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HOW HARNESS RACING VICTORIA GREW VIEWERSHIP 52% IN 6 MONTHS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

HIGH STAKES GROWTH

52% Viewership Growth

TrotsVision, Harness Racing Victoria’s dedicated streaming platform, grew from 54,894 views in August 2021 to 83,292 views in January 2022.

250% Demographic Growth

TrotsVision helped Harness Racing Victoria grow its 18-35-year-old audience by 250%. That demographic now outpaces all other age segments for growth.

Across Victoria, Australia, 28 different clubs bring fans the fast-paced action sport of harness racing. Overseeing all of this is Harness Racing Victoria, which realized the sport was just scratching the surface of its amazing potential to attract and engage audiences. By partnering with Brightcove, the organization is using video to create new excitement, build more organizational efficiencies, and above all transform the way this sport is enjoyed by a growing base of eager fans.

HARNESS RACING WAS FALLING BEHIND

Despite all the fun and intensity associated with harness racing, its popularity has struggled across the world–not just in Australia. Why? The aging demographic is one big reason. Generally targeted to an older audience, the sport was not reaching younger cohorts in a meaningful way. This presented a big problem: if the fan base kept shrinking, that would have a serious ripple effect: There’d be less fans, which would mean less demand for racing, less demand for racing professionals, and even less demand for horses themselves. This could cause the entire harness racing experience to suffer with no way to remain relevant in a competitive racing wagering landscape.

But the communications and technology teams at Harness Racing Victoria refused to accept this status quo, and instead set in motion a plan to seize three big opportunities:

  1. Leverage the vast potential and popularity in wagering.
  2. Create higher visibility and engagement through a digital viewing experience.
  3. Connect with the sweet spot of younger demographics–the 18-35 year olds.

How could they achieve all of that? One word: video. “There was a real appetite for video content,” said Cody Winnell, Media and Communications General Manager for Harness Racing Victoria. “It showed us that we could actually change the way that harness racing is presented in Australia.”

VIDEO DELIVERS A MORE ENGAGING FAN EXPERIENCE

There was no other product in the market that came close to delivering everything we wanted in one solution. And that became evident pretty soon when I reached out to Brightcove.

DARREN SKILLEN

DIGITAL DEVELOPER

In 2018, Harness Racing Victoria launched TrotsVision, a streaming platform dedicated to harness racing. Initially set up as an “automated service” which limited the channel’s storytelling potential, the fuse had been lit and Harness Racing Victoria was on its way. Then Brightcove entered the picture, presenting Harness Racing Victoria with a robust platform that met every need with Brightcove Cloud Playout, Live, and Video Cloud.

For fans, the relaunched TrotsVision delivered a whole new experience. Viewers could now enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the track, getting an inside view at all the action between races. What’s more, TrotsVision opened up a new perspective on the harness drivers, showing the “face behind the helmet” as the personalities of these colorful and witty drivers was allowed to shine through. The viewing experience would engage fans with versions of their favorite songs, have fun with famous movie and TV quotes, announce contests on social media, award prizes, and more.

TrotsVision became an always-on touchpoint for fans who wanted to experience the excitement of the sport beyond the race track. This digital extension was very attractive to younger audiences who also have higher expectations for on-demand viewing and entertainment from sport brands.

This improved experience helps drive substantial growth, according to Cody Winnell. “TrotsVision is growing the overall audience, bigger and bigger each month, and from that overall audience, some people will come and go from the track. That’s okay because the audience overall will continue to grow.”

Since partnering with Brightcove, TrotsVision has grown from 54,894 views in August 2021 to 83,292 views in January 2022. Furthermore, TrotsVision has helped Harness Racing Victoria grow its 18-35-year-old audience by 250%. That demographic is now outpacing all other age segments for growth, which is significant given Harness Racing Victoria’s overall audience grew by 76% over the same period.

Down the road, this audience growth can position TrotsVision as a revenue-driving hub that capitalizes on sports wagering and other monetization opportunities like advertising and sponsorships.

HARNESSING INTERNAL EFFICIENCIES

In addition to increasing viewership and engaging a younger demographic, Brightcove’s technology also helped Harness Racing Victoria gain tremendous organizational efficiencies. “The further I got into Brightcove, I realized that this was the one,” said Darren Skillen, Digital Developer at Harness Racing Victoria. “Brightcove gave us that solution where we could have everything in one place.”

That efficiency was clear with TrotsVision, which is powered by an internal video library that can be searched by horse or driver. This allows race officials–known as “stewards”–to evaluate individual races. This was a major change, because before this video library came along, the stewards would actually have to go into the office, pull something out of the archive, load it up, view it and then put it back. Not anymore. They now have about 18 months of replays available digitally, at the click of a button.

What’s more, Brightcove’s technology made it possible to use an API and attach race information to each of the replays. With that ability, Harness Racing Victoria could now create an online gallery of replays with a custom search functionality where anyone could search for a horse or a driver or any other particular trait. For both staff and fans, this brand-new efficiency was a major leap forward.

An integrated solution even boosted the organization’s social media channels. Previously, to get a clip of the race out on social media, the team would have to download a race video, send it to an editing program, choose the in and out points, export it, and post it maybe 90 minutes later. But with the help of Brightcove’s technology, they can simply clip the content live, post it, and have a highlight of something that actually just happened. For content-hungry audiences, nothing compares to this fresh and relevant material.

Whether it’s a race for horses or a race for viewers, the stakes are always high. Brightcove is glad to partner with Harness Racing Victoria and looks forward to all the ways that video will continue to stay in the lead.

HOW THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY MADE THE WORLD THEIR CONCERT HALL

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

A SNAPSHOT OF GLOBAL LIVESTREAM SUCCESS

As part of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s focus on sharing music through video experiences, they delivered a livestream performance powered by Brightcove during the 2019 international “Make Music Day Australia” celebrations.

46,000 people were reached by the livestream

15,669 unique views

75% overall play rate

18 countries viewed the performance, including the US, UK, and Canada

Formed in 1932, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australia’s premier orchestra, has a firm grasp on the 21st century with a deep commitment to livestream and on-demand performances.

TAKE A BOW, VIDEO

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has one mission: to share the magic of symphonic music as widely as possible. They want more people in more places to experience the wonder of orchestral music. What makes that possible? Video – the most robust and effective medium for arts and entertainment organizations. Not only does video add value for existing symphony patrons, it also brings in new audiences who might not be able to get to Sydney to attend a performance in person.

The SSO uses the power of video in several key ways:

  • As part of its regional outreach program, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra hosts live events with state libraries, schools, and conservatories.
  • Its international fans can watch video performances from the comfort of their home anywhere around the world.
  • The Sydney Symphony Orchestra also leverages their wealth of video content to market and sell tickets to live performances.

According to the Australian Council for the Arts, 3 in 4 Australians are engaging with culture online. Twenty-eight percent have discovered a new artist, performance, or work online, and 1 in 3 has paid for a digital entertainment experience.

Brightcove is built to work. It provided the speed to market which was vital to quickly delivering new video experiences to our audiences.

MEERA GOOLEY

HEAD OF DIGITAL MARKETING, SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

These stats are encouraging for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well as every other arts, entertainment, and media organization. Audiences are waiting, they’re hungry for content, and a first-rate video experience will keep them coming back for more.

BRIGHTCOVE HELPS ORCHESTRATE SUCCESS

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sydney Symphony had been using the power of video to increase its audience base. So during the 2020 lockdown, the Sydney Symphony was ready to reach new audiences with a seamless transition to pre-recorded, on-demand digital concerts and productions all streamed through Brightcove.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra wanted a bespoke experience for their audiences – a 100% brand immersion before, during, and after the event. The orchestra insisted on a video partner who ensured business continuity, delivered a quality livestream performance, and offered the most exceptional sound quality possible.

With Brightcove Gallery® and Brightcove Live®, every performance met the highest standards of the organization while giving listeners and viewers a front-row seat. From the gentle whisper of a violin to the deep rumble of the timpani, every note and nuance was powered by Brightcove.

You might not find a lot of trained clarinet players at Brightcove. But when it comes to creating industry-leading video solutions for organizations like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, we have what it takes to reach audiences far and wide.

HOW SONY MUSIC BROUGHT LIVE MUSIC TO 1 MILLION VIEWERS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PLATFORM

8 Weeks

Stagecrowd launched a short 8 weeks after emergency declaration

351 Performances

Streamed in the six months following launch

1 Million Viewers

Stagecrowd brought live music to 1 million viewers at the same time

For music fans everywhere, there’s nothing better than the joy of experiencing live music. In-person concerts are often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see an artist, feel the music, and connect with other fans. So when the Japanese government required live events to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony Music Solutions created Stagecrowd, a first-of-its-kind online livestreaming platform.

“We launched Stagecrowd just two months after the initial state of emergency declaration in Japan. The rapid launch was part of our mission to keep fans and artists connected through live performances,” says Mr. Onodera, Chief Producer at Stagecrowd. “If Sony was going to enter the livestreaming business under its own name, it was absolutely necessary to guarantee superior service.”

With viewer numbers quickly skyrocketing for large-scale livestream events in Japan during the pandemic, scalability and reliability were critical. At the time, Sony Music Solutions was already using Brightcove to livestream artist fan club events, and the business knew it could trust the same broadcast-quality streaming technology for Stagecrowd.

“We have always had a great relationship with Brightcove, and their strong reputation for high-quality, large-scale delivery meant that we didn’t even consider any other options. The stability of Brightcove’s platform helped us to deliver high-quality livestreaming, right from the first Stagecrowd performance,” says Onodera. “I’m really glad that we chose Brightcove—both event organizers and viewers have given Stagecrowd’s livestreaming high praise for video and sound quality and overall stream stability.”

We were always nervous about large-scale livestreaming with more concurrent connections than we’ve ever had before. Brightcove has been instrumental in making it a success. We look forward to continuing to work closely with them.

MR. TANAKA

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DIGITAL BUSINESS COMPANY, SONY MUSIC SOLUTIONS

One of the other keys to Stagecrowd’s success has been its ability to create highly entertaining, well-produced events that can deliver on a performer’s creative vision. “Livestreaming involves a lot of lighting and other original effects. We work with the Brightcove team to make any potential adjustments to ensure the best possible experience for our fans,” says Mr. Kasai, Sales and Marketing Manager at Stagecrowd.

By using Brightcove and avoiding technology-related streaming challenges, artists as well as their fans have come to quickly trust Stagecrowd’s high-quality video and sound production. “We have never encountered any problems with Brightcove, and actually, Brightcove is very helpful in investigating potential problems that may occur even outside of the Stagecrowd platform,” says Kasai.

The Stagecrowd team also takes advantage of Brightcove’s detailed analytics, such as total viewer fluctuations during a livestream, retention rates, and viewing devices. “We share this data with our management to help them optimize the streaming environment for all viewers. Being able to provide this data to the artists whose content we manage has also helped us build and solidify excellent relationships,” says Kasai.

Delivering legendary live performances by famous artists has allowed many more people to discover Stagecrowd as a destination for high-quality, live music. “Just like how others scroll for a movie or drama on Netflix, viewers can scroll to find a live show they want to see on Stagecrowd,” says Onodera. “On Stagecrowd, we offer paid livestreaming events to the public as well as exclusive streams to fan club members.”

In the first six months since its launch, Stagecrowd livestreamed 351 performances to millions of people during peak viewing times, generating substantial revenue for the business and earning a top-notch reputation among livestreaming services in Japan. And while Stagecrowd may have been created in reaction to the pandemic, it will continue to be a major sales driver for Sony Music Solutions well into the future.

“I think that paid streaming services are here to stay. In the post-pandemic world, they will become an alternative to real live performances. Especially for popular artists who sell out concert tickets instantly, the potential for ticket sales will be unlimited,” says Onodera.

“In the near future, we hope to offer livestreaming of international artist performances to Japan. Right now, it’s impossible for overseas artists to tour Asia, so we are working on Stagecrowd to deliver live performances in the region. In the future, we would like to further improve our streaming quality and expand our business capacity to deliver all levels of live performances with clear, stable video,” says Kasai.

With the benefit of Brightcove’s dependable livestreaming technology and first-rate customer support, the Stagecrowd brand will continue to cement Sony Music Solutions’ reputation as an international entertainment powerhouse. We’re proud to continue to support Stagecrowd’s flawless track record and help provide the best livestream performances for music fans around the world.

HOW MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING DRIVES ENGAGEMENT IN REAL TIME

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

In 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) made professional fishing available to enthusiasts and casual viewers alike through linear programs on the Outdoor Channel. Since that time, they’ve grown into the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, hosting over 250 events and engaging more than 30,000 participants each year.

From the outset, MLF had one mission: to present the sport of competitive professional bass fishing in a way that the viewing public had never seen. They aimed to position competitive fishing on a par with major sports organizations such as the NFL, MLB, PGA, NASCAR, and so on.

So MLF launched a series of events that brought together anglers from different leagues to compete in their cup tournaments. But there was still one thing missing—they didn’t have a league of their own. That’s when they reached out to Bass Pro Shops and other sponsors to discuss officially starting one.

EXPANDING TO DIGITAL LIVE STREAMS

To expand their league into digital, MLF brought in Jared Collett as Head of Digital Ad Operations. “We wanted to take what had been condensed to two hours and livestream it in a way that stayed true to the sport and the property,” Collett says.

Brightcove has been a really great partner with helping us find ways to reach more audiences and find new fans all across the globe.

JARED COLLETT

HEAD OF DIGITAL AD OPERATIONS

As MLF began their search for the right streaming partner, their list of needs kept getting longer and longer. They needed full technical support, HD streaming, monetization capabilities, detailed analytics, and most importantly, a track record in delivering stable live streams for 8–10 hours.

The end result was a 17-point checklist of requirements, which, after an extensive review, only two platforms met. “Of the two, only one of them had it all in one platform,” Collett recalls. “The other one was going to require us to use three different platforms just to be able to achieve what we wanted. So it was a very, very clear choice.”

ENHANCING LIVE STREAMS WITH ADS AND ANALYTICS

Among the monetization requirements MLF had was a partner capable of supporting live stream ad insertion with clickable overlays. It was important that their audience be able to interact with ads in the same way they would on a digital platform. The solution, dubbed the Big Red Button, allowed them to send specific markers through the live stream, signaling the system to fetch and insert digital ads.

Collett remarked that he wasn’t used to working with a partner willing to go the extra mile to solve his problems. “A lot of companies now will be like, ‘Hey, there’s an API. You can go build it yourself.’ But I have a pretty small team, and we don’t have the resources for that.”

Analytics also played an important role in the success of MLF’s live streams. With concurrent data, MLF can communicate the exact reach of sponsored segments broadcast during live events.

“We can give our sponsors real data as to how many people actually saw that clip that was run through the live stream. These real numbers have really helped us to bolster our properties,” notes Collett.

Beyond enhancing sponsor relations, concurrent data also helps MLF determine peak viewer times and make real-time adjustments to boost viewership.

EMPOWERING LIVE STREAM SUCCESS WITH TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Thanks to Brightcove’s reliable live streams, monetization capabilities, and business-driving analytics, Major League Fishing has grown from a humble, 2-hour linear program to a leader in sports streaming.

“The benefits that we have as a company, having Brightcove by our side, have been absolutely amazing,” said Collett. “There’s so much that we’ve been able to do with Brightcove.”

One of the key benefits MLF expressed is the support they receive from an engineering team that actively participates in developing various solutions. “Though Brightcove has a ton of great APIs, they recognize that my team can’t do that. So they help us with building out the API or building out a button that helps us do it, or something along those lines.”

With Brightcove by their side, Collett is optimistic about the future of MLF, particularly as they focus on audience growth.

“Brightcove has been a really great partner so far with helping us find ways to reach more audiences and find new fans all across the globe. So we’re really excited about what we can do with them going forward and how we can bring our product to new fans.”

HOW THE HOPE CHANNEL BROADENED THEIR GLOBAL COMMUNITY

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

Hope Channel is a global Christian television network broadcasting shows that promote a balanced, healthy lifestyle. The official television network of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Hope Channel began in 2003 with just one channel; as of March 2016, the network has 44.

ONLINE VIDEO ALLOWS HOPE CHANNEL TO CONNECT WITH GLOBAL AUDIENCES

Hope Channel credits its strong global presence to its strategic addition of affiliate channels that cater to specific regions. “Our growth has been phenomenal in terms of the number of affiliates we have added and their global reach,” states Fylvia Fowler Kline, Director of Marketing. “We are in 30 countries, and still growing. With each new affiliate, we reach new audiences with whom to share the message of our faith.” Online video helps Hope Channel make its content more widely available to its global audience.

Hope Channel is unique in that affiliates around the world create the majority of the content that drives the network. Programs reflect local cultures and are broadcast in regional languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Mandarin, Russian, Tamil, Hindi, Ukrainian, Arabic, Farsi, and Telugu. There is also a channel for the deaf.

As Hope Channel adds new global affiliates, distribution of local content becomes more complex. Satellite and terrestrial broadcast mediums limit viewers’ access and create barriers to growing global audiences by requiring multiple protocol support. Hope Channel’s flagship channel in the United States is on DirecTV. Some affiliates are available only on satellite, and some only through the internet. So, in 2011 Hope Channel began using online video to make it easier for people in all corners of the world to access, view, and share content.

AN ONLINE VIDEO PLATFORM SIMPLIFIES DISTRIBUTION AND ACCESS TO CONTENT

Video is the cornerstone of our new website. Our goal is to seamlessly integrate video into the web experience, making our content more discoverable and more watchable.

FYLVIA FOWLER KLINE

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, HOPE CHANNEL

Hope Channel began by offering all episodes of its flagship shows as video on demand (VOD) on its corporate website. Later this year, Hope Channel will launch a major upgrade to its web infrastructure and expand availability of VOD content to all regional programming. “Video is the cornerstone of our new website,” explains Kline. “Our goal is to seamlessly integrate video into the web experience, making our content more discoverable and more watchable.”

Hope Channel is using the Brightcove Video Cloud as its standard online platform to power its live broadcasts and VOD. “Our new web platform will have built-in integration with Brightcove,” states Justin Woods, Manager of Web Services for Hope Channel. “Our online video is vital because many of our viewers cannot access our signal via satellite or terrestrial broadcast. We provide a 24/7 simulcast of all our affiliate channels via the web. Now, anything on air also will have a VOD asset that people can go to directly,” adds Kline.

By integrating the experiences of live linear and video on demand, Hope Channel is making its content easier to find and easier to watch, driving people to consume more video and learn ways to change their life for the better. “In the past twelve months, we’ve had 3.6 million video views, and 96.7 million viewed minutes,” continues Woods. “The VOD library will help grow our audience by making it easier for viewers to share videos.”

EXPANDING ACCESS TO CONTENT IN A MULTI-SCREEN WORLD

With one third of its views of over-the-top content (OTT) on mobile devices, it is essential for Hope Channel to integrate video on multiple devices — in addition to desktop and laptop computers — so people around the world can access the content on any device they have.

Currently, Hope Channel’s content is available on Roku; but later this year, it will also be available on Apple TV, a new app for IOS, Samsung Smart TVs, and Android devices. “Adding devices helps Hope Channel reach more viewers, enabling people to watch our programs the way they want to watch,” states Woods. “Brightcove supports a range of platforms and devices, so our viewers can watch high-quality content anywhere, on practically any device, regardless of where the content was created.”

UNITING A GLOBAL COMMUNITY WITH REGIONAL CONTENT

Hope Channel manages the distribution of content through its corporate website; however, the content is created locally. “It’s important that the content itself is regional because the majority of people view the content within the context of their language and culture,” adds Kline.

In addition to ensuring a consistent user experience, the Brightcove platform enables Hope Channel to have a consistent look and feel for locally created content. Hope Channel is in the process of creating branded templates and a style guide for all the affiliates in the network. The corporate office also offers production workshops that safeguard production quality and create a branded feel among all 44 channels.

Hope Channel is working with Brightcove to make it easy for affiliates to implement the new platform. “Having all affiliates on the same platform will provide an incredibly streamlined process,” says Kline. “By just plugging into the platform, uploading videos, our affiliates will be able to seamlessly distribute content through our website. This will continue to be vital to our audience growth.”

A SINGLE PLATFORM WITH EXTENSIVE CAPABILITIES

Before selecting Brightcove, Hope Channel conducted an exhaustive review of all major online video platforms (OVPs). “Brightcove was the only way to go,” states Woods. “The Brightcove API was by far the most robust and usable. Its vast scale means that our videos are served reliably and quickly to the largest global audience. And the extensive Brightcove ecosystem helps us quickly and easily incorporate specialized capabilities from Brightcove partners, such as closed captioning for our non-hearing members.”

Woods adds, “Another huge benefit of Brightcove is the automatic transcoding of every video we upload to a standard multi-bitrate rendition set, which means we can guarantee consistent playback across all devices, for all videos. This is a huge time-saving for us, not having to manually manage a dozen renditions for every video, or perform the transcoding on our own hardware.”

Online video is helping Hope Channel increase its global presence by expanding access to content focused on faith, health, relationships and community. Video makes content easier to find, easier to view, and easier to share. It is content that can change a life.

HOW ACORN TV INCREASED SUBSCRIBERS 400% IN TWO YEARS

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

HIGH QUALITY NICHE CONTENT AND DIGITAL STREAMING MAKE A WINNING COMBINATION

Launched in 2011, Acorn TV offers high quality, carefully curated British mysteries and dramas to discerning viewers. As one of the first subscription streaming services targeting distinct, premium audiences, Acorn TV streams exclusive content series such as Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Foyle’s War, Doc Martin, and Midsomer Murders.

BACKGROUND

Known for specializing in the best of British television, Acorn Media Group has been distributing British mystery and drama television content to U.S. audiences for over 20 years through a wide range of media platforms, including broadcast, DVD/Blu-ray, and digital streaming. Through its SVOD service, Acorn TV, viewers can access almost 3,000 hours of programming, representing over 150 franchises. The streaming channel is one of three niche subscription video channels owned by RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), a global entertainment content distribution company.

Acorn TV exceeded its target for new digital subscription customers, and is on pace to double revenue from its over-the-top TV (OTT) business by the end of the year. “People subscribe to Acorn TV because we offer specific content they are passionate about; and we can deliver it quickly on a myriad of devices,” states Titus Bicknell, Chief Digital Officer and EVP, Operations, RLJ Entertainment, Acorn TV’s parent company. “With OTT, you no longer have to be a big broadcaster to distribute content.”

In March 2016, Acorn TV revealed it had reached over 250,000 paid subscribers, a 100% increase in year-over-year subscribers. The niche streaming service, which Acorn TV had launched as an accompaniment to its traditional TV broadcasting, is now replacing broadcasting.

STREAMING CONTENT TRANSFORMS EXISTING AUDIENCES AND BRINGS IN NEW DEMOGRAPHICS

The speed, functionality, scalability of the video platform are critical to delivering the quality experience customers demand in an OTT service.

TITUS BICKNELL

CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER AND EVP, OPERATIONS, RLJ ENTERTAINMENT

“Over the years, viewers have come to Acorn TV because they are looking for specific content that only we offer,” states Bicknell. “There is a real emphasis on finding the content in its earliest possible U.S. window, and because we are that window, they come to us and they stay.”

The emphasis on accessing content more quickly is driving some of Acorn TV’s established audience, which fits an older demographic, to transition from traditional broadcast distribution to a digital streaming subscription. However, the major growth in Acorn TV’s audience is coming from a completely new segment, 18-25 year olds. “Our availability across a number of devices and platforms is enormously appealing to this younger demographic,” notes Bicknell. “This is a segment that literally views things differently; they have never had cable. In many cases, they may not even own a TV. Yet they are almost always watching multiple screens at the same time; it could be mobile device, a tablet, or a game console. The perception of the TV as a focal point in their lives is changing dramatically.”

The ability to stream to a variety of devices is enabling Acorn TV to attract this new demographic in significant numbers. As Bicknell observes, “This is the real frontier for digital streaming — not just changing the viewing habits of existing long-term customers, but establishing new viewing habits with new audiences.” To do this, Acorn TV delivers its digital content on Apple TV, iDevices, Roku devices, Samsung Smart TVs, and fixed and mobile web. “We’re in the business of reducing the friction between the desire for our content and the reality of delivering it in as many different ways as possible,” adds Bicknell. Making content available on multiple devices makes it possible for a wide range of audiences to embrace Acorn TV’s unique programming.

BUILDING A FLEXIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE

“One of the challenges of being in a niche market is that it’s very hard to determine the size of your addressable audience,” notes Bicknell. But, Acorn TV recognized the business potential of streaming digital content directly to viewers and developed an infrastructure that could grow to support hundreds of millions of video playbacks. “Digital has gone from niche to the most pervasive technology on the planet,” states Bicknell. “That has meant having to refresh the tech stack constantly.”

The initial challenge was managing the expense of new digital delivery technology until the business could support it. Acorn TV developed a technology strategy that allowed for flexibility, agility, and rapid implementation. “There has been a huge evolution in digital technology,” explains Bicknell. “That’s both the challenge and opportunity in the digital world. It’s very mutable.”

Acorn TV selected Brightcove as its online video platform (OVP) because its technology is scalable and reliable. “In my experience, the player is key,” states Bicknell. “The speed, functionality, scalability and flexibility of the player — and the video platform behind it — are critical to delivering the quality experience customers demand in an OTT service.” The Brightcove platform enables Acorn TV to easily and quickly add new devices to support the evolving preferences of its customers, which makes it possible for audiences to embrace Acorn TV’s offerings on an expanding number of devices, including Smart TVs, mobile devices, tablets, Fire TV, and Fire TV stick. The company is currently working on a Fire TV native app.

“At the end of the day, if you cannot deliver content to audiences on a complex and varied set of platforms, reliably and on a consistent basis, you don’t have a business. Brightcove has always been the most reliable provider of that core video service,” reports Bicknell.

OTT OPENS THE DOOR FOR MORE NICHE CHANNELS

Acorn TV and RLJ Entertainment see room for expansion in the niche content market. “With OTT, more people can create and distribute content. We’re seeing more channels pop up and attract audiences with very specific types of content,” continues Bicknell.

RLJ Entertainment currently utilizes the Brightcove platform to power two additional niche channels, UMC — Urban Movie Channel, showcasing quality urban content — and Acacia TV, a healthy-living/ lifestyle brand. The company also has rich content libraries that present the potential for additional stand-alone channels. As an added benefit, Bicknell notes the cost of OTT delivery is less expensive than producing DVDs or Blu-rays. As Acorn TV scales with OTT, margins improve and Acorn TV can invest in more content.

“There is great scalability in the platform and technology we built, and we believe there are more audiences for our niche content,” concludes Bicknell.

HOW UKTV GREW THEIR AUDIENCE AND REVENUE

bsp-admin-1 on December 9, 2024

PREMIUM LONG-FORM VOD DELIVERS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPANSION

Turn on the TV in the U.K. and you have a bewildering array of over 300 channels to choose from, many of which are available free-to-air. These include national, regional and local channels, and their +1 and HD variants. An interesting difference between the U.K. and the U.S. market is the large proportion of TV that is available without the need for any cable subscription, which has helped drive innovation in the pay TV market as providers such as Sky and BT have had to develop products that are worth the money.

BACKGROUND

UKTV, jointly owned by BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks, has a unique approach to the TV market, with channels available from both free and pay TV providers. It runs 10 channels — including favorites Dave, Drama and Gold — half of which are free-to-air, while the rest require a subscription. It’s this mix of income from advertising and subscriptions that has proven such a success, fuelling both growth in viewership and a 20% increase in profit in the last two years.

In a clear evolution from its position as a traditional broadcaster, UKTV has been developing its suite of video on-demand products under the UKTV Play brand, and two years after its launch, both audience numbers and income are rising at an impressive rate.

In mid-2014, UKTV’s VOD apps and services were all brought together under the UKTV Play brand, with the channels presented as a brand “family.” This coincided with a new approach to the TV’s on-screen promotions for the channels, with greater use of cross-network on-screen ads, again, with a brand family feel. “We were aware that UKTV Play was a brand extension of a relatively unknown network brand, UKTV. The first step was to inform our TV viewers that they were watching a channel from the UKTV family,” explains Oliver Davies, Head of Digital Products at UKTV. “Everyone knows and loves our channel brands, but we had to build the association with the network, and by doing so UKTV Play started to make more sense to the consumer.” With UKTV Play established as the entry point to multi-channel content, users began to discover content from the other channels, which in turn increased engagement, advertising revenue, and awareness of the TV channels.

DIVERSE CONTENT AND CHANNELS DRIVE VIEWERS TO UKTV PLAY

Brightcove makes VOD as easy and convenient as possible and takes care of lots of the complicated bits of the chain so we can concentrate on making beautiful products.

OLIVER DAVIES

HEAD OF DIGITAL PRODUCTS, UKTV

The range of programs available is very diverse on UKTV Play. A portion is supplied by the BBC, including well-loved entertainment shows like “Top Gear,” “QI” and “Mock the Week,” and quality dramas such as “Spooks” and “Silent Witness.” A range of U.S. studio content is available on catch-up such as “Suits,” “Parks and Recreation” and “The Last Man on Earth.” Perhaps the most exciting strand of content is the brand-defining UKTV Originals, available exclusively on UKTV Play. These include “Hoff the Record” starring David Hasselhoff, and a reboot of the sci-fi cult “Red Dwarf.”

“We currently have about 300 program brands in circulation,” says Davies. “At any one time, we have 1,000 to 1,500 episodes available to our viewers, whose demographic is broadly in line with our broadcast channel viewers.”

UKTV Play has achieved a 26% increase in views year-over-year, and is aiming for an increase of 50% by the end of 2016. “We measure our success on a range of metrics including the number of views, brand awareness, and application downloads,” says Davies. “This year we already are tracking above our targets.”

DRIVING GROWTH IN VIEWS AND AD REVENUES: A MULTI-FACETED APPROACH

Providing great programming and a quality user experience is the first step in creating a successful VOD channel. The second step, according to Davies, is providing an ad viewing experience on demand that is consistent with viewers’ experiences on broadcast. “We don’t offer subscription VOD, so ad revenue is critical. People expect fewer ads online compared to TV, so the opportunity for us to maximize revenue on VOD advertising is limited. We aim for the same experience on demand as on TV: a maximum of three ads per pre-break, and no more than four minutes per mid-break.”

UKTV has successfully developed viewer loyalty through consistent viewer experience and treatment of ad placements across all of its channels, whether VOD or broadcast. As the number of VOD viewers continues to increase, so does ad revenue.

A third element in driving viewership is adding platforms and devices. Retention varies by device type, and devices have different usage patterns based on time and day of week. However, adding new platforms expands the network’s reach. “Each new platform attracts a unique user base and doesn’t cannibalize the installed user base anywhere else,” says Davies. Faced with a lack of standardization for viewing on different devices, Davies narrowed UKTV’s focus to a specific list of devices, betting on platforms of the future, and specifically those tactically important for VOD consumption. PC, iOS, Android and YouView were first; longer term strategic platforms such as Freeview Play and Amazon Fire TV have followed closely behind. “Choosing whether to develop for a platform is complicated. What about games consoles, smart TVs or aggregation services for example? We follow consumer and industry trends very carefully and try to figure out what will grow in dominance before committing.”

KEEPING AHEAD OF THE CURVE WITH A LONG-TIME VALUED PARTNER

UKTV has been partnering with Brightcove for more than 10 years. What started with short-form videos on UKTV’s channel websites has grown into a key, strategic partnership for Davies’ small, 12-person team, enabling them to develop products and services across many platforms. “Without Brightcove, I’d need quite a few more developers to sort out all the technical problems, which is expensive.” Davies’ in-house team covers design, production and ongoing evolution of the apps and services, but relies on Brightcove for the mechanics of VOD delivery.

For example, UKTV uses a Freewheel plug-in to facilitate ad break display for each program. Without Brightcove, Davies notes that this functionality would have to be custom built and, crucially, maintained.

Davies relies on Brightcove so the team does not have to develop or manage all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle themselves. “Brightcove services have grown, bringing new functionality online such as Brightcove Once for server-side ad insertion, new DRM, stronger encryption, cloud encoding, dynamic ingest, and enhanced admin console capabilities. Brightcove makes VOD as easy and convenient as possible and takes care of lots of the complicated bits of the chain so we can concentrate on making beautiful products. Without Brightcove, the world would be a more difficult, technically challenging place for us. Video is a fast moving market, and Brightcove helps us to keep up with the changes.”

HOW MONGOL TV INTRODUCED MONGOLIA’S FIRST OTT SERVICE

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BRIGHTCOVE’S OTT FLOW BRINGS ORI TV TO OVER 3 MILLION MONGOLIAN CONSUMERS

For Bat-Erdene Gankhuyag, television is the family business. That’s because he and his wife, Nomi, co-founded Mongol TV in 2009, which has since grown to become Mongolia’s leading private television broadcasting company. The network offers free-to-air programming that includes both localized, company-produced content and licensed international content from the United States, Korea, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. In the case of Mongol TV’s localized programming, the company buys the rights to popular shows and then recreates them for the Mongolian market. Shows like Shark Tank, The Voice, and Mongolia’s Got Talent are huge draws for the network. So it’s no surprise Mongol TV reaches about 200K households on average and holds about 25 percent of the country’s broadcast television market.

SHRINKING AD REVENUE & INTERNATIONAL REACH DRIVE MONGOL TV'S EXPANSION

Up until recently, Mongol TV only offered free programming to consumers, so the company relied on advertising revenue for continued growth. However, Gankhuyag began noticing an ominous trend happening among local advertisers: they seemed to all be moving from broadcast television to digital media platforms, leaving free-to-air networks like Mongol TV at risk for demonetization.

“The only source of revenue we had was advertising,” Gankhuyag says. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen many advertisers go onto the social media networks. In Mongolia, the revenue for free-to-air TV is getting smaller and smaller. So we had to look into another way to monetize our content besides advertising.”

Additionally, Gankhuyag wanted to expand Mongol TV’s reach beyond Mongolia’s borders, because while three million citizens live within the country, hundreds of thousands live internationally and continue to access Mongolian media, predominantly on mobile devices.

In Mongolia, like many other countries, we’re finding mobile devices are becoming the most important entertainment platform, giving viewers independence and personalized content.

BAT-ERDENE GANKHUYAG
CO-FOUNDER

To mitigate the risk of decreasing advertising revenue and, at the same time, provide audiences with web and mobile-friendly content, Gankhuyag had to find a solution.

ORI TV Becomes Mongolia’s First-Ever OTT Service

Gankhuyag decided that adding an OTT service to Mongol TV’s existing business model would be the best bet to meet both monetization and consumer reach challenges. Together with the company’s in-house technology team, Gankhuyag designed the channel’s overall concept to include a wide variety of current and past season programming totaling more than 2,000 hours of streaming video accessible across every device: web, mobile, mobile app, Chromecast, and Apple TV. More importantly, it would be monetized exclusively through subscription-based fees. Using Brightcove’s OTT Flow product, the team was able to launch its OTT channel, ORI TV, in a matter of eight weeks, making Mongol TV the first broadcaster in the country to offer an over-the-top video service.

BRIGHTCOVE'S TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS HELP BRING OTT TO MONGOL TV

In the initial planning stages for the ORI TV, Gankhuyag knew he needed a video partner capable of providing three essential services: (1) a fully-equipped in-house team of engineers ready to build an OTT service from scratch, (2) an easy-to-manage platform for technology novices, and (3) the ability to deliver an OTT product quickly to global viewers, particularly on mobile devices. “I’m not a tech guy,” Gankhuyag admits, so being able to delegate all the technical responsibilities of an entire OTT build-out was of top priority.And with Mongolia’s growing population of mobile media consumers, Gankhuyag had to ensure a quick and seamless delivery of Mongol TV content to this particularly attentive audience. He explains: “In Mongolia, like many other countries, we’re finding mobile devices are becoming the most important entertainment platform, giving viewers independence and personalized content.” So being able to give these consumers on-demand, customized video in the form of an easily accessible OTT product was the ideal solution. Realizing Brightcove could deliver on all three of these requirements, Gankhuyag knew he had to bring the company onboard.

ORI TV DRAWS 5K SUBSCRIBERS IN JUST FIVE MONTHS, PUTTING MONGOL TV ON TOP

Within the first five months of ORI TV’s launch, Mongol TV has already seen tremendous success, drawing over 5,000 subscribers to the platform. The OTT service has also given Mongol TV even more opportunity to increase viewership and engagement across national and international borders, since ORI TV is so accessible on all devices.

“Fifty percent of our subscribers come from abroad—they’re not physically located in Mongolia. They’re Mongolian people who live abroad,” says Gankhuyag. “These people tend to use more mobile than people accessing service from within the country. This audience uses mostly laptops and computers.”

And with ORI TV being the first-ever OTT service offered in Mongolia, it’s revolutionized the country’s media landscape, and it’s made Mongol TV a name synonymous with innovation and modernization. Says Gankhuyag, “Mongolia is a country with four very big telecom operators. They’re very big companies with big revenues, and they’re quite dominant in the market. Compared to them, we [Mongol TV] had a very small revenue. But with the help of ORI TV, we are the talk of the town. Now, a couple of those companies are trying to make their own OTT platform. Everybody said a small station like ours couldn’t have an OTT platform, and we’re happy to have proved them wrong. Now, we are the most successful OTT platform in the country.” The success of ORI TV has been so incredible, in fact, it’s given Mongol TV respect among fellow content creators. Producers often come forward to pitch Gankhuyag a number of possible project collaborations.

As ORI TV’s subscribers continue to grow, Mongol TV has refocused its social media strategy as well. No longer does the company post full-length video content to its Facebook and YouTube accounts; instead, Mongol TV uses its social platforms to market new ORI TV content when it becomes available. Followers receive alerts via social media, where they can click through to the ORI TV landing page and subscribe.

PLANS TO DOUBLE SUBSCRIBERS IN NEAR FUTURE

For the remainder of 2018, Mongol TV plans to double ORI TV’s current subscribers to 10,000, and to do this, Gankhuyag has his sights set on three main improvements. The first is to adjust the service’s billing and payment options for Mongolian viewers. Since the country’s central bank doesn’t allow recurring payments on personal credit cards, subscribers have to use a foreign currency account to enroll. Gankhuyag plans to implement more purchase options through Google Play and iTunes in order to avoid the hassle of credit card billing and make the enrollment process much more efficient. Second, he plans to study viewers’ behavior through surveys, social media feedback, and analytics and learn what ORI TV subscribers want to watch. That way he’ll be able to anticipate their needs and deliver relevant content. And third, Gankhuyag is focusing on creating a new and improved marketing strategy to promote ORI TV and its content to more consumers. “If we get the combination of all three of these right, then we’re hoping to double our subscriber numbers,” he says.

HOW TENNIS AUSTRALIA TURNED OBSTACLES INTO OPPORTUNITIES

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Tennis Australia typically hosts up to 400 athletes for the Australian Open (AO). But with a cap on the number of international visitors permitted in the country, the team at Tennis Australia decided to run the men’s and women’s qualifying matches for AO 2021 in Doha and Dubai. That solved the travel problem, but it created a new one with time zones: If a match started at 5:00 PM Melbourne time, it would run until 4:00 AM the next morning – not great for viewership. And with the government’s COVID-19 restrictions, people who would typically be cheering from the stands would have to watch from afar.

So the team at Tennis Australia decided to view these obstacles as opportunities to think differently about video and create new experiences for tennis fans in Australia and around the world. “I suppose in a lot of ways, we just tried to remove barriers for our event – from a fan perspective on site, for our media, for our staff, and especially our fans consuming globally as well,” says Tennis Australia Supervising Producer of Live Events, John O’Neil. “We were looking at how to bring everything together so there’s a consistency and seamlessness in our video experience.”

CREATING A NEW VIRTUAL MEDIA HUB

There are three groups of people who are critical to any successful sporting event: the players, the patrons, and the press. Typically, Tennis Australia prides itself on catering to the needs of all stakeholders, and this year there were specific challenges for the international media, which mostly had to cover the entire event remotely. “In some scenarios last year, journalists were forced to watch local broadcasts or find local coverage of, say, the U.S. Open or the French Open, to then report on it and generate media exposure,” says O’Neil. “Our aim was to provide a seamless service and provide media around the world with the best possible access to every match. This gave us the opportunity to leverage our existing Brightcove investment and infrastructure as part of creating our Media Hub. We had a really strong and clear vision of what we wanted to achieve.”

By creating a new Media Hub video platform, Tennis Australia was able to replicate the access and experience media would have covering the event on site. In the Media Hub, journalists could watch live match footage on all 16 courts, livestream press conferences, watch behind-the-scenes content, and even participate in both press conferences and one-on-one interviews via Microsoft Teams, all from one centralised platform. “We were trying to create that ‘as if you were here’ experience for our media,” says O’Neil. “It has meant that if someone is covering a match on court 13 or court 16, or on a court that would not necessarily be on a terrestrial or OTT platform, they’re allowed to see it, talk about it, and provide commentary and coverage for it.” All in all, 1,200 broadcast journalists and 475 media representatives reported on the 2021 Australian Open from the Media Hub, earning Tennis Australia positive global coverage for supporting a group that’s key to the tournament’s success.

CREATING A NEW SPATIAL AUDIO EXPERIENCE FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED

The Brightcove video platform allows us to do whatever we need it to, and with full confidence that we’re not going to break it. It’s that confidence in knowing that we can really stretch the system and it’s going to respond accordingly.

JOHN O’NEIL

SUPERVISING PRODUCER OF LIVE EVENTS, TENNIS AUSTRALIA

Dylan Alcott, an Australian wheelchair Grand Slam champion and Paralympic gold medallist tennis player, has become a prominent advocate for people who are mobility-challenged, helping to raise awareness and create more opportunities for inclusion in sports. Inspired by Alcott’s efforts, Tennis Australia’s innovation team leveraged Brightcove technology to create a 15-channel spatial audio experience specifically designed for people who are unable to see a tennis match. “We’ve also been looking at how else we can use Brightcove to deliver more inclusion and bring more people to sports in a different way,” says O’Neil.

CREATING A NEW TAKE ON A TRIED & TRUE PARTNER EVENT

As part of the Australian Open every year, Tennis Australia hosts AO First Serve, an event designed to engage partners and offer them a sneak peek into the tournament. Unable to host a physical event this year, the Tennis Australia production team filmed original content and stories in their studios and published the video through Brightcove across different time zones, enabling them to still connect with partners and showcase the event. “I think a picture tells a thousand words, and a video tells a million stories,” says O’Neil. “When you can show video content, it brings out the emotion and tells the story. And I think you can’t underestimate the impact of storytelling.”

CREATING NEW CONTENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNAL COMMS

Like many organisations, Tennis Australia has also undergone substantial changes in how internal teams communicate, collaborate, and work remotely – and that has meant more opportunities for video. “We’ve also made a lot of content for ourselves, to keep each other informed and communicate what’s happening,” says O’Neil. “We take our full-length video content, tighten it up, and then send it out to people through Brightcove.” Everything from the latest CEO town hall to COVID policy updates, cocktail tutorials to yoga classes, are all available for the Tennis Australia staff through the Brightcove platform. “Brightcove has helped us, as an organisation and as teams, to stay together when we’ve been working remotely.”

A LONG-TERM “LOVE” STORY

For years now, Tennis Australia has offered its audiences everything from livestreams to video-on-demand content, on both AusOpen.com and their mobile app, all streamed by Brightcove. “I suppose we’ve had a long-term relationship with Brightcove,” says O’Neil. With ambitious plans to continue to expand and create even more content opportunities, Tennis Australia relies on a partnership that has stood the test of time. “I know that Brightcove is a market leader; everything that we need is there, and the support we get is great, and it has delivered what we need it to deliver.”

During live sporting events, Tennis Australia will sometimes simultaneously livestream up to 16 courts for up to 14 hours a day. “We recently had probably the most ambitious day of tennis ever. We did 98 tennis matches in one day. Normally the Grand Slam is 64 matches. We did 98.” At this year’s AO, the organisation simultaneously streamed 16 match courts, one behind-the-scenes feed, two interview rooms, one world feed production, and two practice courts – clearly, reliability is critical.

Scalability is just as important. During a typical year, the production team might create one or two pieces of content a week, but when the AO rolls around, they’re suddenly pushing terabytes of data. “We don’t have the luxury of sporting organisations or sporting events that have months and months of a season and lots of content happening over that period of time,” says O’Neil. “The ability to go ridiculously hard for an intense burst of content, but then to be able to go back again is really important. So that’s one of the critical reasons why we chose Brightcove: that true elasticity to be able to grow, but more importantly to scale back down to our needs for the other 48 weeks of the year.”

According to O’Neil, it would be impractical for Tennis Australia to build a massive video infrastructure in-house, both in terms of time and money. Fortunately, they don’t have to. “The Brightcove video platform allows us to do whatever we need it to, and with full confidence that we’re not going to break it. It’s that confidence in knowing that we can really stretch the system and it’s going to respond accordingly.”

Tennis may be one of the world’s great individual sports, but we at Brightcove couldn’t be prouder to be part of the Tennis Australia team.

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