How we watch it now and how we might watch it in the future

Sport and the thrill of competition is what makes or breaks millions of people’s weeks as going into the office or school after your team has won is a completely different ball game to when you feel utterly dejected at your side’s embarrassment. Whether you’re a fervent fan of a team or fighter, or you’re a keen sports bettor using the latest promotions from licensed sites to wager on matches or fights online, the emotion of watching live sport is unlikely to ever change. Nevertheless, how we experience them is almost certain to evolve over time.

Just like when TV broadcasting revolutionised fans access to elite-level sport, analysts are predicting a similarly seismic shift in the world of sports entertainment. The winners and losers of this change are not yet clear but a huge part of what leading sport industries are trying to achieve revolves around fan interaction.

Camera Angles and Virtual Reality

Providing fans with alternative views in the early 2000s produced mixed results. To producers, offering fans the opportunity to follow Lionel Messi’s movements around the pitch via the red button on TV remotes was innovative. However, few fans ever chose to swap a live broadcast just to focus on one player. In boxing, broadcasters have done everything they can to get up close and personal with the action in the ring. Most networks now use at least two camera operators on either side of the ring, which makes you feel as close to the fighters as the referee.

Horse racing also embraced the idea of camera angles from the athletes’ perspective and strategically placed helmet cameras providing fans with a very realistic idea of what it is like to sit on top of a horse travelling at full speed. This proved to doubters that traditional sports really could embrace the digital age. Avid horse racing fanatics have already started to combine watching their backed runner in a live video stream with sportsbooks and getting the latest tips from experts like Andy Holding. This is one area that Intel Sports, a company that have been working with the NBA and NFL to set up cameras and advanced technology in stadiums, believe will change very quickly. Recently, the General Manager explained that the key problem with sport in its existing format is that “many people want personalised content”. He also argued that watching sports is already a two-screen affair with lots of fans eager to keep an eye on their fantasy team and also those who take advantage of bet in-play. Virtual reality will of course improve this dramatically. In 2015, Showtime posted a full-length video in VR of a middleweight boxing fight between Daniel Jacobs and Peter Quillin. It provides a ringside perspective of the action, as if you were stood by the ropes.

During the last World Cup in Russia, the BBC offered VR fans the opportunity to watch matches with a view from inside the stadium. This led to a barrage of amusing videos of fans celebrating in their living rooms as if they were in the stadium, crashing into coffee tables among other household items. However, this could just be a glimpse of the future as fans have also greatly enjoyed syncing their VR headsets so that they could see the same action at

precisely the same moment and thus crucially maintaining a realistic atmosphere between friends.

Whilst the size of the VR headsets and their cost are clear downsides, senior figures in the world of sport thoroughly accept that VR is coming.

Streaming Platforms

Aside from a raft of satellite networks covering live sports, there’s also been a new era of on-demand live streaming platforms. Amazon Prime Video secured the rights to screen some of the English Premier League a few years ago, while DAZN emerged as a credible contender to the likes of Sky Sports for boxing events. After securing huge broadcast deals with influential promoter Eddie Hearn, as well as a broadcast package with iconic Mexican boxer, Canelo Alvarez, DAZN now serves over 200 nations and territories worldwide.

It’s not just football and boxing that’s experiencing this change toward on-demand streaming. In cricket, Facebook attempted to secure the broadcast rights to live stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2017 at a cost of $600 million. However, by 2019, Facebook had managed to secure exclusive rights to the IPL. Facebook’s success of broadcasting this premier short-form cricket tournament caught the eye of Netflix and Amazon Prime, both of whom have taken a keen interest in this competition ever since. 

Live Events

So, with all these advances will people still bother to go to live matches and fights? Most within the industry believe they will as despite the technological progress, nothing else can give you the “I was there” factor. In addition, teams may convince fans to attend live games with content like interviews with new players or half-time competitions that will only be available to those present. The fans themselves may also feel more secure watching live events as facial recognition technology could quickly enable authorities to deal with any developing incidents. Equally, artificial intelligence could allow clubs to seat fans close to their social media contacts thus improving the social experience of going to a game.

Fans might also notice some physical changes too as stadiums gradually turn into multiple use arenas with lots of fun activities going on around the main event. Virtual reality could also be deployed in the stadiums as an activity for fans to try out. Kids could use the technology to see if they can run as fast as their favourite NFL star or indeed see how many 3-pointers they can score in 60 seconds etc. Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur recently launched a skywalk facility that goes up to the top of the stadium and provides terrific views of London’s skyline. Other ideas include holographic experiences with favourite players as well augmented reality providing fans with stats and game information. Simply put, fans of the future won’t go to a sporting venue, they will go to a hub of social activity.