2014 Division 1 Video Production Report. With thanks to our College Initiative sponsors:

Transcription

1 2014 Division 1 Video Production Report With thanks to our College Initiative sponsors:

2 The NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament averaged 9.3 million total viewers, making it the most-viewed March Madness in more than two decades. i NCAA Welcome to Sports Video Group s 2014 Division I Video Production Report, a look into the financial and technological investments currently ongoing at institutions and conferences throughout the country. 9.3 m.viewers Introduction Video has proven to be the best way to engage alumni, recruits, and fans and, over the past half-decade, athletic departments and conferences are taking the live production into their own hands. This has led to an unprecedented level of exposure and opened the door to a new world of branding opportunities. Is your institution s video strategy getting the most out of the value of its brand? I hope you find this data helpful in planning your future video and technology purchases. America continues to show its incredible affinity for college sports and we hope that these industry trends will guide you in capitalizing on it. Sincerely, BCS National Championship 25.6 m.viewers Brandon Costa Senior Editor, Sports Video Group In January, 25.6 million watched the BCS National Championship on ESPN, which broadcasted the game eight yes, eight different ways over its family of networks and platforms. ii

3 97% 47% Athletic Departments produce live video create more than 30 productions per month Nowhere has college sports video grown more than in live production. Only five to ten years ago, live coverage of college sports was limited to just the events that were broadcast by a national or regional television network, be it through an individual or conference-negotiated network deal. Programming And these aren t one-off projects: 63% produce more than 10 live events [games, press conferences, Coach s Shows, etc.] per month. At the power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC) nearly all major events are televised by national and regional broadcasters, which means most of the live events produced by the athletic departments themselves are shoulder programming to accompany those high-profile programs and new exposure for the Olympic sporting events (soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, and more). 85% creating more video content this year over last year

4 The lower cost of high-definition gear has made it accessible to 96% of departments. HD Takes Over Video Production Gear on Campus All HD HD+SD All SD 4% 49% 10% 47% 42% 48% The mad dash of institutions develop their own original content has been driven by two factors. First is simply keeping up with the rivals. Competition breeds innovation. Second, the point-of-entry costs for high-quality, high-definition production gear has dropped dramatically. Even at the college level the so-called mid-level production outfits standard definition is all but dead. Approximately 95% of departments own HD acquisition and production equipment. When SVG conducted a similar survey in 2009, just 52% of schools owned HD gear. That s 43% growth in just four years. The presence of standard-definition gear can mostly be attributed to the fact that some major and Olympic sports venues have older SD video boards. When these aging boards are replaced, HD is the chief option

5 Over the past months, no entity has helped push the college sports live production market forward more than ESPN. Gear What technologies are institutions currently in the market to purchase? The media giant has developed linear networks for the University of Texas and Southeastern Conference (the SEC Network launches in August 2014) and grown its ESPN3 College Initiative, which has reshaped the game of live college sports coverage on campus. ESPN3 s engineering and production team have developed a cost-effective live production setup for school partners to work from. It s a win-win situation for both sides as ESPN gives schools a national stage, while adding valuable live programming to its popular digital platforms, ESPN3 and WatchESPN. 78% Storage 61% Graphics 53% Replay 53% Switcher 46% Acquisition What we found very interesting was what gear these schools are specifically in the market to purchase. A rather eyebrow-raising trend shows that nearly 78% of institutions are looking to invest in storage and archival systems and services. Many athletic departments are still in the dark ages when it comes to asset management, with many housing rooms full of old video tapes. But more and more departments are going to digital formats, requiring new investments in storage, archival systems, and more. These departments are understanding the value of their archived content and appreciate the value in developing a long term storage and meta- data plan for the long haul. Of lesser surprise is that 61% say they are in the market for a graphics engine. When it comes down to it, graphics are the quickest way to give a professional look to a production even one with minimal cameras and on-screen graphics help achieve one of live video s ultimate goals: enhanced branding.

6 Facilities 26% production trailer One of the great questions in college sports video production is whether to set up a video production infrastructure with a fiber-linked centralized control room or build a mobile facility. The answer truly lies in the nature of the campus. Most would agree that a centralized control room is ideal. The set up and strike before and after each event is minimal, it allows for multiple events to be produced simultaneously, and its simplifies the asset management process. However, it only makes sense if the venues are relatively close in proximity. For some schools, where athletic venues are spread over a wide geographic footprint, the flexibility of being able to take a mobile facility to a venue that may be five miles across or off campus, is a better solution. Some schools have even found a revenue stream in renting out their mobile solution to local production companies for other events. Facilities + Venue 35% centralized control room This survey did not account for dollars being spent on athletic facilities in general, which includes everything from the centerhung LED scoreboard and IPTV system on down to the seats, bathrooms, concessions, and luxury suites. 39% portable production gear A Feb. 27 Los Angeles Times report stated that a table in a highly confidential 230-page federal court filing from Ed O Bannon s antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA showed schools had spent more than $5 billion since 1997 to construct or upgrade athletics facilities. That same L.A. Times article referenced previous studies that demonstrate the wild spending in venue renovations. In 2005, the Sports Business Journal attempted to identify the total from 1995 to 2005 at $15.2 billion. In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education put the total at $3.9 billion during a shorter five-year period. iii

7 SVG estimates that the annual capital spending on video production gear and infrastructure in the Division I college market is approximately $36 million per year. There s plenty of reason to believe this is a conservative estimate of DI s buying power, as this study does not include investments in video boards and other non-video-specific facilities. Annual Capital Spending $36 Million Annually Big Spenders $101,500 Average Annual Budget Schools of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) are each investing anywhere between $1 and $2 million each on video production gear and facilities in anticipation of this summer s launch of the SEC Network by ESPN. Big 12 schools such as Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State have made sizable investments on digital networks made possible through the conference s lucrative rights agreement with Fox Sports. Notre Dame s Fighting Irish Digital Media boasts a staff and infrastructure that would make most professional sports organizations envious. Budgeting + Finance It s worth noting that, when it comes to capital, it s no secret that there s a deep chasm between the high-profile schools and the rest of the Division I pack, to the point that talks of breaking off the NCAA s five power conferences [ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12] into their own association have been commonplace. However, that hasn t kept even smaller institutions from competing in the field of video production. St. Cloud State University (MN) invested nearly $4 million in 2013 and constructed a sprawling broadcast center for its Department of Mass Communications that powers a 24-hour sports network and live coverage of Husky ice hockey. Ball State University made a similar overhaul on its video production facilities and have even developed Digital Sports Production as a major in its academic curriculum. This sort of growth is being seen nationwide. 72% of those surveyed said their department planned to make new gear purchases at some point in the next calendar year. Those types of investments are typically made in the late spring and early summer months, when staff has a chance to take a breath during the offseason and prepare for the upcoming academic year.

8 79% DI Athletic Departments with Mobile apps 50% Stream Video Content to the App This research revealed a potential under-tapped market: streaming live video to smartphones and tablets. According to our survey, 79% say their athletic department or conference has a mobile application for fans, but, of that group, only 50% have video content available on that app - and a generous portion hide that content behind some kind of pay wall. For most, the apps are news aggregation portals. Digital + Second Screen Responsive and adaptive mobile websites are a growing option as HTML5 has some schools shifting away from apps and on to mobile-friendly sites with video. Smartphones offer sharper screens than ever before and as the technology matures, more and more fans are becoming comfortable with watching sports content on their mobile devices. According to Nielsen, sports content accessed on a smartphone jumped a whopping 47.2% Year-Over-Year in April 2013 with a unique audience of 52.2 million (based on P18+). Nielsen also estimates that the average time spent accessing sports content on a smartphone is up to around an hour-and-a-half per user. iv Streaming live, and even VoD, content directly through a university or conference sports app will likely be the next frontier for schools looking to extend their brand.

9 In the past half decade, the college sports video production industry has grown by leaps and bounds, and there s nowhere to go but up. More research is needed into specific business segments including technology and financial investments in venue, trends in storage and asset management, and advertising and monetization opportunities to name a few. SVG has been covering the college sports video market for the better part of a decade and as the industry has continued to blossom, we ve been happy to chronicle the ride. Throughout this study we have compared data to a similar survey we conducted in In just the four years since, its impressive how far the industry has come. Final Thoughts Whether you are an SVG veteran or this study is your first experience with us, we invite you to be a part of this growing community. Join us on May 28 and 29 in Atlanta for the sixth annual SVG College Sports Summit. Become an SVG Member and join us at various events throughout the year. Put your productions up against your peers and enter to compete in the 2014 College Sports Media Awards, which are presented in partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. Your production could be honored alongside the likes of ESPN, Fox, CBS, Big Ten Network, and more. Follow us for the latest news on your industry peers throughout the year. Subscribe to our thrice-weekly newsletter (which includes our SVG College Video Monthly newsletter) and follow us Plus, share your latest video projects and accomplishments with us by ing me at Brandon@sportsvideo.org. i Nielsen Fast Nationals (CBS, TBS, TNT, and trutv) ii Nielsen Year in Sports Media Report 2013 iii Los Angeles Times. iv Nielsen Year in Sports Media Report 2013

10 Contact Us Join the SVG College Initiative This research report has been made possible through the generous support of the SVG College Initiative, which provides ongoing user education and market intelligence for college video professionals and their technology partners. To become a member of the SVG College Initiative contact: Rob Payne (rob@sportsvideo.org) or Andrew Gabel (agabel@sportsvideo.org) Thanks to our College Initiative sponsors: