Networks, sports properties and startups are eager to figure out what an over-the-top network could mean for their businesses and industries. The emerging OTT model was the topic of the opening panel of Day 2 of the ’14 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology Conference. MLS Digital VP Chris Schlosser said, “While TV is critically important as a consumption device, it’s really important that content becomes available across a whole range of devices direct to consumers. For our young millennial fans, very often, the mobile phone is the key device. ... It's important that we deliver our games directly to that phone.” UFC VP/Digital, Technology, Research & Development Christy King said one thing the MMA outfit is really looking into is “delivering content to places where we really cannot be." King: "Like certain bars in New York that cannot have a dish to get the signal. Or bars that for whatever business reason don’t carry an event. So we can deliver what is the equivalent of a channel to fans that is tailored specifically for them. And often without sound. So there are all these places, like at hotel rooms, where we can deliver content that didn’t make sense via traditional methods.” 120 Sports President Jason Coyle had a different perspective than some of the other panelists. Coyle said of his startup: “We have no legacy business. ... Over-the-top is not a segment of a much larger business. Over-the-top, however you define it, is our only business. I think we’ll come at it from quite a different perspective." He added everything his company does is "designed for mobile first.”
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Wilson said the definition of OTT may no longer be
applicable as definitions are fluid
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CHANGING DEFINITION ALREADY? WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Michelle Wilson felt that the OTT definition may no longer even be applicable. Wilson said it is "really about a business model,” and the “question ultimately is how do you get content to your fans.” King said that as far as distributing UFC content, it “could make financial sense to distribute via an OTT-type model or through a set-top box situation as opposed to a more traditional cable model." She said, "Maybe that’s what a digital channel is now. Some of these definitions are changing along with the business model. It’s super fluid right now.”
CUTTING INTO OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE?: Wilson said the “value proposition” of WWE’s OTT net is that all 12 annual PPV broadcasts “would be part of that 24/7 network experience at a much lower price point." She said, "So the question is whether the pay-per-view model can provide long-term growth. One of the challenges that we recognized was that there are a limited number of homes willing to pay that price point for all of our pay-per-view. So our thinking was, ‘How do we evolve that model?' ... What we’ve seen is that there is a segment of fans that want to buy the pay-per-view and another segment -- our sweet spot of males 18-34 -- that are buying the (OTT) net.”
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Miller does not believe OTT targets one demographic
over another
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BIGGER, BETTER DATA: NFL Media Chief Digital Officer Perkins Miller said demos for an OTT net “depend on the service.” Miller: “We’re seeing different demos for users of Apple TV vs. Roku. There are different demos for people using desktop vs. mobile devices. ... The consumer who is watching the 1992 Patriots long-form yearbook on an Xbox is different from someone who is watching game highlights on a Sunday afternoon." However, he added, "You do find people 55+ who are using something like an Apple TV. ... So I don’t think you can say that there is one demographic to which OTT is targeted.” Wilson said about 40% of WWE OTT use is through connected devices and gaming consoles, which was “surprising.” Wilson: “We thought it would be more web and mobile-based, but our fans are gamers, so they know how to use Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Xbox. The learning we’ve had has been on mobile. We need to deliver more short-form content.”
