(Courtesy of Fantag)
Mobile video streaming platform Fantag has partnered with Sinclair Broadcast Group to offer automated video highlights for followers of high school football programs across the U.S. Through the free Fantag mobile app, fans will be able to select the exact plays from specific games that they want delivered to their phones.
Sinclair’s weekly broadcast will synchronize with the Fantag app to transmit a live stream during games. Fantag can then create instant replays and shareable highlights of key game action. Once in the app, users must select which football event they want to join, and can then tap the Fantag button after any play to receive a 15-second jump-back clip sent to their mobile device.
“We’re excited to introduce Fantag’s innovative video highlight technology to high schools in our markets,” said Steve Mann, Director of Sinclair High School Sports in a press release. “It’s a great opportunity for us to access easy, instant video highlights for our broadcasts as well as for promotional use. The platform allows schools and their fans to create their own instant replays and highlights—delivered directly to their mobile phones.”
Initially, Fantag’s video highlights will be available to Sinclair broadcast markets, including Dayton, Salt Lake City, Charleston, Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and San Antonio. Fantag is a Sacramento-based startup whose advisory board includes Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young and media executive Pat Talamantes, who formerly served as CEO of The McClatchy Company.
“At all levels of sports, it’s important for fans and families to capture video of their favorite teams and athletes in action. Fantag is excited to kick off its partnership with Sinclair and provide video highlights of special moments to their school communities for the first time ever,” said Fantag CEO John Stone in the press release.
SportTechie Takeaway
This is not Fantag’s first dive into high school sports. The company signed a five-year streaming deal with the governing body for Californian high school sports last April. The company’s first partnership came back in 2017 when it signed a deal to provide highlights for Sacramento Republic FC of the United Soccer League.
High school sports typically do not come with the same broadcast opportunities and highlight coverage as collegiate or professional athletics, but that is beginning to change with apps such as Fantag. Not only will fans, players, and parents likely appreciate Fantag’s real-time highlight and instant replay capabilities, but team personnel, recruiters, scouts, and journalists who cover high school football should all benefit from this partnership.
