Sports Solutions × Video Streaming Online sports viewing is incredibly intense!

The SPOLUTION team is a solutions unit that attempts to create new business opportunities by viewing sports content not just as media slots, but also as solutions. Team members will introduce upcoming sports-related business opportunities from their respective perspectives in a relay column format.

Hello everyone. I'm Tetsuhei Morita from the SPOLUTION team.

This time, I'd like to discuss the rapid growth of online video streaming for sports content, particularly among younger generations, leveraging data.

In the past, Japanese sports, exemplified by Giants games, gained many fans through terrestrial TV broadcasts. However, with the evolution and widespread adoption of the internet, mobile phones, and social media, enabling access to various content anytime, anywhere, beyond just TV, isn't there a way to deliver content that suits the times?

I experienced this firsthand myself. It was during the international friendly match between the Japanese national soccer team and Belgium last November. Kickoff was at 9 PM Belgian time (4 AM Japan time). The match itself saw goals from Kakita, Honda, and Okazaki, with Japan winning 3-2. Having missed the live broadcast, I learned the news on my morning commute. Wanting to see the highlights, I searched high and low but couldn't find them easily. I searched during my commute and lunch break, but it was nowhere to be found. In the end, it seemed that the only thing available was illegal videos uploaded to YouTube. If you leave people who want to watch but can't watch alone, they may stop being fans. On the other hand, the four major American sports and European soccer are working to become omni-channel so that sports can be watched anytime, anywhere.

My favorite is NFL GAME PASS. It allows me to watch all 16 games played by my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, anytime, anywhere, on any device (smartphone/tablet/PC) (I can also watch archived games from the past four years). It costs about 17,000 yen per year, but for me, it doesn't feel that expensive to be able to watch my favorite team's games live for just over 1,000 yen per game. In addition, the NFL entertains fans by storing content such as game highlights and super play features on their website (all of which is free).

Similar initiatives are expanding within Japanese sports content, so I'd like to introduce a few examples.

Virtual High School Baseball: BASEBALL-COCKPIT

First up is a timely example: the approach taken for the "National High School Baseball Championship." Asahi Broadcasting Corporation's "Virtual High School Baseball BASEBALL-COCKPIT" offers live broadcasts, multi-angle footage, and highlight videos. It also features a built-in "Highlight Generator" function, allowing you to cut out your favorite scenes and share them on social media. Whether you capture a miraculous comeback or your alma mater's standout moments, enjoy the summer Koshien tournament—packed with excitement—from your own unique perspective.

Pacific League TV

Leading the way in Japanese sports, the Pacific League has long been pioneering online broadcasts. Compared to the Central League, the Pacific League has historically struggled to attract fans. To reach a wider audience, its six teams collaborated to establish Pacific League Marketing (PLM), which operates the online broadcast service " Pacific League TV." Additionally, starting this year, Pacific League TV added a new feature for PCs that simultaneously displays game footage and various data. Questions that pop up during the game, like "What are the stats for the pitcher currently throwing?" or "Which direction does this batter hit best?", can be answered instantly using the 15 types of data provided. "To attract younger fans who are often hard to reach, we want to leverage the power of data to offer new ways to enjoy sports," said Yuki Negishi, PLM's Marketing Department Manager.

LEGENDS STADIUM 2014―FIFA World Cup Official Video

Finally, as previously mentioned in Mr. Yoshizawa's article " Sporolution × Technology: Start 'Augmented Viewing' Today! ", the online video service "LEGENDS STADIUM 2014" was also implemented during the recent World Cup. This service not only delivered highlight videos but also utilized data. The "Athlete Index" ranked players based on various metrics beyond goals, such as distance covered per match and top speed. Incidentally, the top player for number of sprints per match (ranking players by the number of repeated dashes) was France's Lucas Digne (66 sprints). The top player for our Japanese national team was... Nagatomo (49 sprints).

Japan's sports industry faces a major opportunity heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, if each sport doesn't build a solid fan base, Japanese sports could decline after 2020. As sports content diminishes on TV, creating opportunities for many young people to develop an interest in sports makes "data-driven online sports viewing experiences" increasingly crucial.

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★ What is the "Sporolution" Team?
This is an internal unit within Dentsu Inc. that approaches sports content not merely as "media assets," but as "solutions" to address business challenges and project objectives.
The team brings together diverse talents including strategic planners, promotion planners, copywriters, art directors, technologists, consultants, and producers, all with extensive experience in sports planning. Through our Solution Director system, we provide not just "ideas for expression," but also "ideas for solutions" in a one-stop service.