Viewers and publishers alike have many reasons to love live video events. For audiences, they offer the immediacy of watching live events as they happen and the convenience of viewing high-quality content anywhere and on any device. Publishers can attract new viewers with fresh, exclusive content and boost revenue with new monetization opportunities.
A Freewheel report sheds light on current live streaming trends, proving that viewers are increasingly heading online and looking for live content.
Given that 2014 was a huge year for live events -- from the Sochi Winter Olympics, BCS Bowl Games and March Madness, to the World Cup, NBA and NHL Playoffs -- it's no surprise that live online viewing increased 201 percent year-over-year. With that spike in live streaming comes increased opportunities for monetization. The Freewheel findings highlight considerable year-over-year ad view growth for live content with 70 percent of ad views this year coming from live content.
For Brightcove customer HUGO BOSS, one of the world market leaders in the premium and luxury apparel market, a live event in itself is seen as a major source for generating sales. HUGO BOSS worked with Brightcove to create a live, 3-D video experience for a high-profile fashion show set in Beijing, and rather than focus on ad insertion, the brand strived to emotionalize customers with online video content to drive sales.
And the ROI was incredible. Within just three weeks, HUGO BOSS completely sold out of 70,000 pairs of 3-D glasses. The company also achieved and exceeded its goal to increase the brand's reach in China, including a 113 percent increase in video views on Youku (China's largest web-streaming video service). In addition, HUGO BOSS experienced a nearly tenfold increase in video views on YouTube.
So, if you've previously hesitated to venture into streaming live events, it might be time to take another look. And it's easier than ever with Brightcove Video Cloud Live. Find out more here.