Full-access content means short-form video or photos that either look like they were shot on a smartphone, or have been created to build a deeper connection with an athlete and go past the usual sports related content. The industry has shifted and is trending towards a world where this content becomes even more valuable than broadcast. Just ask the Welcome to Wrexham fans on Twitter who don’t appreciate being spoiled the next season of the docu-series when Wrexham post an update on a game.
Full-access means behind-the-scenes
Full-access content delivers a behind-the-scenes content experience that broadcast TV clips cannot, hence why shows like Drive to Survive, Full Swing, Break Point and Welcome to Wrexham have thrived in this new era of content consumption. This content immerses fans in the emotion of live events and gets them closer to their favourite athletes brands - relating to them more than just because they play for their favourite team. So how can you benefit from its value?
Fans want to connect with real people: in a non-stop digital world they want to know what an athlete’s favourite restaurant is, what animal they care about and the name of their pets, their favourite holiday destination and how their latest Football Manager save is going. Full-access content drives nine times more engagement per post on digital platforms than other content because fans have always wanted this content, but for the first time, sports organisations now have a way of delivering this raw and real content directly to their fans.
Full-access content is frequently shot as 9:16 vertical video, to give the impression of being shot on a phone, although a curated piece of content going behind-the-scenes is just as valuable. This could be behind-the-scenes content footage, interviews and other types of content that give the audience an in-depth look at a particular subject, or person within the club or league. It’s the reason why more and more sports organisations release daily training footage - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The future is fan driven
The most innovative leagues and organisations in the world have seen the value of full-access content. Amazon saw an opportunity with the All or Nothing series, as Wrexham have seen with Welcome to Wrexham, Formula 1 and Netflix have seen with Drive to Survive, and the same goes for the PGA and teams like Angel City.
The NWSL and their teams are a great example of to create engaged fanbases from the beginning. In a country that was starved of high quality a female soccer league for years despite the obvious talent - they wasted no time. Every year, NWSL and their clubs break record after record and are fast becoming one of the most attractive leagues to both watch and invest in, from an owner and partner point of view. They saw a world where they put their fans first, listened to what they wanted, and strived to produce the full-access content they craved. Today, 70% of the NWSL use ScorePlay to manage their content management and distribution automatically using AI, so they can take advantage of the best female athlete brands in the world.
How does ScorePlay Pulse work?
What began as a photo tool has become a content aggregator for content from every source. Working with leagues has lead us to develop a media solution that not only ingests content automatically from photographers via FTP, videographers, and broadcasters, but also pushes out photo and video content to athletes, partners, external users, media and more with AI facial and text recognition and a custom rules engine. We got rid of manual media workflows, and in a world where getting out content fast means getting it out yesterday - automation is key.
Our social media feed also goes one step further so it allows clubs and leagues to request content from different sources. Using the platform they can make content requests directly to athletes via the Athlete App (with description and example), send these requests to social media managers who are in and around the pitch, changing room or court-side to capture full-access content on their phones in real-time, or even send them to external freelance photographers, and have this content fed into the platform directly. That’s why we say that we provide the beating heart to the sports media ecosystem.
About ScorePlay
ScorePlay is your best-in-class media solution that provides an automated architecture to centralise, distribute, and classify your digital assets, whether photos, videos, or live broadcasts. We are transforming sports organizations, automating their creative processes and growing their brands and unlocking new revenue. We are the bridge to the future of sports storytelling, from content capture to fan consumption. Automate. Grow. Unlock.
Credits
Photo credit: Major League Pickeball
