Online lifeline rescues minnows
Leagues shut out by networks thinking outside the box — and reaping rewards
When ESPN streamed the professional indoor lacrosse playoffs for pay-TV subscribers last year, about 4,000 people tuned in on average. This year, the National Lacrosse League averaged almost 344,000 viewers for each game of the week streamed on Twitter.
For football and baseball, which have billion-dollar national TV contracts, an online or over-the-top viewing option is a smart bet on the future and a way to please the most loyal fans.
For professional lacrosse and other small sports it’s a must, even when the teams are owned by billionaires such as the Buffalo Bandits’ Terry Pegula and the Colorado Mammoths’ Stan Kroenke.
“We’re not on the big linear networks,” NLL commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in an interview. “We may be some day when those networks may want our content and they want our audience, but for now OTT is the absolute best way,” he said, using the acronym for over-thetop viewing.
Until recently, small leagues had few options for national exposure. Unable to attract large audiences like football and basketball, they often received no rights fees or even paid to get their games on the air. Other times, they had just their finals on live TV. Independent digital production companies such as Sportsrocket Inc. and NeuLion Inc. have enabled smaller sports to reach more viewers at a price they can afford.
While moves by minor sports to online streaming aren’t likely to threaten traditional outlets such as ESPN, the business models these leagues are establishing may be a window into the future of sports broadcasting. More consumers are shutting off their cable subscriptions in the internet era, and even ESPN — one of the most-watched networks in the U.S. — is crafting a video streaming service that people could buy without having cable.
“There’s a flexibility now to be able to offer up content directly to your audiences and get money in return for it,” said Lee Berke, chief executive officer of the consulting firm LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media Inc. “Why not create your own network?”
The nine-team lacrosse league did that last year with NLL TV, according to Sakiewicz. The ad-supported, subscription channel is offered online and on TV via streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV.
“The smaller leagues, even though they had fans who were just as passionate and demanded great quality, didn’t have the resources,” said Brian Bedol, founder and CEO of New York-based Sportsrocket, which does online broadcasts for the NLL. He calls his services the “media version of fracking,” letting less-popular sports tap riches from smaller, hard- to-reach audiences.
By working with multiple clients, including the Arena Football League and DeerHunter.TV, Sportsrocket keeps costs down and offers leagues such as the NLL high-quality streams at a fraction of what conventional TV would cost, Bedol said. The NLL now has new revenue sources: ad sales from weekly games on Twitter and NLL TV, along with more than 25,000 subscribers paying up to $34.95 a year (all dollars U.S.). With NLL TV available around the clock, the league has more to offer advertisers, which has increased sales and sponsorships, said Ashley Dabb, chief marketing officer.
“More importantly it gives fans a place to go,” Dabb said.
That’s especially important for smaller sports, said Scott Loffler, director of operations for the Bandits, whose owner Pegula also owns the Sabres and Bills.
Unlike other professional leagues, NLL players work elsewhere fulltime — as police officers, bankers, teachers and electricians — while playing mostly on weekends. The average salary is about $20,000, according to Loffler.
The four-team National Women’s Hockey League, which began in 2015, signed a broadcast deal with Twitter in June calling for 19 games to be aired this coming season, including the all-star game and the NWHL/ Team Russia Summit Series.
The league’s goal is to eventually move the rest of its coverage off YouTube and onto a dedicated OTT service, according to commissioner Dani Rylan. The 2017 all-star game drew 6,300 views on YouTube, according to statistics on the website.
Weather made going online a necessity for the World Surf League, which was rebranded from the Association of Surfing Professionals in 2015 and offered its first live stream in 2000. Surfing depends on the right conditions for waves, and traditional broadcasters can’t change scheduling on the fly. Although the CBS Sports Network carries many big events and ABC airs some weekly highlights, all live content is available free via streaming on the league’s website or app, said Tim Greenberg, head of digital and social media.
Working with NeuLion Inc. — a Plainview, N.Y.-based production company that lists the NFL and NBA as clients — the surfing league developed an advertising-backed model that helps sponsors reach specific audiences. The league counts billionaire Dirk Ziff among its owners.
NeuLion can tailor ads for specific regions or markets during the live competition, stitching commercials directly into the stream and circumventing ad-blocking technology, according to Chris Wagner, the company’s executive vice-president. Sponsors such as Corona and Jeep can target viewers in specific areas of the country during 30- and 60-second spots, Greenberg said.
NeuLion’s interactive player lets viewers slow down the live stream or watch a quick instant replay, leading to audiences staying with events longer, according to Wagner.
“If more people are watching and they’re watching longer, that means you can serve more ads,” Wagner said, “and that means you’re generating more revenue.”