GUION PARTNERS’ Founder Lindsay Guion Looks 3 Advanced Technologies that are Transforming Sports Entertainment Broadcasting
Traditional approaches to broadcasting have been replaced by multifaceted, digitally enhanced methods of engagement. Technological innovation is taking the sports industry to new heights by influencing how fans access and interact with the game. Stadium attendances are expected to continue to decrease as spectators search for improved digital experiences.
According to according to Lindsay Guion, an acclaimed entrepreneur who has also worked with Grammy® award-winning artists, songwriters and producers — there are three technologies that have and continue to transform sports entertainment broadcasting:
1. High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Admittedly, there is a generation of young people right now who understandably would not consider HDTV as revolutionary. However, HD definitely deserves to be on this list, because it did much more than just make TV screens bigger and clearer: it re-invented how people watched sports, and what they expected from broadcasts.
HDR is the next step in HD, offering more pixels than ever before while preserving the finest details on various areas of the court or field. From superior picture quality to improved sound, spectators can remain immersed in the game, while having access to the highest TV quality ever seen on a home screen.
2. Live Streaming and 5G Broadcasting
More recently, live streaming — first over wired connections, and now over cellular connections — has also profoundly changed the sports industry, by putting an unprecedented emphasis on content. Obviously, this includes the games themselves, which people can watch from the desktop at work, their laptop while traveling, or mobile device from any location.
Lindsay Guion claims that with the emergence of live streaming, fans no longer had to schedule and plan their lives around consuming sports. Instead, they could access their favorite sports — games, chats, articles, behind-the-scenes videos, and more — wherever they are, and through any internet-enabled device. And with 5G networks just around the corner, things are going to elevate to a whole new level in ways that we can imagine, and some that we cannot. For example, we are not far from the day when fans can experience broadcasts through augmented reality, and experience what the view is like from the line of scrimmage, the pitchers mound, or underneath the rim as Lebron goes in for a dunk.
3. Virtually Enhanced Broadcasts
Last but certainly not least, virtually-enhanced broadcasts have, much like HDTV, persuaded fans to watch the games on a screen instead of live in-person; or at least bring their smartphone with them, so they can enjoy everything from a superimposed strike zone, to football’s glorious red zone, to iso-cams of basketball stars mid play. Likewise, analysts are using virtually enhanced broadcasts to enliven and energize pre and post-game shows, which is further driving fan engagement and interest; not to mention ratings and advertising revenues.
Lindsay Guion states that it is easy to take virtually-enhanced broadcasts for granted, such as watching a football game and always knowing — even better than some of the players on the fields or coaches on the sidelines — where, precisely, the first-down marker is, or how far away a team is from reaching the threshold of field goal range. These elements have not just improved broadcasts, but they have elevated them to a whole new level. Indeed, the strike zone in baseball is such a broadcast staple at this point that removing it would probably lead to mass protests and boycotts.
