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of video streaming
Sports leagues are taking an early-game lead
By David Everitt
We know that the new wave of computers and connections can handle video streaming. This is something to get excited about from a techie viewpoint, but it’s also a marketing puzzle.
A new study by Scarborough Research tells us that 26 percent of online users have tapped into video streaming in a recent 30-day period.
The question is how significant are those numbers? And how will they be served?
Although Hollywood studios like Sony and Disney are intimating that the computer is the place to call up movies on demand, they still have to show that people want to substitute their PCs for their home entertainment systems.
A more plausible idea might involve using the PC’s video capabilities for clips rather than full-blown productions. Especially if the clips are basically information-oriented, which is the internet’s strong suit.
One of the pioneers in this electronic frontier is the sports industry.
Fans can now order video highlights during the current NBA and NHL playoffs on the leagues’ respective web sites.
And Major League Baseball is setting up a video database that fans can access sometime during the 2001 season.
This kind of streaming has its benefits, within certain limitations, according to Steve Vonder Haar, a Yankee Group analyst.
"What people have come to realize," he says, "is that streaming media is not going to turn the web into a time-shifting TV set on steroids. What it can do is repackage content to make it more appealing to consumers."
The NBA’s web site, which seems to be the furthest along of the sports streamers, provides a good idea of what this service is all about.
The NBA has developed this capability in partnership with Convera, a technology supplier. While a game is in progress, fans can summon up customized clips at the end of each quarter.
"They can use various parameters," says John Murray, Convera’s director of public relations. "They can bring up, for instance, all the dunks in the first quarter, or perhaps for the game’s last 10 minutes."
Also part of the NBA’s plans are a video database of 50 years of NBA history and the capability of using interactive elements during a video stream--for instance, clicking on a particular player for more information.
"What this kind of video streaming does," says Vonder Haar, "is provide a means to slice and dice audio and video content in a way that is more consumable.
"The web now can become a new way to view sports highlights other than the way ESPN wants to serve them up."
So, in other words, we’ll be able to see the highlights we want, instead of a detailed rundown of the Brewers-Expos game. And we can do it without listening to all those ESPN announcers trying to sound like David Letterman. Maybe technology is the great answer, after all.
For Vonder Haar, there’s a practical incentive to this, other than the obvious esthetic benefits.
"This approach sets the stage for a new revenue-generating window for baseball and all the other sports."
He stresses, though, that this window is just one portion of the sports industry’s moneymaking machine. He also points out that TV people shouldn’t be crying that streaming will detract from game broadcasts.
"That same kind of argument was made by people who sold tickets to sporting events when radio and TV came along," he says.
"What radio and TV did was increase exposure to sports, increase mind share, ultimately making it possible for Alex Rodriguez to get $250 million. Will the web have that great an impact? No. But it’s a viable way to repackage content and generate incremental revenues."
Less optimistic about clip streaming is Josh Wise, digital media analyst for Allied Business Intelligence.
"The potential there, I think, is somewhat limited," he says. "TV still lends itself more to that kind of experience. This particular sports-clip application might be a good idea, but if it’s on a subscription basis, I’m not so sure people will want to pay for it."
Another factor is the number of people who actually have access to this kind of capability. Wise points out that the number of broadband subscribers now in the U.S. is about seven-and-one-half to eight million.
"That’s only about 8 percent of households," he says. "The PC does not hold center stage in the household like TV does."
He says that the broadband-subscriber base is growing well at this point, but he cautions that price might become a factor. DSL rates have risen, and AT&T and Charter expect to raise their prices for cable modem service this June.
"People want broadband," Wise says, "but $50 a month is not attractive. An appealing price would be closer to $30. So, right now at least, they’re moving in the wrong direction."
Vonder Haar also believes that widespread broadband use is a ways off. "Will broadband ever become as common as TV? Yeah, but we’ll all probably be grandparents by then.
"Still, it could reach a critical mass down the road a bit. There should be 15 million subscribers by the end of 2002, which would be a sizable audience to serve."
Whatever the growth, he stresses that web developers will have to have a down-to-earth understanding of their market.
"I think that video streaming with a purpose has the best chance at succeeding, streaming that can help people be more productive and get things done. These sports services have their place, but anybody who’s counting on entertainment online as a big revenue stream is in for a rude surprise."
May 17, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-David Everitt writes about television from Huntington, New York.
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