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Future of TV Media Sports

Silver Chalice's approach to sports media: digital-first, quick, and live

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By Adam Flomenbaum, Co-Executive Editor

November 1, 2016 | 6 min read

With increasing competition, expensive rights fees, and unpredictable subscriber numbers, legacy sports networks are no longer unassailable. Upstarts also face an uphill battle, but digital-first networks like Silver Chalice have made progress by being nimble and capitalizing quickly on the conversation.

120_sports_the_rally.jpg

120_sports_the_rally.jpg

Silver Chalice, the parent company to 120 Sports, Campus Insiders, and the ACC Digital Network, counts as investors Time Inc. and MLB Advanced Media, and counts as partners MLB, the NHL, and the PGA Tour. The digital networks are built with an over the top and mobile audience in mind, and the content reflects that.

This is especially true of the new 120 Sports highlight show, The Rally, which is live each day and available to stream on Twitter. As part of its recent livestream push, Twitter has also partnered with Campus Insiders to stream over 300 live college sporting events this year.

For more on Silver Chalice’s place in the sports media landscape, its partnership with Twitter, and how it’s leveraging MLB Advanced Media's BAMTech, we spoke with CEO Brooks Boyer.

Found Remote: NFL ratings are down, and ESPN subscriber numbers are in flux. So, with the ways sports coverage and sports fandom are changing, why is Silver Chalice in a good place to succeed?

Brooks Boyer: The Silver Chalice networks are natively digital, interactive and social, covering sports news and stories as they happen and unfold in a manner that is often more live than what television can achieve. With multiple partnerships with leagues and rights holders, we are able to deliver live games and sports news and information to fans across a variety of platforms including web, mobile, connected TVs and streaming media devices, when it matters most in real time. As more and more consumers move from cable to OTT networks and bundles, we want 120 Sports, Campus Insiders and the ACC Digital Network to be the brands that serve this generation of sports fans.

FR: Twitter is doubling down on its livestreaming efforts, especially when it comes to sports. Why is this the right move?

Boyer: Sports are one of the few remaining programming types that drive overwhelmingly live viewing versus time-shifted viewing. Whether it's a game or the reaction to the game, the passion around sports combined with the ever-present nature of social media in today's viewer creates a need to tune in live to prevent "spoilers" and enable participation by fans in the real-time conversation. Over the years, Twitter has established itself as a core component to the conversation of anything happening "now" and being able to present video of what is happening. Offering live sports on Twitter seems like a natural evolution of the platform. Finally, live video as a whole, and live sports video specifically, continue to drive high demand and command premium prices from advertisers.

FR: There will always be a place for sports highlights - but the format for sports highlight shows must continue to evolve. How does The Rally take this into account?

Boyer: We produce and deliver The Rally based on whatever is the hottest story as indicated by what sports fans are tweeting about and what is trending. The Rally combines the production and editorial quality of television with the speed and interactivity of digital and social media to bring fans up-to-the moment sports updates.

Our production is the truest sense of "live" production. Just like the games and events we cover, our show adjusts to every twist and turn in sports in real-time. Through our extensive rights deals we can often go to a live look-in of the biggest moments in sports, can show immediate highlights of great plays and can do in-depth breakdowns on athletes and the great moments they create. If sports fans are debating a topic, The Rally provides authoritative analysis and debate on that topic. The Rally answers fans' questions as they ask them, brings them viral videos in real-time and keeps fans on top of everything happening at the moment in sports.

FR: A little over a month in, what trends are you seeing emerge from The Rally? How are you leveraging Twitter data for the show?

Boyer: We’re very pleased with how The Rally is performing on Twitter thus far. We’re still clearly in the early innings, but sports fans are sampling The Rally, vocalizing their appreciation for the cutting-edge format and engaging with the programming via the Twitter platform. The Rally uses Twitter-based data to determine live trending topics as well as adds other interactive elements for instant conversation and analysis of the moments that matter most to sports fans. Fans want the highlights in real-time. The show looks at data around trends, volume on sports topics, historical changes in volume and integrates that data into the production process as well as into the actual conversation and coverage in the show.

FR: How does the investment from MLB Advanced Media's BAMTech factor into your plans?

Boyer: Over the past several years, Silver Chalice has focused on building partnerships with rights holders, producing compelling content and delivering it to sports fans where they want it, when they want it. Our networks are built to sit at the intersection of great content and powerful technology, providing our rights holders, partners, sponsors and viewers access to the best possible experiences. BAMTech has established itself as a global leader in distributing live and video on demand content across every platform. Having BAMTech as both an equity and technology partner creates innumerable new opportunities to explore and leverage rights in the ever-changing media landscape.

Future of TV Media Sports

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