​Why users will have more choice and ‘the industry will only become more competitive’

How is your company helping content owners and creators to overcome their challenges?

Deltatre technology helps empower sports and entertainment companies around the world to better serve their users. That may be through our market-leading UX management tool, AXIS, which helps editorial teams control every element of their OTT video service, including design, navigation, promotions, page layout and content. The result? Increased engagement and reduced churn.

Or it could be through DIVA, our OTT video player. DIVA brings fans closer to the action: It empowers rights owners to spark new levels of engagement through an interactive OTT player supporting live game stats, social media integration, full DVR with visual timeline, and multi-camera viewing.

By connecting real-time performance data with a highly scalable OTT player, it’s never been easier to deliver an unforgettable experience.

Elsewhere, Deltatre touches so many parts of industry through its other products and services. For instance, our best-in-class broadcast graphics services are trusted by the largest sporting events on the planet, whilst our sports-focused publishing platform, FORGE, powers the digital ecosystems of three of the five largest sports leagues in the US.

What impact has Coronavirus had on the media and entertainment industry?

The pandemic has accelerated many of the trends that we had [previously] identified in the industry. In entertainment, we’ve seen a streaming boom alongside an increasing in the incidence of cord-cutting. As such, there has never been so much content in the marketplace vying for consumer attention. Naturally, this means that there is increased focus on building a tangible, meaningful relationship with the user.

Reducing churn is the top priority, and this has led to a focus on a clear brand identity, a notable content offering, and cultivating a service with clear and intuitive user experiences.

Meanwhile, across the sports landscape, we have seen a shift in strategy from many of the leading leagues, teams, federations and other rights holders around the world. Having a digital-first, direct-to-consumer strategy is paramount in terms of retaining and expanding on reach.

Elsewhere, we know viewers are hungry for greater control in terms of their viewing experience and around the ways that they can interact with services – while also sharing those with their peers. Fans also want more when there isn’t a live game, and boosting those storytelling capabilities is a central pillar of the wider connected strategy.

What media trends do you expect to dominate 2022?

Rights valuations will continue to grow. New business models that expand beyond simply advertising and/or subscriptions will grow. Consumers will expect – rather demand – more than simply video, as new forms of data allow for tremendous engagement that ranges from sports betting to biometrics at our fingertips.

Both linear and streaming rights will power more content consumption than ever. In short, the pie will continue to expand. Users will have more choice, and the industry will only become more competitive. Content spends will hit new highs, as each broadcaster, publisher must leverage its ability to differentiate. The platform will become less and less of a deciding factor. Content still rules, however the distribution channels (those with customer relationships, the ability to cross promote, and with great experiences) will also dominate.

We continue to see even greater efforts to service users across a variety of platforms (mobile content on TVs and vice versa). Staying with sports, you’ll see a proliferation of docu-series and non-live content, as creators aim to build wider fan relationships.

What are the main products and services that you have launched this year?

We know that the pace of change in the industry is incredible; that’s why we’re always evolving our offering, and adapting to consumer behaviour. This year, we introduced new fan engagement functionality in our OTT video player, DIVA. The new functionality focuses on a few key areas with influencer engagement and interactive features:

Influencer Chat: give your fans direct access to influencers who can comment and engage on live content in real-time.

Sentiment Analysis: gauge how your fans are feeling about a particular moment that happens during the event.

Polls: pique your audience’s interest and encourage engagement by asking questions around the live action.

Gamification: test your audience’s trivia knowledge with quizzes and other features that add friendly competition to the viewing experience.

Deltatre also announced the development of a new suite of sport-focused features and functionality within its UX management tool, AXIS, to support leagues, teams and federations. This latest evolution of AXIS brings Deltatre’s expertise to life, offering sports-focused OTT providers the ability to offer their users uniquely different ways of following specific leagues, tournament rounds, teams or players.

By putting the power in the hands of knowledgeable editorial staff, clients consistently report increased engagement and reduced churn from their OTT offering.