Grabyo

Here are Grabyo’s favorite content production ideas from around the sports and broadcast industry over the past weeks.

It continues to be a difficult time for many organizations. However, several teams and leagues are adapting content plans to figure out the safest and most effective ways to stay updated with fans while also making strides to progress towards normalcy.

ESPN Broadcasting MLS Return

While the MLS season has returned without fans, ESPN has been experimenting with how to navigate its broadcasts. Unlike prior iterations, ESPN is switching gears and focusing on collecting an extensive amount of audio. With more than 30 microphones across three fields, wireless cameras, and remote-controlled transmitters, fans can hear interactions between players, teams, and officials on the field. Giving fans more access than they have ever had before and they are loving it.

59′ 👉 Sub into the game
68′ 👉 Score the opener

Ilsinho put @PhilaUnion in front (but not for long) with this fine finish. #PHIvORL pic.twitter.com/Qv4lQd2Zr3

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 21, 2020

Blue Jays Likely to Play in the U.S.

As the baseball season starts up again, the Blue Jays won’t be returning to the Rogers Centre as the franchise will play its remaining home fixtures on the other side of the border. To stay in touch with its Canadian fan base, The Jays have been posting old highlights and plays on Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter.

#BlueJays Statement On 2020 Season Home: pic.twitter.com/lpXLapRHUD

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 18, 2020

Largest Videoboard in Sports

Despite the fact that many aspects of sports have been delayed, the SoFi Stadium has finally completed the installation of a videoboard that extends beyond the size of the actual playing field. The videoboard exceeds the visual and audio capabilities like no other display ever has and will set a new precedent for in-stadium experiences.

We are 97 percent complete! Check out some #BTS info about the completion of our video board. #Samsung | #SoFiStadium pic.twitter.com/SahPGRWFBd

— SoFi Stadium (@SoFiStadium) July 1, 2020

Mahomes’ Half Billion Dollar Contract

Patrick Mahomes has signed the largest contract in professional American sport. Mahomes thanked the Chiefs Kingdom for its support after signing the 10 year contract, with incentives that could make the contract worth as much as $503m with the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans flocked to the video announcement on Twitter with over 4.3m views and 40K people talking about it.

Here to stay. . .! ⏰⏰ pic.twitter.com/mfwMga3Kl0

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) July 6, 2020

Hamilton on Disney+

Disney was hoping that delivering Hamilton on the platform would boost it’s revenue, and the numbers have shown that it’s worked. The movie premiered on the streaming service on July 3rd and during that weekend, the Disney Plus app was downloaded 752,451 times globally. This number reflected that the downloads were 74% higher than the average downloads of any other weekend in June.

You don’t have to wait any longer. Hamilton is now streaming on #DisneyPlus. ⭐️🎵 #Hamilfilm pic.twitter.com/0gKN8byBmz

— Disney (@Disney) July 6, 2020

To learn more about Grabyo and how we are helping global broadcasters, rights holders and media companies overcome these challenges with our cloud-based video production and editing platform – get in touch today.

We’ve partnered with D.C. United to enhance the club’s live digital video strategy and deliver timely remote live fan experiences across social media during the absence of live soccer.

As live professional sports remain on hold in the United States and most people currently staying at home in isolation, Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs are facing a new challenge of connecting with fans remotely and creating new sports content for supporters to enjoy.

D.C. United is addressing this challenge by using our cloud video platform to produce and deliver new digital-first live broadcasts to Facebook, Periscope and Twitch. Our browser-based production tools enable the club’s digital team to work safely and remotely from home while collaborating in real-time

One of the founding clubs of MLS, D.C. United is getting creative with the live content it creates. In December 2019, the club announced the signing of Mohamed “KingCJ0” Alioune Diop, who is streaming his FIFA 20 matches to D.C. United’s Twitch and Facebook pages from his own home. The world of eSports has rapidly increased in popularity with games publishers, sports federations and clubs hosting live, interactive eSports events that appeal to a cross-section of gaming and sports fans across the US.

D.C. United is also leveraging the popularity of their players by hosting live Q&As and ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) shows with the players at home. The club has started a regular interview segment hosted by midfielder Julian Gressel, titled #GresselSpecial, as well as producing tailored content for its Spanish-speaking fans, including AMAs with midfielder Junior Moreno.

Our remote contribution features allow D.C. United’s hosts, players or staff to join a live broadcast using only a single browser link, from anywhere in the world. The guests only need is a connected device with a webcam and microphone. 

D.C. United uses Grabyo Producer, our advanced live production platform, to create, produce and deliver its remote live fan experiences to social, mobile and web platforms. 

Accessed through a web-browser, Producer allows digital teams to overlay graphics and run interactive elements such as polls on a broadcast. Production teams can collaborate to deliver a broadcast from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

To create an engaging stay-at-home experience for Australians during COVID-19, we provided the tools for Network 10, in partnership with Tourism Australia, to deliver a special interactive live broadcast of its special television show, The Love Australia Project, to Facebook Live.

The #LoveAustralia Project, celebrating Australia’s culture and beautiful landmarks, was simultaneously broadcast live to Facebook using our leading cloud video platform.

In order to comply with advertising regulations, Network 10 needed to replace the show’s live TV ad breaks with bespoke content for its social broadcast. The network took this opportunity to encourage active participation from the audience and extend the content beyond standard programming.

Network 10 used our integration with Never.no’s audience engagement platform to power and moderate live polls during the ads. By adding interactive elements, Network 10 was able to create a more communal viewing experience, sparking discussion, and driving longer watch times and higher engagement.

The entire interactive live broadcast was delivered by one main producer, using just a web browser on a laptop. The producer was able to work completely remotely, with every element of the broadcast managed using our cloud-native platform.

At a time when social isolation presents a challenge for broadcasters to create new content, Network 10 was able to add value for its sponsor partner Tourism Australia, creating a meaningful experience for Australian audiences.

Network 10 used Grabyo Producer, our advanced live streaming platform, and Never.no’s Bee-on audience engagement platform to produce the broadcast. Accessed through a web browser, our intuitive design required minimal training and set-up to use for Network 10.

We’ve partnered with LIGR – Live Graphic Systems to deliver the next generation of cloud-based live production for sports federations, clubs and broadcasters.

LIGR is a leader in cloud broadcast graphics. Our new partnership highlights an important step for the accessibility of professional, data-infused live sports production.

All levels of sporting organizations and broadcasters, regardless of prior skill or knowledge, will able to produce high-quality live content. Our partnership will help those looking to streamline in-game production costs while maintaining professional standards and commercial integration opportunities.

For niche sports or those looking to grow their global fanbase, this solution will enable the creation of high-quality live content to capture audiences across digital platforms.

Using minimal resources, broadcasters, federations and clubs will be able to meet the growing expectations of fans for high-quality broadcasts across digital platforms.

The partnership will also include integration into LIGR’s AUTO graphics mode, where a LIGR – Grabyo partnership can be used to completely automate an entire game’s broadcast graphics from the cloud, removing the requirement for a traditional broadcast graphics operator.

Combining this with our remote production, guest commentary and advanced live broadcasting capabilities, broadcasters and sporting organizations will have a powerful, turn-key solution to produce professional broadcasts, without the traditional cost of production.

For more information, contact us here.

Here are some of our favorite digital content production ideas from around the sports and broadcast industry over the past two weeks.

The past few weeks have seen a large majority of people make the full-time move to working from home – away from studios, meeting rooms and media suites. Working in the cloud has become a necessity and industries have been adapting differently.

In the UK, parliament is being run by Zoom meetings and the nation’s Saturday night Match of the Day football fix has transformed into a podcast. In other parts of the world, there are virtual concerts, training events and the opportunity to learn new skills, all being produced and broadcast through the cloud.

Making dinner with a star chef

Chef Massimo Bottura is building his online community by running cooking classes through his Instagram feed from his home in Italy. Taking advantage of people having more time on their hands and spending more time cooking at home, the chef has over 1 million followers on his Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

Ciao a Tutti, here are some ideas and prep from our kitchen to yours! Get inspired and get cooking! See you tomorrow for another episode of #kitchenquarantine • Stay Safe and Stay Tuned! • A special thank you to my friend @andrea_grignaffini for the beautiful knife we used to fillet! #foodforsoul #villamanodori #family #workfromhome

A post shared by Massimo Bottura (@massimobottura) on Apr 14, 2020 at 2:15pm PDT

Working out with Watford

Watford Football Club has found an innovative way to engage with fans as well as allowing commercial partners’ presence on their channels. Ben Foster ran the first team spin session from his house with fellow teammates joining via conference call. The content was then shared on club channels as well as the players interacting with it.

Daily concerts with Gary Barlow

Gary Barlow has created a YouTube channel for his #croonersessions. Every day Gary features a different guest from famous bands and artists to fans of his channel. Guests are joining from all over the world, London to LA, from gardens to garages, with the aim of providing thousands of fans with some light-hearted entertainment.

Stay and Play Cup

The FIFA 20 Stay and Play Cup will see 20 of Europe’s top football clubs playing against each other in a knockout FIFA 20 tournament. The five-day tournament will be live-streamed on the EA Sports FIFA Twitch channel. Staring some of the world’s best footballers, the tournament will support the Global Giving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. EA will start the donations with $1M and during the tournament, there will be ways for fans and viewers to donate.

20 historic European clubs 🌍
20 pro footballers ⚽️
$1M for charity 🙌

Stay Home. Play Together.

Join us for the #stayandplay Cup 🎮 starting April 15 ➡️ https://t.co/1K7xWNze1y pic.twitter.com/aiHVrFjMFO

— EA SPORTS FIFA #stayandplay (@EASPORTSFIFA) April 9, 2020

Footy Fit with Pit

Hashtag United have been keeping their community fit by streaming a team PT session run by their goalkeeper. Bringing in their players via video conference, the session switched between players, keeping fans active whilst they stay at home.

A back garden marathon

To support charities across the world, people are streaming concerts, organizing esports tournaments and even running marathons in their gardens. James Campbell raised over £29,000 completing his 6m long back-garden marathon. Bringing in guests for commentary and encouragement, the entire 5-hour event was broadcast live on YouTube.

Grabyo’s platform provides broadcasters, publishers and rights holders with the tools they need to instantly create and share high-quality live video content across social, digital and OTT platforms. To try Grabyo today, get in touch.