Tech Blog
Democratizing Sports Technology
Technology has transformed sports far beyond the field of play. What was once exclusive to elite clubs — detailed analytics, live tracking, advanced broadcasting tools — is now becoming widely accessible to clubs of all sizes, players at all levels, and fans across the world. This democratization of sports technology doesn’t just improve how games are played and coached — it’s reshaping how they’re watched.
A New Generation of Fans
At the same time, the audience is evolving. Generations Z and Alpha are making up a growing share of sports viewers, and their expectations are fundamentally different. They’re digital natives who expect interactivity, personalization, and instant access. They’re used to controlling their experiences — swiping between perspectives, skipping ahead, zooming in — and they demand the same from live sports.
Enter Multiview
Traditional broadcast feeds offer a single, producer-selected angle, and that’s no longer enough. Today’s fans want to explore, discover, and create their own version of the live experience.
An extensive Deloitte report finds that about one-third of all U.S. sports fans — 34 percent — say they would like to choose different camera angles inside a streaming app. Watching from an athlete’s point of view appeals to 31 percent of Gen Z fans, while a live social feed onscreen interests 20 percent of Gen Z and 19 percent of Millennials (see Figure 1). In other words, the market data already points to multiview as the next baseline feature, not a luxury add-on.
Figure 1. Fan interest in alternative angles and feeds (Deloitte, 2024)
Two Flavors of Multiview
Before diving into specific scenarios, it helps to separate the modes:
Video switching: Keeps one feed full-screen and lets the viewer jump between angles without interrupting playback—perfect for following a single narrative (e.g. a striker’s run or an onboard camera).
Split view: Shows several feeds side by side—think coach cam next to the main pitch, or two driver perspectives in motorsport—to give a broader situational picture.
Because both modes run on the same time-sync layer, a platform can enable either one depending on the sport, the device, or even mid-match user preference.
Use Cases
Angle switching inside a single event
In motorsports, multiple battles happen across the track simultaneously — a single camera angle simply can’t capture the full drama. Multi-camera support lets fans jump into a specific driver’s cockpit, monitor the pit crew, or switch to aerial views—bringing them closer to real-time action in a tailored, immersive way.
Alongside the main television broadcast, the official app can turn a phone or tablet into a fully synchronized second screen. As the race unfolds, the companion device can stream an onboard view of the rival chasing the leader, show a live pit-lane channel, or display an interactive track map with real-time sector times—all synced to the TV feed. Fans keep the big-screen commentary while controlling their own vantage point, catching every overtake and strategy twist the instant it happens.
Watching several events at once
Modern fans aren’t limited to one game at a time. With so many events happening simultaneously — especially during tournaments or race weekends — viewers increasingly expect to follow multiple streams at once. Multi-camera infrastructure synchronizes feeds and enables fast, seamless switching between events. Alternatively, users can set up a split-screen feature and follow parallel matches or flip between qualifying rounds and finals, all from a single, cohesive interface.
Following a single athlete
In golf, tennis, or marathon coverage, the hero story often centers on one competitor. Multiview lets fans stay with a favorite player from start to finish, automatically selecting the relevant camera as the athlete moves through the venue. The effect is a personalized storyline that deepens engagement — without extra editing work for production teams.
The streamer perspective
Creator commentary drives huge audiences on YouTube and Twitch, but those channels rarely show the real game because streamers don’t own the rights. When a broadcaster embeds the streamer’s video in picture-in-picture or offers it as a full-screen angle, that same charisma sits atop the licensed feed — and revenue stays inside the official app. A “follow your streamer” mode goes further: the influencer acts as a remote director, switching cameras for everyone who opts in so viewers experience the match exactly as the streamer does — without leaving the platform. This blend of creator energy and premium content unlocks new sponsorship slots, shared-revenue deals, and deeper engagement through real-time chat and data.
Short-form and VAR moments
Multi-camera viewing is just as potent in tightly structured sports as in sprawling ones. In football or volleyball, a bank of synchronized angles lets supporters jump straight to the perspective that clarifies a controversial VAR decision, zoom in on a player’s reaction, or call up a tactical overhead view while the match is still live. Because every feed is time-locked, fans can trim a short clip, surface the decisive frame, and post it to social media before the referee blows the next whistle. The same sync layer drives automated highlight reels, so broadcasters gain snackable content even as viewers become curators of the action.
Business Impact
From a revenue standpoint, bundling multiview, second-screen sync, streamer integration, and instant highlight creation turns a passive broadcast into an interactive platform. Every additional angle or split screen opens new ad slots and sponsorship surfaces, while the freedom to explore keeps fans watching longer and churning less. Syncing feeds across devices and creators produces the first-party engagement data that advertisers and rights-holders now demand. In short, these product upgrades translate directly into higher ARPU, stronger retention, and a defensible edge over services relying on a single, director-led feed.
Coming in Part 2: We’ll highlight the key challenges in delivering seamless multiview—time-sync coordination, adaptive switching, and our semantic Entity System. Stay tuned.
