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LA Kings team up with Grabyo to engage fans off the ice

The ice hockey franchise is using live social video to connect with fans during the 2020 NHL Draft and beyond.

The LA Kings, two-time Stanley Cup and three-time Western Conference winners, is expanding its online presence to engage fans at the 2020 NHL Draft and leading up to the new season.

The Kings have used cloud video platform Grabyo to produce two bespoke live social broadcasts for their 2020 Draft shows.

social live LA Kings Grabyo

This year’s Draft was completely virtual, and the league and most teams were challenged to stay engaged with fans. During a period when most people will be staying at home, providing second-screen experiences for social and mobile platforms has become essential, in order to recreate the communal experiences that fans are missing in-person.

Before and after the live draft, the franchise delivered live build-up and reaction shows to its social channels including interviews with former players, fans and analysts. The shows acted as an online meeting space for fans to discuss their opinions or ask questions to hosts using social comments. Optimized for mobile viewing, fans were able to watch the shows on their mobile devices while following coverage of the draft on TV or online.

The Kings’ draft show reached over 2.5M impressions, and over 550k views.

Using Grabyo’s remote contribution features, the show’s guests were able to appear from the safety of their own homes. Both live shows were produced fully remotely using Grabyo, with the Kings’ team collaborating from their own homes, anywhere in the world.

Outside of the draft, the Kings are ensuring fans remain connected to the franchise through regular social live programming. Its weekly live show, called “All The Kings Men Live,” is delivered directly to Facebook, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube using Grabyo.

The show takes fans through the week’s team & NHL news and is highly interactive, inviting audience comments to dictate the talking points of the show. Giving fans more control over what they see on screen creates a more enriching experience, thus driving longer watch times and higher engagement with the broadcast.

The Kings have leveraged the increasing popularity of live social broadcasts to not only find a new way to reach fans, but to create additional sponsorship opportunities.

These prominent placements on live social broadcasts give brands high exposure that is also available to view at any time afterwards. As the US emerges from lockdown, increased digital video consumption looks likely to remain and prominent content sponsorships will be an effective way for teams to continue providing value for brand partners.

LA Kings uses Grabyo’s advanced live streaming platform, Grabyo Producer, to produce and deliver its live social broadcasts to social media. Accessed through a web browser, Grabyo Producer is a real-time vision mixer, enabling production teams to remotely create and manage broadcasts – bringing in external guests, overlaying image and VOD assets, and employing audience participation features. Grabyo has direct integrations with all major social, mobile and online platforms, ensuring easy delivery of live video content.

“We know we have to be doing more now than ever to give our fans the access they want to the franchise. Ahead of the draft, we want to make sure our fans have a place to go for all things LA Kings, and a place to share the experience with each other. Thanks to Grabyo, we have been able to scale our live production capabilities to create more programming for our fans in a sustainable way.”

Pat Donahue, LA Kings.

For more information, or to find out how Grabyo can support your video production needs, get in touch.

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How cloud production technology is redefining the capabilities of outsourced production

Production companies that leverage cloud-based technology are able to deliver beyond their brief.

The adoption of cloud production technology has accelerated in 2020.

This year’s ‘forced experiment’, in which everyone in the media industry learned how to work from home effectively, has reshaped the way we think about video production.

For production companies, this has meant becoming more connected, collaborative and efficient.

This creates the potential for production specialists to become an extension of a brand or publisher, while delivering on-time and on-budget projects.

Cloud for collaboration

Offering more control in a collaborative environment can help production companies to forge strong relationships with brands and publishers.

During 2020, remote collaboration has been the watch word for the media industry.

Cloud production has enabled production companies to work even closer with clients, over delivering and proving unique and creative ways to meet briefs. The flexibility of production in the cloud means anyone, anywhere, can participate at any level, be it sharing assets to ensure branding is correct, or bringing in a client team member to contribute directly.

Collaborating on a live broadcast can be done in real-time from any location. Browser-based tools such as Grabyo only require a laptop-PC with an internet connection to operate. These workflows are also more structurally reliable, providing failsafes against human error or power outages.

Offering this level of reliability and close control can ensure a live broadcast or video clip is assured and fine-tuned on the go, delivering a brief effectively and at speed.

TV-quality for digital platforms

There is no longer a trade-off for remote working and speed against quality when using cloud technology instead of traditional hardware.

Cloud production tools have evolved to the point that production companies can deliver hi-quality, low latency broadcasts with premium audio and visual experiences using only cloud-based tools.

cloud production technology

Coupled with the ability to work remotely from anywhere in the world, cloud tools increase the capacity of production companies to take on projects of any size. The ability to set up a production from anywhere increases availability and scope, while eliminating potential downtime.

Platforms such as Grabyo are also designed to enable producers to deliver live broadcasts or clips that are optimized for digital viewing. Leveraging the audience participation features of social media, or tailoring broadcasts and videos for consumption across multiple platforms, in one workflow.

Traditional tools are not designed for digital workflows. Producing video for ‘one to many’ destinations is laborious and time-consuming.

Long-term investment vs. scalability

The flexibility of using cloud production technology also lies in the investment required.

cloud production technology

For production companies, ensuring they have the right hardware and software to deliver high-quality briefs can incur high capital investment – hardware lives on short upgrade cycles and is costly to upgrade.

However, missing out on a pitch due to capability constraints, or investing large amounts repeatedly, can be avoided.

Cloud based production tools such as Grabyo are delivered as SaaS platforms, delivered as a subscription. This lower monthly cost grants access to all the essential production tools.

In a cloud-native environment, scalability is also guaranteed. Capacity limits are all but removed, and costs are always equal to use.

For more information on how Grabyo can support production companies, get in touch.

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APAC digital news round up

Read about the most interesting and unique content ideas from around the APAC sports and broadcast industry these past few weeks.

With fans staying at home, online viewership among multiple sports is on the rise with the IPL seeing record figures for their recent matches. Manchester United is also showing strong promise for its future with the opening of their first set of sports experience stores, firstly in Beijing, China. The eSports industry is also continuing to grow as more people increase their online presence, this was reflected with the takeover of DouYu by Huya to create a $10 billion juggernaut.

Theatre of Dreams

Manchester United has confirmed they will be opening several entertainment venues in partnership with Harves Entertainment, called The Theatre of Dreams. As fans seek fully immersive experiences across the globe, these venues will be a homage to the Old Trafford Stadium with interactive history sections, gaming and dining. The first venue will open in Beijing, China with other sites in Shanghai, Shenyang and Changsha set to follow.

2020 National Chinese Championships

The National Chinese Championships took place in October with several high-profile players competing. Chinese provinces compete against each other to win the National Championships. The event was live-streamed on the ITTF YouTube and Facebook channels globally so fans can watch the matches from their homes.

IPL viewer records

Star India have recorded the largest ever reach and viewership for the recent IPL matches. As matches were set to start up, some of the world’s more high-profile cricketers have joined the IPL to compete over the winter months, bringing with them a global reach and audience. A total of 269 million viewers tuned in, with a total increase of 15% of viewing time over the first seven IPL matches.

All Blacks are back

The All Blacks returned to action with fans in the stadium for a match against Australia. Despite some fans being present, there were plenty of fans at home wanting to feel part of the action. SkySportsNZ have created a new feature called Player Cam. The clip across digital channels focuses on one player whilst showing the match being played out at the same time on a small video screen in the clip. It allows fans to watch the match as if they were there, focusing on an individual and the game as a whole.

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.

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Americas digital news round up

Check out this collection of the most interesting sports and entertainment content from across the Americas this past few weeks, curated by Grabyo.

Without fans attending sports stadiums or in movie theaters, organizations are using different methods to provide entertainment. Behind the scenes content is bringing fans as close as possible to their idols, as well as celebrities bringing fans into their homes using zoom calls and live broadcasts. The NBA final was won by the Lakers, with a combination of real-time highlights and statistical graphics used to keep fans up-to-date. Some of Hollywood’s stars joined together to do a script reading of Fast Times At Ridgemont High and the Seattle Seahawks let fans into the locker room.

#BallParkCam

As the MLB cover the postseason games, the use of a simple hashtag allows fans to engage with match highlights and interviews. #BallparkCam is discussed on MLBTonight and provides fans with an opportunity to be taken to the game. Using a selection of match highlights, panel discussions and interviews, fans can relive the best moments from that day’s game. The interviews are broadcast directly from the stadium allowing fans to feel more connected with the games they’re watching.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

As gatherings and meetings are restricted, movie casts can’t meet up to do their usual pre-shoot table read. Instead, the award-winning cast of Fast Times at Ridgemont High including Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts did a virtual table read. Parts of their video call were filmed and fans were treated to an insight into their favorite star’s homes as well as some insights on what they can expect from the classic 80s remake.

Firing up the Seahawks

The Seahawks took fans behind the scenes during their match against the Minnesota Vikings. The clip showed head coach Pete Carroll getting the team fired up in the locker room with an animated and passionate display. This close insight allows the fans to connect with the team and remain engaged throughout the game, even when there are breaks in play.

NBA keep it simple

As the Lakers were victorious at this years’ final, the NBA digital channels kept their content simple and effective. As the final matches were played in the ‘bubble’ fans wanted every piece of information at their fingertips so they didn’t miss a moment. Using a combination of real-time match highlights and statics graphis, the channels allowed fans to be fully immersed in the action from start to finish.

Robots at the Red Sox

To further enhance the capturing of content, the Boston Red Sox partnered with Nikon. State-of-the-art camera pods were installed in the ground to capture content including videos and photographs in a bid to reduce personnel in the stadium and allow for social-distancing. The pods also allow for people to work remotely, gaining access to restricted areas in the stadium.

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.

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EMEA digital news round up

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

As technology is being embraced by all industries to overcome the new challenges we all face, online content formats are evolving. For example, German football club FC Cologne is taking the fan experience to a new personal level by micing up their players during matches. However, the best-performing content is sometimes the simplest. Southampton took part in the ‘How it started, how it’s going’ trend on Twitter and saw some record-breaking engagement results. Sports leagues and competitions are adapting to life without or with a very limited number of fans, recently including the French Open and the resumption of PDC Darts competitions.

The Virtual Fan Wall

ITV’s Saturday night talent show, Britain’s Got Talent, has had to adapt to life without a live audience. A large part of the show was focused on audience reaction, cheers and tears. To ensure that the acts weren’t missing out on the encouragement from the audience, a virtual fan wall was created. Similar to what has been created at football matches, viewers joined in from their homes on a video call and this was shown in the studio.

Premier League International Break

During the international break across Europe, the football leagues have been keeping fans engaged with archived footage across their digital channels. Using a combination of ‘on this day’ and reacting to the results, goals and scorers in the Nations League matches, there has been plenty of engaging content. The Premier League has also been using footage from this season to recap the highlights before the league resumes after the international break.

How it Started

The recent trend sweeping Twitter and Instagram shows how something started and how it’s going now. Using old photos vs new ones, the trend is simple yet effective for fan engagement. Southampton Football Club saw some record results on their involvement in the trend. On Twitter, the club replied to one of Tottenham Hotspurs’ tweets with a picture of Gareth Bale in their youth setup, seeing 20,000 retweets and over 150,000 likes. A simple and well timed piece of content that saw high engagements numbers from fans all over.

24/7 FC

German football club FC Köln are creating a behind the scenes documentary, 24/7 FC. The documentary will be shown on club channels and broadcast on German TV, Sky. Part of the documentary will include match play and highlights, and it will take the viewer on the pitch with them. To further enhance the fan experience the players will be mic’d up. This will provide fans with an insight into what is said between teammates and the opposition team during matches.

Nadal’s Century

Roland-Garros took place this year at the later scheduled date of October, tennis fans were welcomed back courtside too. Only a few fans were allowed into the stadium so there was still high demand for highlights and digital content. As Nadal won the grand slam, he also won his 100th game at Roland-Garros.  A simple content reel complimented the match highlights that were simultaneously distributed across their digital channels.

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.

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