What can live streaming do for an NBA franchise?
For the Atlanta Hawks, an open practice broadcast on its Facebook account on Saturday morning received more than one million views. According to Jaryd Wilson, the Hawks Digital Content Manager, the team has seen “massive success” with their live social streams, so they weren’t too surprised about the seven-figure number.
The 80-minute production from Philips Arena incorporated the same replays and angles into the Facebook Live feature for those watching at home, with fans also having the ability to comment in real time and interact with the Hawks’ social media team. While the digital staff has used Facebook Live before to stream press conferences and community initiatives, this was the first time the Hawks showed its players on the hardwood.
“We’re all about adapting and making it easy for our fans to engage with the team, meeting them where they are,” Melissa Proctor, Chief Marketing Officer of the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena, said in a statement. “Facebook has proven to be one of our most successful channels for connecting to our fanbase.”
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In 2016, live streaming has been at the top of the sports discussion, with Facebook and Twitter vying for consumers’ attention. Twitter is in the midst of a 10-game live streaming package with the NFL. In the future, both the NHL and MLB will also be streaming live games on Twitter for free. Professionals sports teams and leagues’ foray into live streaming has not slowed down; if anything, it has only increased at a rapid pace over the past 10 months.
With the Hawks’ recent experiment as an example, it will be interesting to follow if other teams give at-home fans a similar experience through live broadcast. Additionally, how will executives use “live” as a way to drive bottom line revenue and supplement exiting team partnerships or sell the broadcasts as stand-alone sponsorship opportunities?