The NBA gets a lot of credit for looking for new ways to engage fans, but when we look back on the fanless fall, the NFL may, and should have emerged from the top of the forward-thinking pack, and Sunday was the best example, across the board, of a glimpse into the future of sports how we want it, where we want it and when we want it.
Ben Strauss had a great summary in the Washington Post of the day’s offerings, which took us from an ESPN Megacast with various POV shots and discussions, to the Nickelodeon broadcast which was for more than just kids, to a Sunday night game streamed on Amazon and Peacock. While traditionist may stay with the main feed and shake their head at options, the options are what a newer audience wants, and now as measurement starts to catch up with demand, brands can better understand ROI.
While the cross channel Megacast ESPN offered up was newer to NFL fans, but familiar to many who have seen what “The Worldwide Leader” has done, and did again with the College Football Championship on Monday night, it was still a work in progress, and probably kept many fans switching channels back to the main feed after a while. Interesting, but not as captivating.
Now Nickelodeon was different, and had a confluence of planning, luck, and talent that made it the eye-opener of the trio. The announcers, Nate Burleson and Noah Eagle, joined by 15-year-old Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, never made it silly. They kept a flow for any football fan and found ways to tell stories that were well thought out and informative to all. The graphics were fun and entertaining, and CBS and Nick found ways in advance to make sure that the players, most of which have been Nick fans growing up, not only went along with the questions and the slime, but actually seemed to really enjoy the experience that was outside of the norm, even for a playoff game. Digital art, like clouds appearing at players’ feet or lighting across their chest, appeared often during replays. It was more colorful than a standard NFL game, and having Young Sheldon appear to explain the rules quickly to viewers managed to stay cute instead of silly. It worked. It achieved buzz without being really silly and it set a high, and probably expensive bar for what can be done next.
Then Sunday night you had the third, more consistent glance ahead, the streaming of Sunday night’s game on Amazon and Peacock. While the NFL has offered up multiple streams for select Thursday night games most of the season, this one was a bit more traditional in presentation, but again gave those who prefer the custom live stream an opportunity to watch their way.
In the end, that’s what Sunday was all about. While most of the day was just on traditional broadcast channels, it’s not hard to look ahead to the day when there will be a kids stream, a call your own game stream, a coach vantagepoint stream, and yes, the data-filled gambling stream. We may also get a silent stream, a stream in Italian or German, all as part of future rights deals which can probably be carved out of a broadcast package. It will be, and is becoming, more about choice and point of view not of the broadcaster, but of the consumer to be involved with his or her community enjoying the experience.
While the NFL led the plunge and will continue to do so, one wonders what the NBA will do to raise the bar, or how MLB can change an offering given the starts and stops of play and their interest to engage an audience. What will we get from the US Open (golf or tennis) or even more so, from an Olympics which could offer consumers around the world hundreds of niche streams given the width and scope of competition. While much is still cost prohibitive and brands still hem and haw over ROI and eyes being driven away from the main broadcast channel, the day is coming, and this fall it continued to be ushered in by one of the most reticent leagues to venture from the traditional, the NFL.
Now there will have to be balance. The fun of the Nick broadcast was in the novelty. Fans of any age won’t tune in every week, but being open to trying, and testing what can be possible for new engagement without driving the core viewer away, is going to be very important. Too much, and fun goes to fad goes to fade. Too little, and enthusiasm wanes. It’s a delicate balance, one driven by data and dollars, but one which now has more pieces to balance than ever before, and thanks to those listening, leaning in, and looking forward, gave consumers of all ages a great series of choices and options for a Wild Card Weekend.
It’s was great to see the future om the gridiron, all other sports, the challenge, and the imagination, is in your hands.
Despite the zany graphics and color overload not typically present in an NFL match, the broadcast succeeded because it never talked down to its audience.
