What’s the point of watching your favorite game if you’re not watching it live?
Let that sink in!
There were times when national or international sports broadcasting was limited to either catching the game live in the stadium or on TV. With live video streaming, you can now watch your favorite sport right on your mobile phone, opening up many revenue-generating opportunities for people. Today, the FIFA World Cup 2022 has glued viewers to live broadcasting as the matches are being displayed all around the world via live streaming. But whether it is live cricket streaming, NBA live streaming, live football streaming, or IPL live streaming, sports streaming is what’s trending.
The cost of delivering sports content online is no longer as mind-boggling as it once was. A growing number of sports organizations have turned mobile devices into streaming platforms to help remote fans enjoy their favorite sports from the comfort of their homes. So, if you have not joined the live streaming bandwagon yet, this is the time to reconsider.
In this Article:
⚽ Why Live Stream Sports Events?
Over the past few years, there has been a major shift in how people consume media, with drastic declines in traditional TV viewership and a significant spike in digital viewership. Entertainment and news are now both consumed way more via the web and mobile devices. And an average consumer spends more than double the average time online compared to what he did just five years back. That said, internet video is a much more powerful and effective communication medium than conventional TV and print media.
That said, live streaming sports events offers two major benefits:
👉 Global Outreach – You can reach anyone across the globe with live streaming technology, regardless of geographic barriers or time-zone differences. Everyone can watch the game live from the comfort of their home, in the metro, while on vacation, or from their workplaces.
👉 New Revenue Opportunities – For sports broadcasting services, live streaming sports events can help attract new partners and sponsors, taking your service to a whole new level. You can also earn revenue through video monetization opportunities offered by different social media platforms like YouTube Live.
🏀 How to Set Up Live Streaming Setup for Live Streaming Sports Events?
Live streaming sports events is not a complicated or expensive process; almost anyone can do it with a smartphone and an internet connection, but if you’re offering the live-streamed match as a service, you must make it look professional.
✅ Computer
Use a PC or a laptop with a fast processor. It will nullify video lag, and the processor speed will be able to keep up with the specifications of a high-quality camera.
✅ Internet Connection
Any high-speed (DSL, cable modem, fiber, etc.) connection will serve the purpose. Use a wired internet connection for faster, higher-definition video recordings.
✅ Video Device
You will require more than a webcam if you’re streaming live sports, so invest in a high-quality camera for excellent video quality. Aim at cameras that record at least Full High-Definition (FHD) videos, or 1920×1080 or 1080p, with a frame rate of 60 FPS. Also, zoom and focus are very important when live streaming sports games. A camera with good zoom capacity will capture close-up shots without pixelating the objects.
✅ Audio Device
Audio quality is more important than video quality when live streaming, so getting an audio input that provides the best quality is advisable. If a sports commentator is in your live stream, prepare the audio input for them as well. For professional sports streaming, commentators usually use a lip-ribbon microphone with strong noise-reduction ability and wind resistance.
✅ Video Mixer
The video switcher is used to switch between different video or audio sources. The main functionality of the device is for selecting between the sources of audio or video, and it’s sometimes used in mixing video, setting compositions, and adding footage, graphics, or special effects.
✅ Live Streaming Solution
The live video must be encoded to the correct parameters for live broadcasting to provide the best possible quality to the viewers. Using a reliable and fast networking solution for your live stream can reduce the latency of even high-quality live video. OneStream Live allows ABR streaming to send your stream to multiple social platforms without lag or buffering.
🥎 Tips to Make your Sports Live Broadcasts Look Professional
Once you’ve sorted out your live streaming equipment, next, you must work on creating professional-looking smooth live video broadcasts.
🏓 Add Professional Streaming Elements
Brand your sports live streams with professional elements for an engaging viewer experience. With OneStream Studio, you can add creative overlays to create a more entertaining and immersive experience for the viewers. You can add intros and outros to your live shows, eye-catchy intervals to play during the breaks, countdown timers between pending decisions, and so forth. You can also choose to play a great mix of music, sounds, and announcer commentary to keep your audience engaged.
🏓 Have Multiple Pre-Positioned Cameras
Planning the camera setup is a critical task for live streaming sports events. You should have multiple cameras that are capable of switching angles seamlessly to avoid viewer fatigue.
🏓 Add a Commentator Right from the Stadium
Having a host commenting right from the stadium can push in added appeal to your live sports shows. With pre-positioned cameras in the field and a commentator live from the field will keep the viewers immersed in the gameplay.
🏓 Multistream your Shows
For increased viewership, make sure you live stream your sports broadcasts on multiple social media platforms simultaneously. With OneStream Live, you can simulcast your sports live streams on 40+ social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Hopin, Twitch, and many more.
🏓 Live Stream on the Web
You can also embed your sports live streams on your website using OneStream Live’s intuitive Embed Player. Or may want to create a dedicated customized webpage for live streaming your sports broadcasts using Hosted Live Pages.
🏓 Create a Watch Party
If you’re a fan interested in live streaming your favorite game, you can host a big game watch party with your friends and watch your favorite game together. Use OneStream Studio to invite your friends, share your screen while playing the live stream, and enjoy the game together.
🏓 Beware of Copyright Infringements
While viewing sports live streams might not account for copyright infringement, setting up a streaming service might. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, sporting events cannot be regarded as intellectual creations under the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC). Hence, those attending the event in person can live stream the same to social media and the wider internet without copyright infringement.
🎳 Bonus Catch
Are you a fan looking to watch your favorite game live? Here’s a list of the most popular free sports streaming sites to get you sorted:
🎯 ESPN
⛳ Final Draw
Today, live sports streaming is one of the most popular use cases for live video broadcasting. Given the easy access to broadband internet and mobile streaming technologies, it’s easier than ever to live stream sports events across the globe via the internet. Use OneStream Live to live stream your sports live streams to multiple social media platforms and the web simultaneously. Or host your own sports live shows using OneStream Studio, invite guests for commentary, and multistream them on all your social channels and the website at once.
While live streaming via OneStream Live, the sky’s the limit.
Download OneStream Mobile App.
OneStream Live is a cloud-based live streaming solution to create, schedule, and multistream professional-looking live streams across 45+ social media platforms and the web simultaneously. For content-related queries and feedback, write to us at [email protected]. You’re also welcome to Write for Us!
