Untethered Broadcasting: Where the Live Sports Streaming Puck Is Going
National Hockey League Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky used to say that the most valuable advice his father Walter ever gave him was to skate “to where the puck is going, not where it’s been.” Other NHL greats like Gordie Howe went on record questioning the wisdom of this advice in many game situations, and even Gretzky père himself acknowledged that it’s better advice for “little kids” than hockey pros.
But “look where the puck is going” has proven to be a serviceable metaphor for tracking and anticipating changes in the streaming industry, and it’s shown up in conference session titles and descriptions and even in this very column before.
But I believe the first time the metaphor has come up in the literal sense was in a recent interview I did with Verizon CTO of media and entertainment Josh Arensberg about how Verizon’s NVIDIA-accelerated private 5G network framework was helping to create more dynamic live sports productions and enhance viewer engagement through ultra-low-latency virtual production. In particular, Arensberg was explaining how Verizon leverages AI to manage 12 or more camera feeds and “automatically adjust the bitrate of AI-selected cuts” to make the content viewers were seeing all the more compelling.
In the metaphorical “where the puck is going” sense, anticipating and serving the needs of “highlights first” Gen Z viewers for whom linear, lean-back, beginning-to-end game-viewing is less than satisfying is critical to moving with the times and maintaining major sports leagues’ relevance in the years to come. As Arensberg explained, “We’ve seen a significant shift in how younger generations consume sports. For many, the traditional linear broadcast isn’t the primary way they engage with a game. Highlights, short-form content, and social media interactions are often their first point of contact. We work extensively with partners to deliver tailored experiences that cater to this ‘highlights first’ mentality, ensuring our content is accessible and engaging across various platforms and formats. This includes optimizing for mobile viewing, creating bite-sized recaps, and leveraging social media for real-time engagement and distribution of key moments.”
Indeed, when I attended an IBC 2024 session with Verizon and its partners Zixi and the NHL talking about one key implementation of this technology, Verizon’s Tim Stevens described the mandate for providing personalized sports experiences as follows: “You have to know where the eyeballs are headed.” And a multiplicity of camera angles is a critical building block of these types of experiences.
But it occurred to me that where AI plays an essential role is staying several steps ahead of user eyeballs in a literal sense and doing so more reliably than even the most adept, fast-twitch camera op can ever hope to do. “AI plays a critical role in prioritizing video clips and anticipating viewer preferences, especially in live production,” Arensberg told me. “Our new Private 5G Network framework … uses AI to manage numerous camera feeds and highlight key moments. This allows directors to focus on the most compelling content.”
Arensberg went on to describe the “untethered broadcast” enabled by 5G tech as “one of the most in-demand capabilities in live sports. … This means freeing workflows from the miles of cabling typically laid in a venue, enabling dynamic camera positions that can move with the game. This leap is possible as 5G radios become incredibly small and efficient, moving the industry beyond traditional broadcast technology. As we equip venues with reusable, private 5G networks, we are seeing the emergence of the ‘next-generation venue.’ In this new model, the venue itself helps amplify the event and engage directly with fans, whether they are in the stadium or at home. For fans, this translates into new
and immersive camera angles, providing insights into the game they’ve never seen before.”
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