How COVID-19 Pandemic Forced Sports Industry To Innovate In First Round Of Sports Return Broadcasts This Month
By Vivi Lin for LVSportsBiz.com
LinkedIn: @ViviOnTheSpot IG: @ViviOnTheSpot4TV Facebook: @ViviOnTheSpot4TV
With the widespread impact of the novel coronavirus and suspension of public events, a strong and quick comeback for professional sports is uncertain. What is certain is the road to redemption will be long and hard. Sports executives are eager to find ways to get back to some sense of normalcy and welcome fan engagement.
When we were all forced to stay at home, sports fans took to Twitch, TikTok and other digital media platforms to connect with their favorite athletes. Sports went from being at the stadium to being at home with the players. The coronavirus pandemic is escalating the shift that sports is more than a competitive event; it is a media platform. Sports is entertainment and it is content. Therefore, sports must up their game with production creativity, value and offer new ways to engage fans using digital platforms.
In May 2020, we saw a few professional sports open their preverbal and virtual doors to competition for the first time since COVID-19 shut down all events mid-March. These events give us insight into what may be strong strategies to bring fans back to organized professional sports safely and successfully. Let’s take a look.
Getting Mic’d Up
The Taylormade Driving Relief match on May 17 showed what the new normal for golf events may look like when the PGA returns on June 8. Fans got to see these elite athletes play under the same CDC requirements as the lay person. Before COVID-19, catching a glimpse of the production team on the course was rare. After COVID-19, every overhead shot showed viewers how the players and essential broadcast production members all had to physically distance.
A limited production crew meant players had to clip on their own wireless microphones. This treated fans to the intimate conversations between teammates throughout the event. With the absence of fans, no one cheered as Rickie Fowler dropped in a long birdie on the 11th hole. He instead, celebrated and waved to an imaginary crowd. His teammate, Matthew Wolff, responded as if he heard the loud roar and cheers just as two regular friends would do playing a casual game of golf. We got to see it and listen in on the conversation. This unprecedented invitation to join Fowler and Wolff on the green offers fans access to the game which they have never been a part of. And now, fans will be hooked.
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Music Sets the Tone
All eyes were on Las Vegas-based UFC President Dana White, when he announced UFC 249 was scheduled for Jacksonville, Florida on May 9 two weeks ago. The event was produced with essential crew only in an attempt to comply with CDC mandates. During the fights, the absence of fans was hardly noticeable. Production, commentators and the fights maintained viewer engagement. However, as the winners were announced, the absence of fans cheering and yelling created a deafening silence in the Octagon that was painful. The Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson interviews with White were clumsy and awkward. Without fans, the interviews fell flat. Gaethje was clearly amped on adrenaline and pumped up for the win but his interview with White suffered defeat. Perhaps adding high-energy music and audio effects may have enhanced Gaethje’s moment. Nevertheless, White announced success for UFC 249 as pre-buys for Pay-Per-View doubled that of UFC 248. News reports said the PPVs topped 700,000. In an interview with LVSportsBiz.com last week, White said he did very well with PPVs.
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Virtual Fan Engagement
FOX Sports reported the return of NASCAR with the XFINITY SERIES after a 10-week suspension. The fan-less event on May 17 last weekend averaged 6.32 million viewers making it the most watched competitive sports event this year on all television networks.
Fox focused on production value and digital media to engage fans. Technology allowed viewers to hop in the car with drivers during races. Cameras placed in multiple locations and a high-speed drone capable of traveling 90-miles per hour offered exciting point-of-views. Amongst the perspectives, fans could see the driver himself, the track, other cars ahead of him and even view his dashboard.
Immediately following the suspension of public events, NASCAR took to esports where real drivers race virtually. Over a million viewers watched the first virtual races and the added sports betting opportunities continue to provide value to NASCAR sponsors and partners. The hope is that the eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series will draw audiences to TV as NASCAR returns to live events and helps build a stronger sports betting base. The esport engagement is also reaching a new and younger demographic that NASCAR believes will carry over to the live racing experience.
Virtual Fans
The NFL is facing a very quiet season and yet team owners are still making plans for a profitable one. Viewers and athletes feed off fan cheers during the games. Without fans in the stands, team coaches and quarterbacks will likely be whispering their play routes and strategies. For broadcasters, silence is death as it usually leads to viewers flipping to another channel. The NFL is seriously considering augmenting broadcasts with artificial crowd noise and using technology to generate audible and visual fan responses. Corny? Perhaps not-so-much. Sitcoms have been doing it for decades and studios still generate hit shows without a single criticism to the cued audience laughter. It’s highly likely with added visual and audio production elements, advanced technology and ample fan engagement, NFL fans won’t even realize no one aside from the teams and production crews are at the games.
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The coronavirus hasn’t been all bad. In some ways, the shut down can be good for sports innovation. COVID-19 has expedited the need for technology, production value and access to athletes. For sports organizations that are returning with elevated production value, added access to their players and offering fans more ways to participate over digital platforms, recovery may be sooner than later and more profitable in the long play.
LVSportsBiz.com talked with Vivi Lin about her story in this one-on-one interview Sunday May 24.
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