Grabyo CEO Gareth Capon, who works closely with all the key social platforms as well as the major rights owners and TV networks on a daily basis, caused a stir on Twitter today by publishing a report on the role of social video in the sports industry. It makes essential reading for anyone in the sector, whether at the very top or in the lowly gallows of media production.
As the report highlights, nearly half of the world’s adult population now owns a smartphone; by 2020, it will be 80%. The implications of this macro trend for the sports industry are profound. Facebook already counts almost 1.5 billion users, 844 million of which access the platform using their mobile everyday. Meanwhile, Twitter now has over 300 million monthly active users, Snapchat has more than 100m daily and YouTube has over a billion users logging in each month with an average session on a mobile device of 40 mins – up more than 50% on last year.
No wonder the growing importance of these and other popular social apps as destinations for video content discovery, consumption and sharing is now paramount to sports teams and federations – partnerships are now being struck between social platforms and rights owners such as the NFL and NBA on an almost weekly basis.
Real-time video platform Grabyo has played a large role in helping the major sports brands adapt to this trend. Its technology is now used by many of the largest premium rights holders – from the NHL and Fox Sports to La Liga and Wimbledon – to activate audiences residing on social media and maximize the value of their content. By allowing them to share the right content, at the right time, on the right platforms and in the right formats, Grabyo accelerates viral distribution of video on these digital media channels, ensuring maximum engagement and reach.
During Wimbledon this summer, clips shared using Grabyo’s platform generated 48 million views across Facebook and Twitter (with Facebook accounting for a staggering 92% of all video views). One clip of David Beckham catching a tennis ball in the crowd spread virally across Facebook, generating 565k social interactions, 8 million views and an ORGANIC reach of 30m. This fortuitous moment, along with a trick shot by Roger Federer that received 7 million views, would have delivered little additional value on TV but became tournament defining viral hits on social media.
With flatlining growth in ‘home’ markets and the race now to turn the next ‘billon(+) consumers’ into passionate fans of premium sports, Capon’s report lays out the limitations of OTT (over-the-top) services and explains the role of social video as sports federations and teams contend with increasing competition for audience, accelerating globalisation and digitisation of fan bases. It provides useful background on the rise of native video players and the dynamics of Facebook as a platform for video discovery and distribution. It also explains the value for rights holders and why talent-as-a-channel is now becoming a core part of the social video ecosystem.
That must be why rather than turning to a venture capital firm such as Andreessen Horowitz or Accel Partners, Grabyo instead raised money from NBA’s Tony Parker, soccer legend Thierry Henry and star players Cesc Fàbregas and Robin van Persie. According to insiders, the company is also working on a product for vertical video (the native format on Snapchat) following growing demand among rights owners. Watch this space.
Gareth Capon will be on stage and available to chat at #SportsFest in New York next month, alongside other hot startups.