IAN MCDONOUGH is the CEO of Blackbird, a cloud-based platform that allows users to quickly edit and publish video content from any browser remotely. Based in the U.K., the technology is helping companies cut workflow time, giving fans updates quicker than ever. The company recently produced all of the social media content for golf’s British Open with IMG. While many of its partners are in sports, media companies are also interested in Blackbird’s potential. SBD Global spoke with McDonough about the Blackbird experience and how it helps brands reach consumers faster.

On the Blackbird experience …

Ian McDonough: At the core of our IP we have Blackbird, which is a unique technology and the brainchild of STEPHEN STREATER. It is the only codec that has been designed for editing and manipulating video in the cloud. It is much more than that, as well. … What we’re offering is a work station experience in the cloud. You can have an experience that is just like a desktop experience on a work station — highly-responsive, frame accurate, completely fluid. All the advantages of having a desktop solution, with all the specifications within our own solution — but it’s in the cloud. It could be 8,000 miles away. Six seconds after a goal or a basket is scored, you can be working on that content in the cloud, from virtually any location in the world … with a 2mb bandwidth connection. You can do that from any piece of hardware, and any browser. We’re a very special and significant piece of technology for this time … It’s all about speed. … We also have an incredible speed to market. We have a customer, MSG Networks, which brought a workflow process down from 45 minutes to a 3-minute process using Blackbird technology. That is getting ice hockey goals out to their dotcom sites in record time. It’s a very exciting technology for the generation of sports fans who want to have their content immediately. We can talk about cost production [savings], but I’d much rather talk about how we are lightning quick. People tell us, ‘We can’t believe you are a cloud solution.’

On the esports market …

McDonough: It is a huge opportunity. We fit into that market quite nicely because we operate at 60 frames per second, whereas other solutions that operate in the cloud cannot match that. We have Gfinity in the U.K. that has been using us for more than a year now, and we recently signed with ESP out of Las Vegas. We recently provided all the social media clippings for the Fortnite event that was at the Bank of California Stadium in Los Angeles. For that, we had teams deployed in L.A., in North Carolina, in Cyprus and in London all editing content that was being produced out of that stadium. There were 50 gamers with 50 celebrities wearing point-of-view cameras creating content.

On what teams can expect from Blackbird …

McDonough: Most stadiums around the world have their own inhouse media companies. We are providing services to those teams to rapidly access their archive, to be able to rapidly cut live footage from the stadium to publish to their own outlets. Whether it be 24/7 sport channels or internet and digital sites and, of course, social media. One of the interesting things about Blackbird is, if you are publishing to social media, the quality of our codec is high enough that you can publish straight to social media without rendering. It’s extremely quick.

On global partners …

McDonough: Historically, it has been the U.K., but since I’ve come on board we’ve had a very big push for North America. It is not just a larger market, but it is a much more complex market than the U.K. We’re talking to the large West Coast tech giants, who are attracted to our codec, about how we can be a true cloud solution to their cloud customers. We are talking to the U.S. [TV] networks, we’re talking to the hundreds of sports and news networks across the country and we’re talking, of course, to the thousands if not hundreds of thousands of emerging publishers going straight to social. It’s a very nuanced and complex market, the U.S., that’s why it is so attractive to us.

On why companies should want to get involved …

McDonough: It is the speed. It is the flexibility. The fact that this can be used by any level of employee, you don’t have to be a professional editor to use our software — you can be a marketer, a social media publisher, a researcher. It is designed to be used by anyone, on any piece of hardware, on any browser, from anywhere.

On the focus on sports-based partnerships …

McDonough: There is a lot of emphasis put on live. We know we can edit so quickly after a live event and have that published so fast, so it is attractive to sports teams, sports broadcasters and sports rights holders. But we’re not limited to sports. Anything that requires fast turnaround. The news is an attractive area for us. For anything that requires people working remotely, we have a workflow based on localization — whereby content that needs to be localized to Netflix is put into our cloud and is dubbed or subtitled by people in those markets, could be China or Poland. They can dub or subtitle in those markets and the content never leaves the cloud.

On where Blackbird is heading …

McDonough: We are widely used in the B2B space. But where I really want it to go is the ability for billions of people to view media, sports and entertainment using the high-quality, highly-responsive Blackbird technology. We’ve started with B2B, but can see ourselves in a B2B2C arena, probably with partnerships with the big tech guys on the West Coast. What Stephen Streater has invented, I knew was special when I first joined. But after being here a year and speaking at length to people far more knowledgeable than myself, I know what we’ve got is unique and a standout product. So we really want to make everything we can of it.

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Edge computing allows any device, including mobiles, servers, PCs and Macs to act as gateways between the physical world and cloud storage – running processes such as video transcoding and speech recognition as ‘close to the content’ as possible. This form of cloud computing is a breakthrough technology with direct benefits to the sports industry, ensuring professional sports athletes can maintain their competitive edge.

For the Americas Cup, the British yachting team utilized Edge technology which transmitted performance data through the cloud, leading Sir Ben Ainslie and the Oracle team to win the race. Capturing and analysing performance data and performing ‘virtual chase boat’ projects allowed for immediate changes where 350 data points were captured for analysis.

Edge also took the spotlight earlier this year at the Winter Olympics, with the US ski team utilising STRIVR’s 360-degree video to practice the Pyeongchang course over and over again. The ability to gain ‘mental access’, where physical presence was not possible, allowed the team to maximise their preparation. By uploading video content to the cloud, players and coaches were able to identify athletes’ weak spots and gauge the competition’s strategy.

Edge technology has other benefits as well for both video professionals and sports fans, since it works on the principle of combining outputs from new video technologies and overlaying data in the most appropriate and efficient location – delivering the game rapidly without time delays. Edge technology is cost-effective for multimedia and production teams on smaller budgets since it removes the expense required to move video content and data to the same physical location. Fans also benefit, gaining the ultimate viewing experience without concerns of technical glitches causing time delays and receive sports scores fast.

The advances in cloud and edge technology have blurred the lines between traditional broadcast and digital content delivery, allowing the games of minor sports teams to be accessible to fans at a much lower cost. Cloud Video and On-Demand, Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms have also made it possible for smaller leagues and individual teams to have their own channels. Tata Communications connected the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit to its global network and today works with more than 20 broadcasters to bring motor racing to fans worldwide. Vice President of Global Marketing, Mehul Kapadia, said “The cloud is levelling the playing field between sports giants like F1 and smaller local series like the F4 British Championship. You only need a few cameras to capture the action; the rest of the production can be done easily and inexpensively in the cloud”. Major sports teams such as Real Madrid, have found that by embrace cloud technology, they can engage with their 450 million fans where only 3% are based in Spain. José Ángel Sánchez, CEO, Real Madrid, said, “Using Microsoft Cloud, we are building a way of understanding who our fans are, where they are, and what they want from us.”

In conclusion, the introduction of Edge computing into sports has lowered the barriers for smaller sports teams to experiment with innovative technologies. Edge computing has helped simplify video production and distribution, at a lower cost. Teams and sports professionals have the advantage of extending their online presence, reaching a global audience with a lower cost digital strategy.

Our Blackbird Edge is a cloud-native solution which can run on multiple platforms including servers, public cloud services (AWS and Azure), in virtual machines and Mac OS X operating systems. It is fundamentally a software conduit to cloud workflows for our applications and Blackbird cloud video platform. Edge manages the referencing of content and creation of lightweight Blackbird proxy video. It provides Ascent and Forte users with conforming and render capabilities required to publish video content across multiple platforms based on user edit instructions.

Find out more about Blackbird Edge, email us at edge@blackbird.video

References

Davis.M. (2018, February) Winter Olympics: US skiers use VR goggles & brain zapping headphones. [ONLINE] Available at : https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42572433 [Accessed 24 May 2018].

Orton-Jones, C. (2017, March) Cloud giving sports teams the competitive edge – Competitors in a wide range of sports are benefiting from the advantage cloud computing can bring. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.raconteur.net/technology/cloud-giving-sports-teams-the-competitive-edge. [Accessed 24 May 2018].

Miah, A., 2017. #Sports 20.0 #TransformingSportsforaDigitalWorld. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Pickup, O. (2018, January) Three major ways cloud is transforming sport – Sports organisations are using the cloud, on and off the field of play, to achieve record goals and reach a growing worldwide audience.[ONLINE] Available at : https://www.raconteur.net/technology/three-major-ways-cloud-transforming-sport [Accessed 24 May 2018].

Unknown (2016, March) Real Madrid brings the stadium closer to 450 million fans around the globe, with the Microsoft Cloud.https://customers.microsoft.com/de-de/story/real-madrid-brings-the-stadium-closer-to-450-million-f. [Accessed 24 May 2018].

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Blackbird will be exhibiting at The SVG College Summit, Booth 218 to showcase the Blackbird cloud video platform. Video content can be created, edited, produced and delivered rapidly, for the ultimate fan experience. Blackbird improves workflow efficiencies, leaving you to work on telling the story ! Visit our booth for a Blackbird demonstration, and see why National Leagues use Blackbird – the power is in the performance.

Our Blackbird consultant, Richie Murray will be speaking on the panel discussion at 10:50 on Thursday, May 31st – “Mid-Major Magic:  How “Smaller” Video Teams Pav a Road to Video Success.

Visit Blackbird on Booth 218, or email svg@blackbird.video to set up your meeting, today.

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As fans and athletes alike are increasingly active on social media, their relationship is closer and more fragile. Yesterday’s hero on the sports field may today be fighting back critics after a careless tweet or controversial photograph. Don’t let trolls affect your engagement with your fans. In the new social world where fans follow everything their favourite stars are up to, you need to build longevity for your brand. Whether your brand is an athlete or sports team – generating passion around your brand on social media will ensure your sports fan base stays devoted. And how better to do this than through the power of mobile video content.

The power of video

Did you know that YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or cable TV network? In other words, mobile video content is the best medium for building a lasting relationship with your fans. This is great news if you’re using Forscene as part of your workflow. Forscene’s complete video solution means you can create fast edits for promos, GIFs and memes and increase revenue streams. You can edit live feeds, upload video content and store archives in the Forscene cloud where it can all be accessed from any device. Forscene is so much more than just a clip-and-share tool, helping you achieve professionally edited, high quality video content. Once you’ve finished your edit, you can distribute it directly to CDNs and social media platforms.

Take your fans with you on the road

Moreover, the scope of social media means you can grow your fanbase worldwide. Adapting your campaigns to a global outreach is another element to ensuring longevity in your sports fan engagement. Forscene’s built-in closed captioning track lets you add translation captions while you edit, increasing your viewer accessibility. Being a truly cloud-based platform, Forscene also makes video production mobile. Why have an entire social media team following your sports team behind the scenes when you can scale down to one associate with a mobile phone? They can gather your video content while you edit it for distribution back at base. And while using the live chat feature in the Forscene Editor, your marketing team can collaborate effectively in the cloud.

Get in touch

With Forscene’s secure platform you can have more control over your video content – and consequently your brand’s image. If you would like to know more about how to use Forscene for sports fan engagement, get in touch with our team for a free demo today.

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Behind-the-scenes content isn’t exactly a new concept – TV shows and films having been doing it for years. Its been used as extra video content on DVD releases, promising fans “never before seen footage” and “deleted scenes you won’t get elsewhere”. However, the rise of social media means that fans can have even more access to behind-the-scenes video of their favourite stars and shows.

Manage and boost your brand

Yet, if you’re managing a brand or personality, you will want to be able to curate the video content that is published to the world. It might seem authentic, but in reality you need to ensure that your marketing team is presenting the right image with their social media distribution. Forscene is a video content management platform which allows you to easily and securely upload your content into a cloud-based editor, from which you can distribute directly to social media channels. All your video content is stored in the cloud, so you can access it at any time from any device on multiple accounts.

Share and edit live from the action

It doesn’t just stop there. You can even shoot and upload video content from your phone directly to the Forscene cloud while you’re on the go.  It’s all designed to run on low bandwidth WiFi and 3G connections, so it’s fast and easy. As your videos always keep their original resolution, you can effectively source HD content from anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes! Forscene also has additional apps to allow you to share live streaming with your fans. Adopting these tools into your workflow can create a more intimate relationship with your audience and boost your fanbase.

If you want to be able to share that winning behind-the-scenes content on your social media, get in touch for a free demo of Forscene today.

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Engaging such passionate fans on match day is easy enough but sports marketers are under increasing pressure to grow both online audience numbers and engagement rates all year round.

Maintaining fan interest and social interaction off season can be tricky so we’ve put together seven digital media tips for sports companies – and illustrated the points with success stories from some of the brands attending National Sports Forum 2017 – to inspire your efforts.

1. Use different platforms for different kinds of content

By now everyone should know that different kinds of content work well on different social platforms. But that doesn’t mean you have to create completely original content for each medium – just that you should tweak each post to fit the distribution method.

NASCAR took customised content to a whole new level when they created a Yelp page dedicated to reviewing Joey Logano’s moustache – proving that your brand can be successful on any platform if you get the content right.

2. Create sharable content

Getting people to share your content is the holy grail of social media marketing – it exposes your content to their network of contacts, increasing your reach and potentially attracting new followers.

2016’s top NFL team on Facebook, the Denver Broncos, earned a good share of their 43 million Facebook engagements by creating content designed for sharing – like branded victory celebration photos.

3. Offer unique experiences online

While match highlights videos have proven to be incredibly popular on social media, sports brands can now take this further by offering fans unique online content. Take them behind the scenes to create a personal connection with players, give them access to restricted events through live online broadcasts or create 360 degree and VR content for immersive experiences.

The NFL Players Association is working with Superstar Games and Hall of Famer, Joe Montana, to create the first football game for Samsung Gear and Google’s Daydream mobile VR platforms, and the first mobile VR game licensed to use the likeness of active NFL players. Montana 17 is expected to connect a new generation of gamers with their favourite players in a unique way.

4. Be generous

You don’t need to be a high-earning sports club to give something back to your fans and your community. Competitions are a great way to boost engagement and prizes can include branded merchandising or face-to-face experiences with star players. Sports organisations should get involved in local fund-raising and support local charities to earn their community’s support.

The proceeds from the Texas Rangers Winter Caravan, an event for Frisco RoughRiders and Texas Rangers fans, were recently donated to the family of a local police detective killed in the line of duty. The event gave fans a chance to meet players from their favourite teams and brought the community together.

     5. Have a sense of humour

True fans take their sports very seriously, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for a bit of fun – and it’s often the unexpected “inside” jokes that enjoy the most success. Providing it’s not offensive or cruel, posts that poke fun can be a great boost for social engagement.

The Dallas Stars saw an opportunity to have a bit of fun with the controversy around President Trump’s claims that 1.5 million people attended his inauguration in Washington DC, despite media reports of less than half that number. The following day, at the Stars’ game against the Washington Capitals, they used the big screen to publicise the game’s attendance as 1.5 million – in a stadium with a capacity of 19 323 people!

6. Hijack the news

Not every news story can be turned to your brand’s advantage, but when you do have a connection with trending topics reacting quickly lets you ride on the coattails of someone else’s social success. Viral posts are hit and miss, but one hit is all you need to expand your reach exponentially.

The Minnesota Twins were quick to see an opportunity when Beyonce announced that she was pregnant with twins.

     7. Engage with fans

The most effective way to boost fan engagement is to engage with your fans. Rather than using online platforms as just another way to broadcast your news, get fans involved by giving them an opportunity to submit user generated content, inviting them to online and real-life events and making them feel like they’re part of the brand.

The Milwaukee Brewers have an impressive fan section on their website where fans can take part in competitions, find their big screen appearances and sign up to a fan newsletter or the Brewers Kids Crew. They also host Brewers on Deck Fan Fests which give followers the chance to get up close and personal with the Crew through autograph sessions, photo ops and Q&A sessions.

Forscene helps sports brands engage with fans through the power of video. Get in touch to find out how the video platform can help you keep your fans entertained all year round.

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Super bowl ad: then and now

Until the last couple of years the adverts during the super bowl breaks would be reserved for the show. Nowadays though, more and more companies are releasing sneak peaks of their content in the days leading up to the super bowl. This is a good tactic for engaging with consumers ahead of the main event and to get fans talking about their brands. The geniuses behind Snickers chocolate bars even went as far as to tease their super bowl ad, to get everyone talking about how they were going to pull off the world’s first live super bowl advert with Adam Driver in the weeks leading up to the event. It was a success too, mimicking an ad that goes wrong in a western setting.

Advertisers can pay as much as $5 million for a 30 second commercial spot during the super bowl, and that’s on top of their vast production budgets. Everyone from Wix to Mercedes went all out, with high-flying casts and cameo appearances. Their post-production could have been a little easier on the purse strings though, if they were using a cloud-based editing platform like Forscene. These brands clearly shot high volumes of video content for these short and snappy ads, which are becoming increasingly like mini action movies. Imagine being able to cut down on post time for putting an advert together, meaning you can make more timely and socially reactive commercials.

Super (bowl) fan engagement

Moreover, many brands decided to use their super bowl ad spot to take on a political message, or so it has been interpreted. Budweiser and 84 Lumber took on the immigrant theme, seeing their protagonists take on long journeys to America. Both these commercials were released ahead of the super bowl itself and had viewers and critics alike discussing their brands across social media. This demonstrates the power of video and how fan engagement should be top of your brand’s strategy.

The super bowl is NFL’s sporting highlight and the most watched television show in the US. 2016’s Super Bowl 50 pulled in a record 112 million viewers. Compare that to Donald Trump’s inauguration, which only managed to draw 31 million viewers. For the fans of super bowl, Twitter appeared to be the most used platform, as they tweeted their astonished and anguished reactions to the game. As we’ve already stated, video is the most powerful medium, so brands should encourage their fans to interact through user generated content. Get them to share their favourite moments or record themselves discussing game highlights with their mates. UGC can become a valuable asset for brands to utilise and could even be used to create 2018’s super bowl ad!

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It’s time to change the game

When was the last time you analyzed your sports edit workflow? If you can’t answer that question, then it’s time you do. You need speed, you need flexibility and you need efficiency. Instead of having a time consuming sports edit workflow with many moving parts, how about a workflow based around one product which you can use to log, review, archive, ingest, publish and professionally edit. That product is here.

The strength forscene

Forscene can immediately save you time and energy on your sports edit. If you’re planning on editing a live stream, Forscene has your back. It directly connects to your live stream, and ingests the content to the cloud. You can start your sports edit almost immediately. Once it’s ready to distribute, you can do it straight from Forscene, to almost any channel, in any format. And no, this isn’t a clip and share product. It’s a full fledged NLE editor, which most of the capabilities of other commercial editing suites. With Forscene, you’re guaranteed to save time, energy and avoid stress.

If you’d like to find out more about how you can score with a new and improved sports edit workflow, get in touch with us today.

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Who or what is a second screen?

The second screen came about as social media settled into our lives and began offering more useful and entertaining solutions to users. Live-tweeting, for example, became a way for people to engage on a large-scale with others whilst experiencing the same event. Meanwhile, content providers and marketers began distributing media online that people actually wanted to watch and share. Ergo, we began to split our attention between what was happening on the first screen (the television), and the complementary contextual content on the second screen (the companion device).

How can broadcasters make use of the second screen?

Award shows have made use of the second screen by providing users with additional real-time content online; directors have held Twitter Q&As while their film is being broadcast on television and talent shows have allowed viewers to take part by integrating voting on a smartphone.

Offering supplementary online content can improve a brand’s recognition. With sports programming, providers can create second screen coverage of a game using additional camera angles, social elements and by offering fans statistics that are relevant to what’s happening on the pitch. As fans consume the content being offered by both screens simultaneously, this creates an opportunity for marketers to reach fans when they’re most engaged.

How Forscene can help you stay ahead of the curve

Forscene allows you to be there first for fans using a second screen. We get your content out quicker than any other cloud-based platform, so your highlights can be online moments after every key event. And now you can capture high-res footage on-the-go with our Forscene uploader app. Use your smartphone to film with the app and save everything to the cloud for editing. Get in touch to find out more.

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Build an online fan base using live content assets

As a digital rights holder, you want to be able to deliver a fast turnaround of live content. You want to be able to get highlights on to a web page and post to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as soon after it happens as possible. You also want to be able to archive media for future use in interview clips, “top 10” compilations and post event highlights packages. Having the ability to produce this content with a fast turnaround hugely increases engagement with fans and they’ll keep returning to see your content.

In order to win fans over, you’ll need an editing platform that’s fast and functional and allows you to create incredible live content. Forscene adapts to whatever workflow you already have in place. It’s secure cloud infrastructure makes collaborative editing possible and shortens post-production time considerably.

Forscene’s innovative technology allows for exceptionally fast turnaround

Due to our intelligent download system, you can work on a stream that’s only a few seconds behind the live content. Get fast turnaround with direct publish to social media, as well as integrated closed captions functionality, to put you ahead of your competitors.

Go from live recording to instant recaps and clips being delivered to social media or the web in less than two minutes and before anyone else. Get in touch with a product specialist today and see what Forscene could do for you.

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