About 100 years ago, well actually is was 2013, we were pulled into a very unique opportunity for engagement in and around college football.
It was called “Coaches Cabana,” and was the brainchild of former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer and longtime sports executive Neal Pilson. It was really the birth of a second screen experience that gave fans the chance to watch and interact with as many as 14 former coaches, from Switzer and Johnny Majors to Jackie Sherrill, Fred Akers and Galen Hall, on a college football Saturday through social media and via broadband link at Coachescabana.com. It was agnostic of broadcast partner, no rights involved, so the coaches are free to watch on their own screen and interact with fans from a host of settings, including Switzer’s own cabana, which overlooked the stadium in Norman, OK. Yahoo even came on as a partner and the large scale multicity multiweek effort was launched as a full season trial. You had to literally watch on another screen and then follow along without video what the coaches were watching but couldn’t show you. A little cluttered but a great first person idea.
And then it was gone.
Great idea, too soon, a precursor to the Megacast idea that ESPN pioneered and others have now done, and a pre Twitch version of Twitch, only without the clean streaming opportunity. Coaches Cabana still exists today in its original form in and around Norman, OK on game days, but the larger scale streaming idea kind of came and went, waiting for someone to figure out how to make money with it as a viable, highlight filled second screen; the micro Megacast for fans of any team, league or sport.
Then earlier this week I flipped through channels and came across ESPNU and watched their “7 Innings Live” show, born out of their podcast. There was a robust version of “Coaches Cabana,” perched high above what turned out to be the final game of the Women’s World Series, with highlights, lots of fun exchanges, fan interaction and a different way to consume content that a casual fan may have enjoyed just a little more if he or she wasn’t that into elite softball. Now this of course is ESPN, with the rights to the event and the wherewithal to do a full blown parallel broadcast, it’s what they do.
However with the production costs dropping and teams, leagues and brands looking to find more unique ways to engage fans, especially on a mobile device, what would be the downside to finding ways to recreate “7 innings Live” across a wider swath of events, especially in and around sports that have a solid core and need to service that niche. It remains a little bit of a surprise that colleges haven’t figured out how to best engage in Twitch yet, with some customized streams for various audiences looking to consume a particular event as a communal experience without the traditional point of view. I have seen high net worth passionate fans on a Slack Channel watching the Final Four a few years ago, and going back and forth with comments both fun and profane. It was their community. Why isn’t there more streaming done yet for similar events?
One obvious reason is splitting the baby. Rights fees are high and there is still the belief th
at all eyeballs need to be in one place, and the brands that come along get sated. However that is changing, as evidenced by custom channels that platforms like esports and gaming and even the NBA GLeague have done, and others have experimented with. Give the consumer the best viewing experience he or she wants, and you may drive buzz and ancillary dollars if it’s done right.
It is still an idea coming in the not too distant future, and it will have its fits and starts. “Coaches Cabana” was too early, “7 Innings Live” may have been its slightly younger sister, one that can set the bar for the future.
Worth watching where it goes.
