Live streaming has been a major feature of the world of US sport for several years now. Four years ago ​the New York Times reported on the importance of live streaming and now it is an integral feature of sports viewing.
Is it finally time for UK sports enthusiasts to begin experiencing live streaming on a large scale basis? Realistically, the answer to this question is not yet. Although, the foundations for a live stream future have certainly been laid.
The rise of live stream
Let’s start by looking at just how much live streaming has grown in popularity since the first baseball live stream took place in 1995. From the year 2013 onwards, the idea of live streaming was introduced into the public domain with the introduction of YouTube live streaming.
Now YouTube enables 360-degree 4K live streaming which has opened up whole new avenues for video makers. Online entertainment providers have also recognised the value of live streaming.
Gaming providers like NetEnt allow players to experience the excitement of table games like blackjack and poker in ​this type of live environment​. The result is representative of the real-world casino experience. In a similar way, sports broadcasters like NBC and ESPN provide an experience for sports lovers that is the next best thing to attending an event live.
Live streaming and the Premier League
Despite the global rise of live streaming, it has not been widely used for sports broadcasting in the UK up to this point. However, the latest Premier League broadcast agreement has ​changed the situation somewhat​.
Amazon secured the right to live stream 20 games per season, across three seasons, at a cost of £90m. Live streaming rights for more games were secured by BT Sport. The first group of games were live-streamed over the Christmas and New Year period 2019. According to Amazon, a record number of people signed up for Amazon Prime so that they could watch the content.
Reviews of live streaming were mixed. Fans were happy to be able to access all games easily, using their Amazon Prime accounts. However, there was a major issue with a delay on the live stream. Although the delay was relatively short, it was significant enough to spoil the enjoyment of the experience for many people. Anyone who had their smartphone set up to receive real-time results knew that a player had scored before they saw the goal ‘live’.
The future for live streaming of the Premier League
Given that a deal that is already in place, live streaming of the Premier League will continue for at least another two seasons. It seems that fans are currently undecided as to whether or not this is a good thing. An improvement in the timing of the live streaming may help to win over more fans.
Given the current lack of certainty, it seems that the Premier League is not likely to catch up with US sport live streaming in the immediate future. Only time and fan opinion will tell how much progress will be made in the coming seasons.
