Arsenal F.C. builds cloud video production team with Blackbird

Posted: 18/09/2020

Arsenal F.C. is one of the biggest names in world football. Boasting 13 league titles and 13 FA Cups during its illustrious history, this iconic club has a fanbase spanning millions across the globe.

In sports, just as in broadcast, government and corporate sectors, clubs had to transition to remote production models almost overnight due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.  Arsenal’s media production team faced the same issue as many other sports organisations at the outbreak of Covid; namely how to continue to produce great video content remotely with limited bandwidth and little technology infrastructure at home.

The team knew they wanted to deploy a truly cloud-native video editing and publishing platform that would enable them to work safely, collaboratively and efficiently from their homes or indeed any other location as needed. Arsenal turned to Blackbird.

Accessing Blackbird through any browser and with bandwidth as low as 2Mb/s, the production team uses the platform’s rich suite of editing tools to frame-accurately view, edit, enrich and publish a wide variety of video content. With no live games for several months, editors were able to rapidly access and edit content from the club’s vast archive for repurposing across digital channels – its Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels alone have a combined 70 million followers.

With the resumption of behind closed doors matchday action, Arsenal are using Blackbird to access live content including match feeds, press conferences, training sessions and punditry from the club’s TV studio for editing. Blackbird gives Arsenal the fire power to clip, create and polish video packaged just seconds after going live before being rapidly published online for fans to enjoy. Using Blackbird’s rich editing toolset, the media production team can create simple clips, sequenced edits, compilations, highlights and longer form broadcast quality content – from anywhere, at any time.

For further engagement and reach, emojis and graphics can be added and players tagged. Sponsor branding and adverts can be included, partners tagged and promotional messaging incorporated to drive monetization.

The pandemic has stressed the importance of a digital-first mentality and of reaching ‘virtual’ fans unable to attend games while the virus persists. In addition, since 70 percent of the Arsenal’s online audience originates from outside of the UK, it’s crucial that the club continue to develop fantastic programming it can share with international media rights holders and across its website and social channels.

Arsenal F.C are ahead of the game. By using Blackbird daily they are creating engaging content to keep in touch with the club’s estimated 100 million global fan base.