Sky to tweet near real-time video highlights from soccer matches
Seeing a soccer game unfold in bursts of 140 characters or less is better than nothing when out of TV range, but a new deal between Twitter and Sky means you won't have to wait to gawp at goals. Starting with the three matches being played today, Sky will begin embedding highlight clips from UEFA Champions League games, such as goals and interviews, in tweets from some of the broadcaster's accounts. Mimicking similar sports-focused arrangements Twitter has in the US, the Sky deal will allow fans and non-fans alike (through Promoted Tweets) to keep up with every bicycle kick and penalty in almost real-time. There's a catch, though: every clip includes an advert for Sky's Now TV sport and movie streaming service, so footie fans best prepare to have that brand baked into your brain 'til you wake up one morning with a Now TV box and no recollection of buying it.
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REAL-TIME FOOTBALL CLIPS KICK OFF IN UK WITH SKY SPORTS AND NOW TV USING GRABYO
Video clip-sharing platform working with Sky Sports and NOW TV to drive innovation in social TV
London, UK – 22nd October 2013: Grabyo, the real-time TV clip-sharing platform, is today announcing it will be helping Sky Sports to promote its coverage of the
UEFA Champions League by sharing clips of live games - as well as other clips from Sky Sports News - to social and digital channels.
The clips will be promoted by NOW TV, who will be using Grabyo Studio combined with Twitter's Promoted Tweets to share spectacular real-time video from Sky Sports. This is aimed at increasing awareness and engagement of live Champions League coverage on Sky Sports and NOW TV.
NOW TV is an internet TV service powered by Sky. It offers anyone with a broadband connection the opportunity to enjoy Sky Sports through a day pass. For just £9.99 customers can enjoy all 6 Sky Sports channels for 24-hours.
Grabyo Studio is a cloud-based service that enables broadcasters to instantly grab, edit and share clips in real-time via an easy-to-use browser-based interface. Broadcasters can use the clip-sharing platform to drive social engagement as well as generate additional advertising and sponsorship revenues by offering brands an integrated cross-platform tool to own the conversation on social media. Thanks to its integration with Twitter, users can view TV clips as Twitter cards without leaving Twitter, as well as directly within Facebook's newsfeed on web and mobile.
NOW TV will be using Grabyo Studio to drive engagement and TV tune-in by instantly amplifying clips from Sky Sports live UEFA Champions League coverage. This will include in-game clips, the best goals, build-up and post-match interviews which will be shared in real-time and promoted to football fans that have joined the conversation on Twitter.
The decision by Sky Sports, and NOW TV, to partner with Grabyo follows a successful trial using the Grabyo platform on Transfer Deadline Day in September. This pilot generated over 570,000 clip views within twelve hours and saw over 6,000 clips being re-shared across social networks with a total reach of over 7 million users.
Gidon Katz, Director of NOW TV comments: "We know that lots of people want access to great Sky Sports content but would rather dip in and out rather than having a full subscription. Sharing UEFA Champions League clips in real-time on social platforms helps us to highlight the benefits of instant, pay-as-you-go access to Sky Sports via NOW TV."
Dave Gibbs, Director of Sky Sports Digital Media, adds: "Grabyo Studio brings simplicity and speed to clip-sharing, making sure that we are first and own the social conversation around TV highlights as well as maximising the impact and reach of the promo clips we share."
"This is so exciting – not only to be working with the most innovative pay-TV broadcaster in the UK and Ireland but also to be showcasing the Grabyo Studio capability for such a high profile format in the UK," comments Grabyo founder Will Neale. "This is an exciting time for broadcasting and we're delighted to be right at the epicentre of industry innovation. We're confident that by focusing on building an end-to-end service focused on speed and simplicity, Grabyo will become the platform of choice for TV clip-sharing."
The project will commence on Sky Sports' live coverage of the UEFA Champions League on October 22nd. Sky will also be using Grabyo Studio to instantly share ad-supported clips of Sky Sports News.
