevir agrees that the current rights landscape is changing how sports content is being distributed, and this is particularly evident with the Olympics, “in the UK, the BBC has got about 250 hours [of Olympics coverage] and it’s the same situation across Europe because of the rights deal with Warner Bros Discovery and the way it’s distributing its content.” Bevir also adds that there is a risk that with much less Olympics coverage available for free than has been accessible in previous years, “this may be slightly confusing for your average viewer.”

Enhancing Viewer Engagement

One significant change that is made possible when content is distributed over streaming services is enhanced viewer engagement through personalisation. As Bevir noted “for those who do have access paid services, then there’s lots of innovation such as medal alerts, which you can get on discovery+, as well as the option to follow certain athletes or certain sports. If you’re watching one stream, you might get an alert to say that something’s going on at another event, which will help you navigate through the content.” These kinds of features are clearly hugely important because, with so much content available with an event like the Olympics, it can be quite difficult as a viewer to navigate through it all and ensure you don’t miss out on crucial moments.  

Interactivity is another key trend this summer. As Renwick explained, “there’s a real drive to provide more interactive experiences and give people the power and the choice to choose what they want to watch on, what device, as well as when and where. Viewers can even view multiple Olympics events at the same time with NBC’s multiview experience.” James Cranfield believes that this interactive element is especially important when it comes to engaging the younger generation, “with football, they’re constantly wanting to flick between different games, so to be able to view games simultaneously would be fantastic.”

This demographic’s preference for interactivity demands a more dynamic and customisable viewing experience. Renwick adds that “many young people choose not to watch the full game or event, but instead like the option to interact how they choose, such as to watch the highlights or go to specific moments or get some background information on certain players or athletes.”

The integration of data into broadcasts is also becoming increasingly sophisticated. Viewers now expect detailed statistics and contextual information, enhancing their understanding of the events. This trend is particularly beneficial for sports with complex scoring systems or those that are less familiar to the audience, such as surfing or sailing.

Increasing use of Cloud, Remote Production & New Codecs and Formats

We’re also seeing a lot of innovation on the production side. Bevir points out that “the cloud is the main method of distribution at the Olympics this year for the first time” and adds that the increased use of the cloud in sports broadcasting is “enabling content to be moved around more easily for sharing with rights holders”. This change is reducing the need for physical infrastructure at broadcasting hubs, facilitating more efficient and scalable content distribution.

Cranfield pointed out that cloud ingest is also becoming more popular, “we’ve seen quite an uptake in our cloud ingest for people wanting to have a quick turnaround of content, as well as to bring the cost down”. The use of cloud in this way not only brings down costs but also improves the speed and flexibility of content delivery, which is crucial for live sports events.

New codecs and formats are also coming into use, which are promising higher resolutions and better audio experiences even under bandwidth constraints. As Frank Schoenberger explains, “the Olympics is the perfect playground to test if these new codecs and formats are doing what broadcasters expect, that being providing viewers with a great experience so they can enjoy watching sports, in higher resolutions, even with weak bandwidth conditions.” He added that “MainConcept is currently working together with Brazilian broadcaster Globo, showcasing the VVC/H.266 codec, for Brazil’s TV 3.0 standard which is starting next year, and is also working together with partners, Fraunhofer IIS using immersive MPEG-H Audio, and V-Nova covering MPEG-5 part 2 LCEVC”.

Schoenberger believes that some of the things we’re seeing now are going to influence future sports broadcasts, “many standardization groups and countries are already looking into new codecs and formats, like DVB in Europe, ARIB in Japan and ATSC 3.0 in the US so although it normally takes quite a while before standards really getting into the mainstream broadcast, it’s likely that at the next FIFA World Cup we’ll see more technologies like that being showcased.”

Greater Focus on Immersive Experiences

There’s also much more noise around immersive experiences this summer, which has no doubt been helped by the launch of the Apple Vision Pro. As Renwick says, “the Olympics has an AR experience this year” and additionally “a number of media organisations and telcos are wanting to trial immersive experiences with sports owners.” He also mentions the work that Accedo did building an XR experience for the Euros, “We were fortunate enough to work with Deutsche Telekom with its broadcast OTT platform, Magenta TV, to launch and develop a fully immersive XR experience.” This move highlights the trend towards creating more engaging and immersive sports viewing experiences.

There’s every expectation that efforts around immersive experiences are going to expand, offering viewers unprecedented ways to engage with sporting events. Renwick adds that immersive experiences “are a brilliant tool for multi sports like the Olympics, because it gives you that capability to watch, and pick and choose what sports you want. It also lends itself to fans of statistics because it’s another platform to immerse yourself with an incredible amount of data.”

Cost Consideration Still Key

Despite the focus on innovation, cost remains a critical factor. Bevir highlights that “while there’s a lot of exciting things going on in Paris for the Olympics, there’s also lots of organisations and sports events that are looking at how they’re using technology, not just to advance the viewing experience, but also to wring more life out of their content….to make their investment go a little bit further and do more for less.” This supports whatCranfield already mentioned about how cloud ingest is becoming more popular, in part because it helps to bring down production costs at live sports events.

Cranfield also talked about how the use of Cinedeck ingest in the Euros helped to reduce costs for the event, “cost is a big factor because to do a live production and turn it around quickly, you’d normally need a big OB van, etc. Using Cinedeck ingest and our partners, LucidLink, at the Euros meant those things weren’t needed. Along with cost, being able to turn things around much faster is also key at the moment.” Bevir added that amore pragmatic approach is being taken towards technology at events like the Euros, “instead of UHD HDR, we saw a shift back to HD HDR, because of the benefits it brings in terms of costs, in moving content around, and in storage after the event.” This emphasises the need to balance technological advancements with financial considerations.

Looking forward, what’s next on the horizon?

As we navigate through this packed year of sports, it’s evident that sports broadcasting is undergoing a significant transformation. Several key trends and innovations are set to redefine how audiences experience the Olympics Games 2028 and other future sports events. “From a technology perspective, I expect to see more next generation codecs, probably VVC, and potentially 8K, as well as more multiview and immersive experiences” says Schoenberger.

Bevir expects to see even greater levels of personalisation, which may include “the ability to turn graphics on or off that helps to explain an event such as how the points scoring is working, as well as stats and other data because I think everyone has got a lot more used to seeing data presented on screen.” He also expects the coverage to get even closer to the athletes, which is something we’re already seeing across all sports, “where access to athletes… is used to create these amazing narratives with more behind the scenes content, and with Federation’s creating their own content, and athletes themselves being their own brands and sharing stuff on social media.”

Renwick thinks there’s still more work to be done in terms of content discovery, “in terms of search and in terms of signposting to make audiences aware of what to watch and where, and with so many events and hours of coverage, this is going to be one of the biggest challenges. Making sure people aren’t getting lost and providing experiences for all those audience segments is a real challenge.” He also believes that we’re going to see much more immersive content and is “super excited to see what Apple does and what the other OEMs deliver on that front.”

On the storytelling side, Cranfield expects to see more content about the players and athletes. He thinks this is something we’re already seeing more and more with sports basketball and football and is a trend that will continue because the younger generation particularly, want to connect with the player. However, as a football fan himself, there’s one thing that Cranfield is hoping not to see, and that is AI refereeing!

For broadcasters, the challenge lies in seamlessly integrating all of these innovations, at the same time as balancing costs and delivering more value, all while maintaining the essence of the sports themselves. With much more focus on streamed coverage, for viewers, the future promises a more enriched, interactive, and immersive sports viewing experience. And with sports bodies like the Olympics and FIFA reportedly developing their own channels and services, it’ll be interesting to see how these evolve over the next few years, because this may result in a strategic shift in how sports content is distributed. With so much innovation and so many developments on the horizon, I think everyone will agree with me when I say, it’s an incredibly exciting time for sports broadcasting, and I for one, can’t wait to see what’s around the corner.