By Morgan Farrell

03/30/2020

The Wall Street Journal article, “Traditional Sports look to Gamers to Reshape Viewers’ Experience” (2020) details the ways in which virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and other advancements in technology are reshaping the viewership experience for fans of traditional sports. Upon reading this article, it is clear why broadcasting companies feel compelled to shift their offerings. Time spent on devices and in the virtual space, especially among younger consumers, is increasing, meaning that in order to achieve the same results in terms of ad viewership, entertainment, and social connectivity broadcasting companies need to adapt.

Especially in the era of COVID-19 these new technologies can provide a valuable edge to broadcasting companies that utilize them. Assuming that sports leagues will resume after the outbreak is contained, consumers will be willing to pay a premium to have access to their favorite arenas in the comfort of their living room. When many states and counties are mandating social distancing or for their residents to stay-at-home, VR and AR provide solutions to these problems as they allow their users to connect with friends and family they may not be permitted to socialize with in real life. This solution is one that sports fans would be willing to pay for, and those companies at the forefront of the industry are experimenting with commodifying services like “text chat [with each other] beneath live video of sports matches; purchase team emojis to share within those chats; and guess what will happen during the action via real-time polls, among other interactive features”. These services mimic what would normally go on within sports bars, bleacher seats, and even Las Vegas.

These interactivity features expand beyond the fans’ prior experience with what viewing a sports match is like. Interactivity features like camera toggles delight the viewer as they are able to customize their viewership experience by getting the exact angles, replays, and zooms that they have always wanted. Additionally, through integrating the chat feature on both the consumer and producer side of the sport entertainment industry, fans may gain access to communicating with their favorite players during time-outs and post-game.

VR, AR, and other innovative technologies come together to create a valuable service development for the sports broadcasting industry of the modern age.