By Max Miller

As we move forward into the world of 5G and beyond, the demand for instant content at your fingertips is ever growing! Whether you’re in retail, technology, entertainment, or sports, in order to build your brand you’ve got to keep up with trend of instantaneous content.  So if you’ve got a high school, club, or college sports team or maybe a product or brand that revolves around the sports industry, I want to share with you 3 reasons to consider live-stream video production. And as a bonus, I’ll also provide you with 3 solutions on how you can execute your next live-stream!

GAMES

The first potential streaming possibility is the obvious choice for sports – games! Live-streaming your games is a great way to increase your fan base.  There are several great benefits for live-streaming your team’s games. From allowing Aunt Sally to watch her niece play from Timbuktu, to building fan bases all over your community by getting sponsors involved and even showing the games at local establishments.  Another great advantage to streaming games, especially at the younger levels is recruiting! Coaches and scouts have the ability to watch a more in-depth breakdown of a game instead of just a coach’s cam.  With added play-by-play and color commentary this allows decision makers at the next level to quickly and easily learn about athletes who catch their eye that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

AWARD SHOWS OR BANQUETS

With social media providing platforms for athletes to showcase the more intimate moments of their lives, why not allow your fan bases an intimate look into the conclusions of your team’s season or tournament through your channels! Showcasing these events that would otherwise go unseen gives a glimpse into the people behind the uniforms in a setting beyond the sidelines.  In addition to award shows, fundraising banquets are also great opportunities to go live!  And if you’re a brand, creating an award and live-streaming the ceremony is a great way to generate awareness with your intended audience.  With live stream video being promoted organically by social media channels more and more, this is a great way to showcase your event and even promote your cause.

SPORTS TALK SHOW/LIVE PODCAST

Another great way to create content around your team, organization or brand is through a live talk show or podcast.  This longer format platform allows you tell a lot of stories that you normally wouldn’t be able to or break things down analytically for your hardcore fans.  Likewise, simply adding a video element to a podcast – a la Joe Rogan – can create a more engaging feel.  One specific use for an athletic department is showcasing all your weekly results and highlighting an underappreciated team per week.  Or if you’re a brand, this is a great way to build awareness by talking about the sports your product applies to.  Engaging with audiences of your specific sports is a great way to organically create brand awareness.

Now before we get into the solutions to execute these strategies, I’d like to touch on some of the platforms and statistics for the medium.  Of course there are the paid digital streaming subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, as well as TV network sites and apps. But the ever-growing capacity to stream to social channels continues to add to the list of available platforms.  While sites like Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Mixer all have a focus on E-Sports, Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live, and now LinkedIn Live all give users a chance to go live to their audiences.  These growing resources all stem from the trend of users gearing their intake of content toward live video. Not only is the streaming industry estimated to reach $124.6 by 2025, but 80% of people would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog (livestream.com study).

With that, let’s get in to what you came here to learn, how you can live-stream!  The first, and most likely cheapest option is to simply go live from your smart phone or tablet! There are number of apps and hardware accessories to enhance your live-stream product, but a couple of my favorites are the Switcher Go app and the Saramonic Smartphone Mixer.  The second solution, which again is a single camera (and can even be single user) solution, is the JVC GY-HM250SP.  This camera allows you to stream to Facebook Live or YouTube Live straight from the camera AND include a score bug and full graphic overlays! The third solution is to hire a full service live-stream operation team.  If you are interested in multiple cameras, replays, graphics and commentators this is your best option. HallPass Media has a fully operation fly-pack and has produced broadcasts of sporting events all over the world!

So there you have it! 3 potential streaming opportunities for your organization or brand, multiple platform options, as well as some solutions for equipment and execution!