Making IPTV and digital signage do more with less work in pro sports venues
IPTV and digital signage have been around for 20 years, yet it still requires a great deal of work to implement and operate effectively inside a professional sports stadium or arena. FanConnect worked closely with IT, game day operations, and corporate partnership teams to first understand what was lacking from existing technologies, and then apply that understanding with the newest FanConnect platform: the Connected Media Network (CMN).
IPTV and Digital Signage Issues commonly faced by IT
Transforming the live game video feed
The live game feed is the most important video content your IPTV system has to deliver, and it can be one the most complicated. It's on more TVs than any other content, and it's in front of fans throughout your ballpark. It also serves as the primary way that IPTV helps the corporate partnership team generate revenue. Current IPTV technologies face major limitations on both what they can provide on-screen and in how they report on it.
FanConnect provides a complete out-of-the-box content solution that transforms your live video feed into something that engages fans and helps your corporate partnership team. The CMN has built-in integration to all the major league data provider APIs like NFL GSIS, MLBAM, and the NHL, NBA and MLS APIs. It comes pre-integrated for all major scoreboard controllers including Daktronics, White Way and OES. This integration powers the the CMN live game experience with zero work on game day from IT.
FanConnect includes pre-built content for your live game, creating a world-class experience without having to hire additional resources. It also includes automation to switch from pre-game to in-game, and integrations to Ross Xpression and Daktronics show controllers for commercial breaks and moments of exclusivity for events like home runs, touch downs, goals and other game events.
Corporate Partnership Support
Teams can capture significant revenue from wrapping sponsor assets around the live game feed, but at the same time those sponsor asset can end up being significant work.
Most venues not using FanConnect opt for a relatively simple wrap - often just ads. This isn't the best for fan experience, but it is the easiest to manage. Even then, keeping up with playlists for different event types is work. Scheduling of when you want sponsor assets is one thing - usually they start several hours before gates open so you can make sure everything is running correctly- but doing playout reporting in this scenario can be a significant challenge.
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Playout reporting (also known as proof of performance) is the reporting done for corporate partners so they can know how many minutes of exposure they received. Playout reporting also needs to understand which asset types ran, in which locations, and for what events. A significant challenge can be coordinating your events (ball games, concerts, etc.) by date and by gate open times ("sponsor" time). This is one area where FanConnect shines.
Scheduling like a sports venue, not an office park.
All IPTV and digital signage platforms can schedule content, but most of them are built around recurring events. E.g. "put up the breakfast menu Monday-Friday from 7 am to 11 am". Scheduling with the FanConnect CMN operates instead with an event-based scheduler.
The event-based scheduling model breaks out your events by type and team, and also allows you to set opening time in minutes before event start. For any professional sports leagues FanConnect will manage the schedule for you - it's already handled by the same system that tracks all your games, opponents, etc. for game day. You no longer have to filter out times when sponsor assets ran but no fans were in the venue.
The event-based schedule allows you to create default playlists by event type (NHL game, NBA game, concert) and device group (upper concourse TVs, suites, etc.). It allows you to override these playlists for any specific event or group of events - for example for a home stand in a baseball stadium. This creates a much more natural calendar-based schedule that reflects the realities of your stadium or arena.
About FanConnect
FanConnect provides complete IPTV, digital signage, tablet and other technology for professional and collegiate sports venues and multi-purpose arenas. Connect with us to find out why MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA teams trust FanConnect on game day.