Live video streaming isn’t new, but thanks to apps like Periscope, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, you no longer need a complicated stack of technologies to access it for day-to-day life. A smartphone and a good internet connection is all you need to stream a live video feed on these social media platforms.
However, video streaming is not just a fun activity; it has a plethora of potentials from a business point of view, too. The sphere of video streaming is evolving with each day marking something new and unique. Whether it is social media, live product launch events, or live streaming of music concerts, we have seen an array of applications until now. So what’s the next big thing in the live streaming industry?
It has to be sports!
The MO of attending live sports events has changed dramatically over the recent few years, and with the advent of online sports streaming, it is just a matter of few clicks to get instant access to live sports events. Similar to in-stadium experiences, event organizers are devising dedicated strategies for engaging fans on live-streaming platforms, too.
According to NBC, over 6.5 billion sporting events were streamed live through OTT in 2018. However, the scene for live streaming through OTT was not this common until the last couple of years. Major sports leagues were holding out, forcing viewers to remain wired to their cable subscriptions.
The tides are changing and a big wave is coming for live streaming sports in the years ahead. Increasingly, sports enthusiasts will expect to watch their favorite sports events whenever and wherever they want. With 5G’s rolling out soon, both sports broadcasters and viewers will have new experiences to create and enjoy the content. If you want to learn about the significance of starting sport live streaming, you are in the right place.
Let’s understand the live sports trends, their impact in the industry and how to explore excellent business opportunities it has to offer.
Value of Video Potential in 2019
Video continues to be the most effective element in marketing strategies for a good reason. People find videos more entertaining, engaging, and memorable. Hence, they are more popular compared to other types of content on the internet. Videos offer a sense of storytelling and if you want to increase conversion, video marketing is the best way to go for it.
Source: filmora.wondershare.com
Let’s explore some more valuable statistics to prove the power of using video in increasing brand awareness.
Videos attract 300% more traffic and help to nurture leads.
A website is 50 times more likely to make it to the front page of Google if it includes videos.
Including a video on your landing page can boost your conversion rate by at least 80%
Over 50% of customers check out the product or service videos before visiting a store.
Videos have the capability to improve organic search on a website by 157%.
25% of brands publish videos every week.
Different Types of Videos Every Business Must Have to Thrive
There are different types of videos you can create for your business. From how-to videos to explainers, Q & A, and case studies – the options are practically endless. Additionally, for every type of video you want to create, there are different styles you can approach it from different orientations. Here are some of the video types you must include meeting the different needs of your customers.
Explainer Videos
Explainer videos work great if you want to educate your customers about your products and services, and illustrate why they need it. Product explainer videos are a useful for explaining the working of complicated products or services and enhancing positive brand awareness. They are a high-level outlook on how particular products or services solve a customer issue. These videos have the potential to be shareable content assets, so aim to make them more engaging by connecting with viewers on a deeper level.
Teaser Videos
If you want to create brand awareness, increase traffic to a specific landing page, and generate leads, focus on creating teaser or highlight videos. Most businesses follow text-based content marketing to achieve the above-discussed elements. However, if you are into video marketing, create fun videos to promote more downloads. This works great for big events and conferences. When finding new content for videos, consider highlighting the bigger story you can pack in these.
Leadership Videos
Leadership videos are great to build thought leadership within your business or industry. It helps to establish a human connection and to share a unique perspective to build trust and user following. Leadership videos must be authentic and should focus on a specific point. Sharing the experience of professionals and starting a conversation with your target audience is the key.
Webinars
Webinars are good to educate potential customers about products and about the issues that exist in the industry. When planning new webinars, think about how to repurpose the old videos you have. Design your webinar in such a way that bite-sized video clips can be included in that.
Live Streaming Video Business Opportunities
Live streaming hasn’t been with us for long, but it is quickly gaining significance and attention among people and brands who are looking for innovative ways to deliver content to the audience. Live streaming is a powerful channel to deliver content to your viewers if you are planning about starting a sports business. As with any other marketing channels, it comes with its own challenges. However, the challenges offered by live streaming dominates the benefits it offers. Besides the benefits, live streaming offers a sense of excitement for viewers. It makes the audience feel exclusive and inclusive at the same time.
Viewers Consume Videos on Your Time
The biggest advantage of live streaming for businesses is that the audience consumes content on your time, not on their time. This implies that you are engaging with the audience who care about your brand and find your video content extremely beneficial. You are automatically targeting content at an audience that is more likely to follow and convert. No other tool is capable of achieving what live streaming does.
Reach Highly Targeted Niches
As already said, viewing a live stream needs more commitment from your followers just because they have to tune in on your time regardless of whether it’s the right time for you. This helps to keep the unrelated audiences away and reach a highly targeted audience without any additional efforts.
Takes Less Time to Implement
Implementing live stream takes less time as it just takes a button click. Unlike traditional video production like vlogs or shows, it exactly takes 5 minutes to create a 5-minute video. That’s it. However, if you are not using social media platforms to live steam, it takes a one-time effort to make a video sharing website and you will be ready to live stream anytime, anywhere.
Grow Your Audience
Maybe the best thing about live streaming is that, you can grow your audience surpassing the geographical limits. The larger your audience is; the more chance you get to convert them into customers. If you want to implement live streaming solution for sports, it will help to expand your follower base considerably.
Real-Time Engagement
One of the major reasons why live streaming is continuously making an impact on marketing is due to its ability to offer real-time user engagement and join direct communication with the influencer. Whenever you see a pre-reordered video, you are viewing the work of the past. However, live streaming facilitates real-time engagement benefits for users as it happens in the now. Not just real-time engagement, it also provides the opportunity to offer Q&A sessions, live support, and a lot more. You can effectively convey your brand’s story in real-time.
Ability To Repurpose Content
Though this point applies to any type of content, live videos can also be easily converted to other types of content such as a published video transcript on your website or as a reproduced video on YouTube. The options are limitless. Whatever is the case, it is always recommended to repurpose content for a broader reach of your brand message.
A Great Way To Cultivate Trust
Live streaming is surprisingly beneficial to create a close bond with your target audience. As you will be talking with your viewers in the most natural and real way, they feel as if they are being part of authentic interaction. Yes! Even authentic than pre-recorded and edited videos, which are well scripted. Businesses can increase trustworthiness with the help of live streaming, which leads to a great influence across the social space and helps in better conversion when promoting products and services. This will also have a direct impact on customer retention and loyalty, allowing the delivery of high-quality content immediately.
Facilitates High-Quality Content Delivery
Considering the nature of live streaming videos in general, it helps businesses to deliver the best quality content to their viewers in a convenient way. Be it news, product releases, business events, live streams bring them to the attention of followers instantaneously. Brands can also run product promotions through live streaming and offer exclusive access to viewers for a limited time- a very effective way to increase conversions and revenue. The sense of urgency created by live streaming makes it compelling to watch, making it ideal for the flash sales of products and services.
Plenty of Opportunities For Monetization
Source: streamingvideoprovider.com
For businesses that focus on generating income from websites and social channels, live streaming unveils some great monetization opportunities to monetize live sports events.
Some of the best strategies to monetize live streaming are as follows.
– Charging viewers for exclusive access to webinars
-Offering paid product reviews and getting sponsorships
-Driving traffic to your existing website or affiliate offer
-Insert Ads in the live streaming broadcast
-Selling your own products
-Selling the entire broadcast to other publishers.
Better Brand Exposure
Live streaming solution for sports is not just about highlighting your brand in front of your potential customers; you actually get a chance to educate your audience about your brand and the services you offer. This manages to bring some amazing opportunities that can be very rewarding at the end. It helps to promote your business like never before with an outcome much appreciated.
Why Video Streaming is Important
Video streaming services have changed the way people consume sports events and it is for the better. Here are some of the benefits of video streaming.
Instant Playback
Whether it is sports videos or any other videos in general, video streaming allows instant playback. Compared to the old days when people had to tune to into TV alone to watch shows and sports events, online streaming makes the content available in real-time and can be accessed by viewers regardless of their location.
Cheap
Given that there is no additional cost involved when choosing the delivery medium, videos can be cheaply distributed over the web. Even if some exclusive videos are offered for a price, it is much cheaper when compared to the other entertainment channels. Learning how to stream sports online can be of great significance as it is one of the affordable marketing tools.
More Options To Explore
With video-on-demand platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu, today’s audience has a broad range of options when it comes to the choice of online video content. Earlier if you wanted to watch the shows, you had to purchase or buy DVDs. It was required to watch what you have rented or purchased completely but now it is very easy to preview a show and decide whether to watch it or not, without having to pay extra costs. If you looking for how to start a sports website, ensure that incorporate similar features to make it easier for viewers to choose content.
Make Event Coverage Easier
These days, social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook is used to live stream, as it is easy for brands to broadcast their events without having to pay anything extra. This very significant technology helps to make event coverages easier than ever. You can also start a sports business online to make event coverages easier.
Discourages Content Piracy
The creative video industry has been suffering from piracy issues for a very long time. Many new solutions to combat piracy issues are enforced by brands, but affordability was always a problem. However, online video streaming makes entertainment very convenient and affordable. For the same reason, viewers prefer to subscribe to video streaming websites than watching pirated copies of videos and media. Hence if you are looking for different ways on how to start a sports website, now is the right time as the industry is thriving.
What You Need To Know About OTT Networks
Over the top or OTT is the term used for the delivery of TV and film content via the internet. Traditionally viewers were required to subscribe to a traditional cable network to watch favorite shows and movies at home. However, with the emergence of OTT platforms like YouTube, and Netflix, it changed how people consume entertainment.
Popular video streaming services made it possible to deliver video service over the top of the Internet rather than through expensive broadcasters and telecom providers. That is why it is significant to create a website like YouTube, Netflix, ESPN, or Twitch if you are into content production or event organization.
How Do OTT Platforms Deliver Content to Viewers?
In general, OTT platforms use an online video platform or back-end, which typically handles all the media, subscriptions, users, security and rights, etc. of the platform. The back-end is what communicates with different customer devices. The most common hardware devices used for the stream are streaming boxes or TV followed by smart TVs and internet-connected gaming consoles.
There are several development challenges involved to deliver your content to every device because each device comes with its own development stacks to create apps. A good video-sharing CMS will help to run your own video blog and it comes with additional features like SEO optimization, inbuilt security, tracking system, and a lot more.
What are the Biggest OTT Opportunities?
With video streaming services on the rise globally, OTT technology has immense potential with brands like YouTube and Netflix expanding internationally. Beyond global adoption rates, major opportunities exist in both entertainment and non-entertainment markets. Recent surveys show that over 50% of OTT subscribers pay for educational content in the form of instructional streaming platforms. Streams that focus on health-based content and children’s programming hold a lot of potentials.
OTT platforms must also consider the advantages of tired monetization. Even though most OTT solutions are subscription-based, over 20% of subscribers also made in-app purchases last year. If you plan to start a sports business online, casting a couple of monetization methods can help your OTT solution to grow in the years ahead.
With that said, as the OTT sector has moved towards live programming, sports have also become an increasingly significant part of it. The arrival of online video content without the addition of sports was a big thing several years ago. However, today we are seeing the insertion of sports into the mix by major OTT providers. With cloud-based live sports streaming software now capable of handling live content day in and out, there is an increasing amount of interest shown in carrying live events. We are currently seeing the growing trends for sports brands to go OTT themselves to reach their audience is also being a clear indicator of changing TV viewing habits.
When it comes to established OTT players, while Netflix denies taking any interest, Amazon is rapidly becoming a major force in sports. This itself is showing the NFL’s Thursday Night Football on both Prime and its Twitch subsidiary. Twitch is already a leader in the broadcast of game live streaming and eSports competitions.
If you are thinking about how to make a sports streaming website, now is the right time to enter the market with your sports streaming platform. The opportunity has never been greater with cloud-based technology helping sports brands and organizations to launch new OTT services directly targeting customers at a greater speed and much lower cost than just a few years ago.
E-sport Trends in the Video Streaming Industry
A new era of sports viewing is here and sports media companies are focused on delivering what customers really want- High quality and a reliable live stream of their favorite sports events. If you want to learn about how to stream sports online, understanding top industry trends can help.
Let’s see some of the current e-sports trends in the video streaming market.
Viewers Willing to Pay for Streaming
Sports fans are ready to spend money on a sport-streaming website than watching it on TV networks. On average, fans are ready to pay around $23 per month for unlimited access to live sports on any platform. With that said, the majority of sports fans prefer interactive content that offers the ability to chat with other fans while watching live sports.
More Focus on Latency
Earlier, the negative effects of latency used to affect the quality of live streams. Imagine you are watching a major game online and there is a lag in audio and video synchronization, which will ruin the whole viewing experience. Even as online streaming continues to grow in popularity, there are cases of broadcast feeds arriving a couple of seconds before the online feeds which are becoming a great problem. For the same reason, solving latency issues is one of the hit industry trends for 2019. Many digital media brands use the best sports streaming software integrated with CDN to offer a great viewing experience to the audience without any lags.
Solving Piracy Issues
While the shift to OTT is great, it also increases the danger of piracy. Researches shows over 50 unique illegal streamers were active during the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. Brands are increasingly becoming aware of the piracy threats and started to offer security features to streamers. In the coming years, we will see active collaboration between content owners and content protection technology brands to maintain the value of sports content by combating piracy threats.
Live Interviews With Athletes
Sport streaming websites facilitate real-time communication with sportsmen and women to increase fan engagement at sports events. An opportunity to meet their favorite sports star is enough to encourage most fans to attend more games and tournaments. Live experiences or being in the moment is just as significant as engaging with the game itself. If you are thinking about starting a sports business, ensure you incorporate live sessions with popular sports stars.
Conclusion
It’s encouraging to see how technology is influencing live streaming space as more platforms enter the industry. OTT grows in popularity among audiences, and brands are seeking innovative ways to ensure that regulatory measures are being met. However, what it ultimately comes down to is the ability to deliver the best possible experience to viewers. A professional live sports streaming software can help you deliver top-quality streaming services to your audience.
If you are a sports enthusiast wishing to build your own sports live stream setup, contact us for robust live sports streaming services with custom application development.
Live streaming is an interactive way to engage with your audience and establish your presence. For instance, live sports coverage is a big draw for cable network subscribers, but you can also get the same content or even more from a dedicated sport streaming service. After all, what is the point of watching your favorite sport if you aren’t watching it live?
Given the increased popularity of mobile technologies and the internet, it has become easier than ever to stream live sports to audience around the world.
Live Sports Streaming- An Expanding Industry
Today, sports are by far the most prominently broadcasted video programs, whether on TV networks or online. Interestingly, the number of online viewership is on the complete rise. However, it was to like this in the past. When it all started, live streaming was a complicated process, and the opportunities were quite limited. Making a great live video was a hard-hitting task. The lower video quality and poor impact results didn’t defend the big investments in such a complex process.
However, now live streaming has become more approachable and relevant, and the quality has improved exponentially. Live streaming sports content was never this easy until the modern infrastructure and steadfast sports streaming software solutions came to existence.
For over 50 years, Television dominated media. However, today, it’s losing the ground to streaming media services like Amazon and Netflix. Similarly, set-top streaming media boxes like Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, etc. are replacing traditional cable subscriptions.
Sports have always been a major component of TV shows, constituting over 40% of the entire TV viewing. In the past decade, many sports organizations, and sports leagues have started streaming sports online through their own live-streaming platforms. Why? Because on-demand sports streaming is the current trend, and it offers excellent revenue opportunities. Let’s take a closer look at why live sports streaming is on the rise?
A Reach to the Global Audience
Even with widespread syndication, reaching a broad global audience with TV broadcasts is not practically possible. However, with live streaming, you can reach a worldwide audience base and access viewership more directly. It makes reaching out to a broader audience possible without hefty expenses and negotiations with multiple partners and distributors.
Lower Barriers to Getting Started
While getting a slot on television is difficult, it’s more accessible only to big organizations with big budgets. However, live streaming is a more accessible and a completely different arena. It doesn’t involve competing for limited space, and for the same reason, the prices are much lower. Other factors responsible for lower prices is the increasing ubiquity of internet connections and the declining cost of high-quality camera equipment.
Multi-Device Streaming
Smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices are becoming more widespread displacing the popularity of televisions. While there are people who don’t have televisions, it is difficult to spot people without mobile devices. Live sports streaming via the internet allows you to tap into a wide audience wherever they are on their smartphones and laptops. In fact, even televisions these days are coming with inbuilt streaming applications, enabling traditional TV sets to keep up with the changing demand for media devices.
Unlike TV broadcasts, live sports streaming offers amazing advantages in terms of broadcast. Some organizations broadcast multiple camera angles of the same game, which gives audience vantage points to choose from, giving them a greater control. With a bit of customer programming, you can bring in multiple viewing options for live streams as well. For instance, you can build an app that lets your viewers watch 2 games at the same time side by side. You can also overlay scores of other games, integrate live commentary in the middle of live broadcasts, and much more. This allows your audience to engage with the game and your live streaming service in a completely adaptable way.
Generate Revenue
With sports streaming software, you can bring a worldwide audience to your sport and club. This is an excellent way to make money while streaming entertainment. Creating amazing sports live experiences along with the ability to instantly replay, live playback, pause capabilities, are what help in generating steady revenue. There are several other revenue models for sports live streaming as well, while the subscription model is the most popular one. Pay-per-view sports is also another eminent revenue model. When executed in the right way, live streaming sports can generate significant and steady sales.
How to Live Stream Sports Successfully?
The increasing availability and less complexity have turned live sports streaming into a booming industry. While broadcasting sports content is easier than before, understanding how on-demand sport streaming works will make getting started easy.
Achieving Video and Streaming Quality
When it comes to live streaming sports, it is different compared to streaming other events. The major challenge with live sports streaming is movement and the elements. As sports events often take place in outdoors, the weather is a common concern. If you want to learn how to make a sports streaming website, taking efforts to improve the video and audio quality of your stream is eminently critical.
Some of the important factors contributing to great streaming quality are the right equipment, resolution, autofocus, zoom, multiple cameras, frame rate, etc. The camera you choose for online sports training must function well in low light, it is better to look for a 4k camera with a wide aperture.
Another important thing to consider is to check video buffering as they can totally ruin important moments in the streams. To avoid buffering, you must ensure that there is enough bandwidth to upload the video. You must also make sure that you stream the sport in multiple quality options with automatic bitrate switching so that your viewers have the best-suited version for their respective internet speed.
Mixing Software and Encoding
The master feed is delivered to a dedicated live stream encoder or an encoding device that encodes the stream to a suitable format ideal for transmission over the internet. Generally, encoding software will have the essential features as build-ins. Regardless of the encoding approach, switching between different cameras is essential and a multi-source camera encoder or a capture device helps in achieving this.
Another important factor to consider is the speed at which action occurs. At times, it can be really fast for the human eye to follow. In such cases, slow motion and instant replay let you play important scenes again. Most high-end switching/mixing software or encoders allow for easy instant replays. Some of the additional features you can implement via an encoder software includes- titles and transition, on-screen statistics, studio commentary, simultaneous recording of live streams, prerecorded pictures, and videos.
Monetizing Live Streaming
If you are interested in how to make a sports streaming website that generates revenue, you have a number of monetization models to choose from. You can either follow an advertising model, pay per view or subscription model. While adverting model is the most common one, unless you are attracting a very large viewer base, it can be difficult to generate a good amount of income merely from Ads alone.
However, if your audience is very specific, niche business might offer you more to reach out to them, even if the number of audience is small. Pay-per-view is another monetization model to earn money from live sports streaming. When priced correctly, a game that generates a couple of hundred views can earn thousands of dollars. When you stream events that are very popular, revenue can be even greater.
The subscription model is the best-suited one for live sports streaming. This allows true fans to subscribe to your live streaming platform. More like purchasing the tickets for a whole tournament or a whole season in bulk.
Post-Game Follow-Through
The best live sports streaming events continue to interact with their audience base even after the event. Highlight videos, video analysis, polling audience, are a part of the follow-through after the live stream as it is vital to retain a loyal audience. Proper follow-through has several benefits. It not only ensures that your viewers will show up for the next match, but the loyalty will also make sure your future games are a success as well.
The Future of Sports Live Streaming?
With more and more people doing away with cable subscriptions and moving to streaming services, live streaming certainly represents a bright future. The youth of today are much less likely to choose TV programs and more likely to use on-demand services.
Increasing, live streaming businesses are catching on, too. In short, the trend is clear. Live streaming is the future of media and sports entertainment. While the trend is still in its early stages, early adopters tend to reap more benefits. So, what are you waiting for? To make the most out of your live sports broadcast endeavors, it is highly recommended to use a dedicated live streaming platform. If you need assistance in how to make a sports streaming website, you came to the right place. We will get you started and streaming live in a matter of minutes. Just drop a word, and we will be right back to you.
Sports is honored with a ceaseless furor among the fans. From club soccer, cricket, rugby, baseball to chess matches, fans dependably purchase tickets to their preferred games. It is one such circle which has never observed a decrease in the income.
Every day, new games are being added to the broadcast rundown, and TV channels are communicating live games from a variety of genres. Nowadays, the furor for games has gone up in the sky with live streaming services broadcasting games straightforwardly to mobile apps and internet browsers.
Increasingly, thelive sports streaming softwarehave also gone extremely accessible with each day new streaming app joining the league with others like Hulu, Twitch, and YouTube Live.
How profitable are sports live streaming?
In a bustling life where a large portion of the general population don’t get time to watch their preferred teams playing on the TV, live streaming applications enable them to take a look regardless of where they are.
You can figure the notoriety of online live sports streaming by the fact that a critical populace in the US inclines toward watching games on Smart TV Apps or mobile apps regardless they can still watch the same on the traditional TV channels. It has occurred because of the growing popularity of live TV apps like Hulu, which enable clients to stream TV content through the web. As a result, there has been a decline in the market of traditional TV broadcasting as Apps like Hulu are offering the same in addition to extra benefits.
Just think of it in this way. Traditional TV channels are still being broadcasted in 480P, 720 P, and 1080i. Where platforms like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime are offering the content in 4K quality. Today, users take OTT streaming as a perfect alternative to cable TV. In return, they get access to all the Cable TV content bundled with extra stuff like on-demand Movies, Web series, Live Sports streaming, and Originals.
One more factor that makes live sports streaming more popular is the grown penetration of internet in the developing and developed nations. The same has also helped new business joining the league and building new live streaming platforms with easily accessible Live Sports Streaming Software solutions in the market.
What’s the best way to monetize a sports streaming service?
Tickets. They have always been an effective way to monetize any sports event. People love watching live games and for that, they purchase tickets to the events. A sports streaming software can be built with a similar monetization model, where users can purchase the streaming for a particular sports event. We call it a Pay-Per-View (PPV) model.
The idea of PPV is exactly the same as selling tickets. You can set a price and ask users to purchase the stream in the same way you ask them to purchase the stadium tickets. Many of the live sports streaming software solutions come inbuilt with the PPV monetization model. You just have to look carefully to find a sports streaming software like StreamNow, which comes inbuilt with PPV and many other monetization channels. PPV is amazingly easy to set up with StreamHash and you can bundle it with others as well, for example, PPV with Ads or PPV with Subscription packages.
The future of live sports streaming is already bright. Check out this infographic to learn more amazing facts about sports streaming as a business that you perhaps didn’t know:
In a study conducted recently by A. T. Kearney, the global sports industry was pegged at between $480 and $620 billion. There has always been enormous opportunity in sports; whether in merchandising, tickets or sports celebrity-led influencing; but the internet has catapulted sports into a titanic league of its own. Thanks to sports online streaming, cable and satellite supplied sports matches are no longer a novelty and navigating traffic-riddled lanes at supersonic speeds are no longer a necessity to catch a live game in time. With live streaming, a sports event can be accessed from anywhere. All you need are a device and an internet connection.
Amongst the various sorts of video programmes, sports occupy the top spot in terms of popularity, across both conventional and digital realms. And numbers are multiplying furiously. An estimate made by Adobe suggested that sports streams on its video service has jumped 640% between 2012 and 2013. Interestingly, this engagement isn’t restricted to professional leagues and teams. Even little league games, university matches and school-level tournaments are garnering interest on live streams.
If you’ve been considering cashing in on the sports live streaming trend, here are five tips that will get you going. Stream live sports online, the easy way.
Tip 1. Strive for Quality
Live sports streaming online is a unique brand of live entertainment. When you stream sports online, every millisecond counts. You don’t have many other segments of entertainment where things could change in an instant. Flashes of activity need to be captured seamlessly and in real-time in online sports streaming. There are several elements that will influence your quality: the weather, the lighting, the capability of your technology to carry your stream through. Here’s a closer look at some of the factors that will play a role in determining the quality of your live stream.
Technology
If you pick a sturdy technology, your quality will automatically be taken care of. Of late, the sports streaming niche has taken a shine to a technology called StreamNow, a superlative turnkey framework that delivers sports streams fluidly and flawlessly. Built on an excellent technology stack, StreamNow doesn’t disappoint when it comes to broadcasting in real-time.
Hardware
Your hardware is your biggest asset for your online sports streaming platform, aside from technology of course. Live sports streaming online requires superior equipment and sturdy gear in order to capture minute elements in excellent clarity on the go. Remember, that you may encounter adverse weather conditions during your outdoor schedules so it’s important to carry waterproof sheets to cover your equipment. When it comes to picking your camera, pick one that works optimally in dim lighting. Many sports games are evening events and capturing them can become a challenge if you’re not equipped. Consider options with a large sensor and a broad aperture.
Clarity
Resolution can impact your stream in a big way and it’s worthwhile to invest in a camera that sits above a 1920 x 1080 full high definition threshold. You’ll also find that a lot of live streamers are gravitating towards 4K-compatible technology, but there’s still time before 4K sweeps the market and becomes mainstream. If you want to invest in a technology that lasts you several years, go for a 4K camera. It’s always good to be future-fit. While we’re on clarity, let’s also talk about zoom. During a live stream, it’s likely that you’ll operate with a minimum set of cameras, especially if you’re recording an amateur game. Thus, zoom becomes incredibly important in capturing the little details. These can be big for your stream and your audience. When you decide on your zoom capability, evaluate your options in light of the sport that you will be primarily capturing. Some sports entail finer details than others and are played on more expansive grounds. Basketball, for instance, is played across an entire court whereas a ping pong match is confined to a limited space. Autofocus is another critical feature you ought to keep as a criterion.
Frame Rate
The more the frames, the clearer your stream. Think of frame rate as an animated flipbook. When you turn the pages of a flipbook quickly, you see a fluid, crystal-clear story take form. On the other hand, if you turn them slowly, your story doesn’t make any sense. The same way, when you stream sports online, a high frame rate is a must. 60 fps is a good place to start. Make sure your camera is compatible with your frame rate.
Tip 2. Focus On Your Software
We’ve already spoken about the merits of selecting a specialised technology. But there are other factors that belong in your technology ecosystem. If you do invest in multiple cameras while live sports streaming online, purchase a camera encoder that will allow you to toggle among cameras. This is known as live switching. A mixing software should also find a place in your software suite. This can help you create instant replays, slow motion recaps, titles and transitions and on-screen score cards.
Tip 3. Marketing and Promotion
Marketing your live stream is the only way to get your word out there. Plan a marketing campaign around each of your live streams and prepare well in advance. Use marketing vehicles like newsletters, blogs and social media to promote your stream. Also, release teasers of what is to come by having players talk about the impending match. This can build excitement and energy in the lead up to your game.
Tip 4. Monetisation
There is a range of monetisation tools you could pick from when it comes to live streaming sports online. Advertising, pay-per-view, content sponsorships and dynamic subscription plans are some of these. While advertising makes sense only once you have a considerable user base, you could begin with other routes immediately.
Tip 5. Offer Extra Highlights
Everybody likes a little extra. Reserve the time before and after your game to engage with your viewers. Give them inside news on what’s going on, which players have entered the fray and any other updates you may have. You could even involve members of the audience for additional engagement. Your after-match highlights could include recaps, player interviews and a game summary.
The online sports industry has ballooned into a veritable force to reckon with. And it only seems to be growing. A compelling business model can help you become a part of it. Get creating.
You might have noticed by now that many businesses and brands are live streaming their events to their target audience. Be it a new product launch or a panel discussion on product specifications, live streaming of events has become commonplace these days. There are even many websites which are related to streaming videos online, live and/or recorded. However, your purpose of live streaming might be different. You might be completely new to making a live stream and might want to know more about how to make a live stream and the purposes it can serve. Here are few things that might help you on how to broadcast live.
You might be thinking that live streaming would involve a difficult procedure and would need you to have technical knowledge of the equipment to be used. Yes, it is the case. Nevertheless, it is not so difficult to learn things about how to live stream because here we would be discussing everything – right from what is live streaming to the point of how to start streaming along with the tools to be used. Let us start with getting to know about what live streaming is.
LIVE STREAMING:
Live streaming is the process by which videos are broadcasted in real time making use of the internet. Thanks to the internet, live streaming of events can be done from any part of the world which can be viewed from anywhere. With the increase in speed and reliability of internet, it is now possible to broadcast videos without any delay or lag in transmission. Live streaming has come a long way and is now a technology that is accessible to anybody. There are many websites like LiveStream and UStream that enable the users to live stream their content. Also with the advent of these sites and various apps which provide live streaming services for low-cost, live streaming which was once a tedious process, has now become a simple task. With even social media like Facebook and Instagram allowing its users to go live, almost every person is able to create content and broadcast live to his / her audience. Today events related to sports, music, conferences, political discussions and religious meetings etc. are being broadcasted live.
HOW TO START A LIVESTREAM:
Here comes the big question. How to you stream live events? To put in simple words, you can stream live events with StreamNow, a scalable live streaming turnkey script that streams videos with low latency. It is optimized for multiple monetization channels and is priced at cost-effective rates.
Another question to be answered is- what all do you need to take care of before you actually start? Though it is as simple as using an internet-connected smart phone with apps like YouNow and Periscope, it is not recommended to do so, if you want good video and audio quality. If your purpose is not to deliver any professional content, then using the above resources would be sufficient. But if you want to live stream content for professional purposes with high-quality video and audio, then you should be using turnkey scripts such as StreamNow.
Below is the list of live streaming equipment you should be using to ensure that you go live in a conventional way:
1. CAMERA:
Having a camera is compulsory as it is the device that is going to shoot content. It could even be a smart phone or a tablet that can be used to shoot the content, but you are not recommended to use them as they would reduce your options in subsequent steps. Instead, a web camera with USB connection will be a good choice. USB will allow you to easily connect the camera to your laptop or PC making it easy to stream video using the internet. However, if you require higher quality videos, using a DSLR or a digital video camera is recommended. There are many models of DSLRs available in the market with different precisions in capturing. Depending on your budget, you might choose a convenient model. Cameras which can shoot HD videos cost around $1700 dollars with various other features included in them.
2. DEVICE TO CAPTURE THE VIDEO:
While the camera is used just to shoot the video, we need a device that can capture this video to make it visible to the audience as and when it is being shot. A web camera with USB can be connected to the computer directly, so there is no need of a separate device to capture in this case. But if you are using any other camera, then we definitely need a capture device. Hardware encoding devices can function as capture devices and are available on a large scale in markets. We have them available in the form of external devices that work as plug-ins to connect the camera and the computer. Apart from them, we can even install cards in our computers to serve the purpose. BoxCast, AVerMedia and many other companies manufacture these hardware encoding devices and can be purchased from eCommerce sites also. Other than a hardware encoder, you might also need a software encoder that will be used to import video from USB input or capture device. Also, as most of the cameras record videos in various formats which are not suitable for streaming, you might find it necessary to use a software encoder. Software encoders are available for free but if you wish to use professional encoders you can purchase them. Depending on the amount you choose to spend on streaming live videos and your specifications, you can make a choice between hardware encoder and software encoder.
3. HOST TO STREAM YOUR VIDEO:
Once you are equipped with the above-mentioned resources, depending on the estimated number of viewers your video would have (hundreds, thousands or more), you’ll have to search for a video streaming host. This video streaming host would serve as an online platform to deliver content to your audience and it should meet your server configuration and bandwidth specifications. There are many video streaming hosts like Livestream, UStream etc. available online. Before you start with broadcasting your video, you’ll have to establish a connection between your software or hardware encoder and the video streaming host. This can be done by logging in to your host account directly or by providing the password and URL or using the XML file downloaded to setup the encoder. The instructions required will anyhow be mentioned in your video streaming host website.
Once you ensure that all the above things are done, you are ready to start your live stream. Make sure that you have proper and strong internet connectivity before you start, as the internet is key to stream live without any interruptions. You can share the URL mentioned in your host website with your audience, which upon clicking would lead them to your live video. You can even access other settings of the video like restricting access to some users etc. With all this being done correctly, you will be able to successfully live stream your content.
Quality, synchronization of audio and video, delivery of content without any lag in transmission are three important things that have to be concentrated on if you choose to live stream. And all these factors are dependent on the standard of equipment you use and the internet connectivity. The greater the accuracy and precision of your equipment, the higher is the quality of your content.
If you are looking to start a Ustream clone or a Twitch clone, it is recommended to use StreamNow. To know more about StreamNow and its sister products, visit Streamhash.For any other queries on how to do live streaming and how to start a live stream using StreamNow, please contact the support staff.
If you have any doubts or concerns, feel free to drop a line or two in the comments section. I shall reply in a day or two. My best wishes are with you and your live streaming venture. Keep watching this space for insights on live streaming. Cheers!
