How Sports Coverage is Mastering the Potential of Interactive TV

Broadcasters will agree that sports is a distinct area of broadcasting, requiring a special approach. In most cases, sports fans already know all the details but still like to discuss and debate their relevance. Nowhere, then, can the potential of interactive TV be more obviously illustrated than before the sports fans. That is why sports coverage has already taken advantage of the potential that interactive broadcasting has. This does not only refer to the ability to hold viewers, and keep them watching, but also in the area of advanced or targeted advertising, where advert schedules are designed for the specific audience watching. It is also an area where ancillary data of varied types are forced to come together to complete a production that entertains, informs and satisfies. Here are some of the features that are being utilised by sports broadcasters to make viewing for a sports fan as compelling as possible. The Player Profiles Sports fans are stereotypically hungry to discover the background of players or athletes. Curiosity can be roused simply by an unfamiliar name being mentioned, but often because the particular sports person has impressed during the broadcast. Perhaps a new striker in a soccer match has scored on his debut, or a lowly ranked tennis player has just knocked out one of the top seed in Wimbledon. This hunger for information is sated by the availability of player profiles. Viewers can press the red button on their remote control to activate the icon box, and from there navigate through options to find the profile of the sports person in question. The information can be as detailed or brief as the broadcaster wishes. Games Stats As a game or event progresses, game statistics can tell the hidden truth. In rugby match, for example, facts like how many tackles have been made, how many passes were completed, or how many phases have been achieved, are all of interest to the viewer. This information is important because, though the scores may be level, the statistics can provide evidence of which team is actually on top of the game. On regular television broadcasts, this information is shown periodically over the course of the match. However, with interactive broadcasting it is information that the viewer can call up whenever it is required. The value of this feature is that the viewer fells informed at every moment, which for any sports fans is empowering. The Sports Quiz This may be designed to be fun more than anything else, but it is a major attraction to sports fans, who are often convinced they know every aspect of a sport. The quizzes themselves can be tailored to suit a specific event, sports personality or team. So, during coverage of the Olympic Games, for example, a 5 or 10 question quiz could be compiled based on the 100m sprint, asking about former winners, fastest times and even details of a controversy that occurred, like a doping scandal. While unlikely to be accessed when the sport is in play, it can be used during breaks in coverage, or even the build up to the event. This type of feature is already quite common where broadcasters ask a question before and ad break, request viewers text in their answer and then reveals the answer when coverage resumes. In the case of interactive tv, a multiple choice quiz can be shown where the viewer highlights and so chooses the correct answer. These three examples of interactive broadcasting serves to keep sports fans involved, and this in turn creates opportunities for interactive and targeted advertising. This type of advertising relates to where the ads shown are not for general consumption but for the specific viewers watching a specific show. In terms of sports, that could be an add by a sports clothing manufacturer, or a travel agent advertising flights to an sporting event. These adverts can be examined more closely by viewers who choose to do so, access the ads through their remote control. Of course, the need for an integrated ancillary data processing system to handle all of the traffic that can occur within the interactive system is acute. But for broadcasters the advantages far outweigh the cost of investing in the necessary equipment for an interactive service that already has loyal followers in sports.