|
Sport and Technology asked four rights owners to answer the above question. Two responses are included below, with the remaining two in the previous feature.  Paul Johnson, vice president of new media, US PGA TOUR
"Technology has brought the excitement of the PGA TOUR to our fan base, and enabled significant growth all the way back to the late 1950s.
In the early years, the 1950s, technology first brought moving images of one very handsome, swashbuckling, charismatic, Arnold Palmer into your living room television set. The sport was already popular, but its popularity exploded, at first, due to technology…yes, television technology.
In more recent years, since the mid-1990s, as Tiger Woods stormed onto the golf scene, the internet enabled a new level of fan engagement and connection with the sport. Remember, the structure of golf is different than other sports. Much of a golf tournament is played outside of a normal television broadcast. There is so much action (40 hours a week, with 18 holes at a time), that golf is perfect for non-linear, new media platforms. The internet enabled fans to connect to the TOUR players and tournaments all-day, every-day, including Thursday and Friday from the office. It enabled fans to see the whole field scores, live, including their favorite player(s), not just who is shown on TV. On PGATOUR.com the TOUR delivered the first live golf webcast (Live@17, eight years running), the first live Gamecast showing the location of every shot of every player (TOURCast), a tremendous amount of video - expanded Live coverage, clips from the course during the day, the archive, and originally programmed video – all to continue to connect and fuel fan interest. Literally tens of millions of TOUR fans, domestic and international, have consumed billions of views via PGATOUR.com. All enabled by technology…internet technology.
On television, all of our network telecasts are now in HDTV. HD improves the PGA TOUR viewing experience dramatically. In HD, it’s easier to see the ball, wider to see the venue and crowds and crisp enough to see changes in elevation on a course.
As we look to the future, we know technology will continue to enhance our fan’s ability to consume our sport. The proliferation of non-linear media platforms (whether TV, Internet, Mobile or other) allow us to pull together video, audio and data into a compelling experience for the TOUR fan. The best story-telling and analysis, with everything else you might want…right at your fingertips. Our sport fits perfectly for the future, and our fans will enjoy the benefits of an even richer entertainment experience.
Simply put, evolving media technologies enable our fans to enjoy the PGA TOUR more and more. Technology and the PGA TOUR have a great history, and a very bright future!"  Andrew Brown, chief operating officer, Racing UK (pictured right)
"While I could provide a long list of technical innovations that have enhanced the sport of horseracing over the past 50 years, it is more important to understand what technology has done for the experience of horseracing for the sports fan.
A number of important technical innovations on the racetrack have improved the lot of the racegoer over the past 50 years, from automated starting stalls and photo finish equipment which improve the race itself, to the introduction of large video screens and instant price updates which improve the racegoers’ view and experience of the race.
But it is the media exploitation of racing that has seen the largest advances. Since the launch of digital TV in the UK, after a couple of false starts, the armchair racing fan now has the choice of two TV channels covering British racing, Racing UK and attheraces, and another, Racing World dedicated to international racing.
More recently, the internet has further revolutionised racing. The first transformation to arrive was betting exchanges, which allowed punters to back and lay horses for the first time, rather than simply placing bets with their preferred bookmaker. The result was better returns for punters, and arguably a leap in the popularity of horserace betting, as punters were offered far more choice than ever. The downside has been that margins for traditional bookmakers have been reduced, affecting the racing industry through lower funds for racing which come through a statutory Levy on bookmakers’ margins. There is a lively (!) debate about whether the additional revenues generated by betting exchanges have outweighed the impact of the reduction in these margins.
The other major innovation has come with Web 2.0, which is the availability of on-demand racing footage via the internet. Through the instant availability of footage on websites like thebettingsite.co.uk, punters can now bet and watch using the same medium, and can also access video form of their fancied horse. This revolution brings racing to the desktop of most racing fans, and enhances their viewing (and betting) experience immeasurably.
The next stage is the translation of these functions to the mobile arena, so that punters can bet and watch wherever they are. Live video is available now through Racing UK on Vodafone 3G, but when fully functioning mobile broadband arrives, racing fans will experience yet another technology-driven leap forward."
This article was seen first by people who receive the monthly newsletter, join them.
|
