Before I get going with today’s reading list, a quick thank you to the team at Sheridan’s for another excellent Christmas drinks yesterday morning, and also to Leaders for theirs in the evening (it was a long day). Great to see so many friends and meet some new people too. Now back on with what you’re interested in, some great industry reading to keep you occupied as we get closer to the holidays.

INDUSTRY NEWS/ARTICLES

Streaming Can’t Save NFL From Declining Audience (forbes.com)

A brief NFL media watch highlighting that the most recent NFL games saw reduced audiences on TV and streaming compared to the same period last year. Worrying times for NFL?

FC Bayern Munich: Leading the Way in Sports Innovation (frntofficesport.com)

Bayern have been pushing themselves to the front when it comes to digital over the last year. The great team there are testing out new innovations and platforms, such as the 3D hologram for the launch of the Audi Cup and their use of AR recently that saw a 600% increase in app downloads.

Facebook Nabs WWE Live Show Featuring Face-Offs Between Raw, SmackDown Talent Rosters (variety.com)

Facebook Watch continues its slow roll out, and this time with WWE at its heart. They will be streaming a 12-episode series called “Mixed Match Challenge”, a live weekly show.

Disney’s Deal for 21st Century Fox Is Said to Be Close (nytimes.com)

This deal, if it gets past the regulators, will have massive ramifications for the likes of SkySports and a number of properties within both camps, such as WWE. This will give Disney a huge new library of content for their OTT platform and make it one of the biggest players in the market.

Amazon Targets OTT Video Providers With New Suite of Products (mediapost.com)

With new OTT solutions being developed on a regular basis now, Amazon have moved to ensure that they get to keep much of the money that will go into these services. Through their AWS business, they have developed a suite of products that organisations can use to stream their content, without the need for anything bespoke. Can they do to streaming what they have done with cloud computing?

DIGITAL SPORT JOBS

Digital Operations Executive

Social Media Producer

Video Producer

Commercial Executive