The second best thing after watching your favourite sports team win, is watching replays of the move that won the match. Imagine being able to do that over and over again, alongside the interviews with key players after the game, the celebrations, and any extra content that can enrich your fan experience.
As more fans flock to the internet to watch sports content, it’s no surprise that many major sporting bodies are looking to augment the game with extra content. The average internet user spends 88 per cent more time on a site with video, after all.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU), the country’s peak body of Rugby, wanted to provide fans with an interactive and engaging online experience as part of its digital transformation. As a result, its redesigned website has a major focus on video, with match highlights, exclusive interviews and press conferences, creating a go-to hub for all things rugby.
At www.rugby.com.au, fans can access to thousands of hours of video content, hosted on a separate video gallery as well as editorial articles supported with embedded clips, all in a bid to satisfy their hunger for an enhanced experience.
With a greater focus on video, ARU needs to manage and publish more content quickly in a way that fans can seamlessly watch, across all platforms and screen sizes.
ARU selected Brightcove Video Cloud to streamline their workflow through a single integrated solution that enables them to manage video from start to finish — from ingestion to editing, publishing and playing content.
And when it comes to playback, the latest version of the Brightcove Player enables fast load time, short time to first frame, and HTML5 playback to deliver a premium viewing experience for fans across any device. ARU’s increased focus on video has also seen the organisation produce more of its own content in its in-house production studio. The body will also leverage Brightcove’s video analytics to gain a better understanding of viewing habits, and provide fans with more of the engaging content they love, in the way they want to see it.
ARU’s digital transformation and greater use of video are clear examples of the growing popularity of sports content online. Online video represents the perfect opportunity to engage with fans 24/7 and to deliver exactly what they’re looking for in a personalised manner, any time they want it.
Cloud technology plays a key role here, providing sporting organisations with the tools to remove potential barriers like video quality, load times, compatibility, and user experience. With a better overall video experience and a huge range of extra content, rugby fans can get all the sport they want, just in time for the Wallabies test season.
Simplify the delivery of video to every destination and device