Football fever has taken the world by storm! The tournament's impact is such that irrespective of whether you are a football fan, it draws in millions of viewers each game. I enjoyed following the games and can't wait to see who turns out to be the world champion this time. While we all wait for the final game this weekend, let's talk more about FIFA World Cup 2022.
|
Tournament
|
Average TV viewership
|
Unique viewers on linear TV & digital channels
|
|
2022 Super Bowl
|
150M
|
-
|
|
2018 FIFA World Cup
|
191M
|
3.56B
|
|
2020 Tokyo Olympics
|
-
|
3.05B
|
|
2022 Beijing Olympics
|
-
|
2.01B
|
That’s not it! FIFA World Cup 2022 has broken viewership records across broadcast TV and streaming all across the globe. For instance, with 8.9M viewers across the US, Argentina vs. Mexico game became the most-watched group stage game in Spanish in US history. That’s FIFA in all its glory!
While these numbers showcase that live streaming is the future of sports, two things stood out to me during this season of the FIFA World Cup. Let’s take a look.
Live streaming wins hands down
Live streaming is increasingly becoming sports fans’ go-to mechanism to watch their favorite games. Ampere’s sports consumer trends survey highlights that 37% of fans aged 18-44 prefer streaming over broadcast TV. Talking about the US in particular, this number goes as high as 45%.
If you closely look at these numbers, a critical thing that stands out is that millennials prefer streaming over broadcast. Here’s a quick snapshot of the findings of an online survey by Dynata that captures FIFA viewing preferences age group-wise.
|
Age group (yrs)
|
Live streamers (%)
|
|
Millennials (26-41)
|
57
|
|
Gen X (42-57)
|
39
|
|
Gen Z (18-25)
|
36
|
Localization: the golden boot (goose)
There are two sides to localization. One is making content available in regional languages for better viewership. And second, adding various local elements that help establish a better connection with the audience. For instance, partnering with famous and relevant local faces the audiences love and are used to makes the content seem relevant.
FIFA World Cup 2022 had both these elements. It stood witness to yet another milestone wherein all tournament matches were free to live stream on FIFA+ across Brazil. While this was a landmark move, these were also made available with localized commentary in Portuguese.
To further enhance viewing experiences, FIFA partnered with one of the greatest football legends of all time, the Brazilian superstar Ronaldo to produce content across his multiplatform channel, Ronaldo TV.
I think these localization efforts not only enhanced the viewing experience for local audiences but also helped FIFA+ meet its eternal objective of becoming the ‘undisputed destination of football content’ free of cost.
Checklist to win the live-streaming game
If you want to offer the best sports live-streaming experience, here’s a checklist of things you need to look for in the right technology solution.
Robust playout: While live streaming a sports game, the last thing you’d want is a disruption in playout due to natural or man-made disasters. Therefore, partnering with a cloud provider that offers robust disaster recovery is essential.
Broadcast-grade streaming quality: If you make your audiences feel like they are watching the game right from the stadium, half your work is done! Look for a tool that can dynamically adjust to the streaming requirements of different platforms, be it SD, HD or UHD.
Low latency: Offering real-time content is an indispensable part of your live streaming service, especially when it comes to sports. Partner with a tech provider that can power such impeccable experiences for your viewers.
Captioning & subtitles: We saw how FIFA powered a highly local football-viewing experience. You can do something similar by offering real-time captioning support. Choose a live orchestration solution to insert captions and subtitles into your live stream in multiple formats and languages as required. This way, people not just from one region but all over the globe can access and enjoy your content.
Unmatched graphics: Live sports streaming is incomplete without powerful graphics to offer an immersive viewing experience. Elements like lower thirds, scorecards, polls, etc., add tremendous value to the games. These also allow you to offer non-intrusive ads. What’s not to like?
Great news for you!
Amagi LIVE, our cloud-based live orchestration solution, checks out all the above boxes.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get started.
Write to us at cloudandme@amagi.com for more information.
