by: Martins Magone, CTO, Veset
Viewers have more choice than ever before over how they watch content and this makes engaging audiences incredibly challenging. While some viewers still choose to watch traditional linear TV, others prefer to watch their content of choice on-demand when and where they want, whether on their mobile when travelling or on a big screen living room TV. Viewers can also choose to watch for free with ads or pay a subscription to enjoy ad free viewing. Then of course, there is FAST for those viewers who enjoy watching their content online but who prefer a laid back linear experience like traditional TV.
Alongside all of these different ways to consume content, viewers are also inundated with different services, many of which are competing for the attention of the same viewers. While having so much choice is great for viewers, for service providers, it becomes increasingly difficult to engage audiences and keep them coming back for more, which in turn makes growth more challenging. As a result, service providers are of course continually seeking out effective strategies to engage new viewers.
Engaging Viewers
Service providers use a wide range of strategies to reach and engage new viewers. Launching new services is one way to appeal to a wider cohort of viewers; this is something we’ve seen traditional broadcasters do over recent years when launching VOD and FAST services in response to viewers’ changing preferences. Acquiring rights for premium content and sporting events is another effective strategy to attract viewers, and while some may only stick around to watch a specific event or show, others will choose to stay and become long term subscribers. Another highly effective way to reach and engage more viewers is to launch an existing service on new platforms and devices.
Broadcasters and service owners also employ various creative promotions and special offers to attract views, such as offering free trial periods or reduced cost plans. Bundling and partnering is also effective in attracting new viewers, because viewers are more likely to try out a new service if it is part of a reduced cost bundle. Another strategy that’s beginning to gain traction is alt-casting, a portmanteau of alternative broadcasting. It’s attracting interest because it gives service providers ways to appeal to viewers who are uninterested in the main broadcast.
Broadening Appeal
The idea behind alt-casting is that rather than having to produce entirely new content designed to appeal to a certain subset of viewers, instead the same content that is featured in the main broadcast is dressed up in a different way. While this wouldn’t work with some types of content such as films and series, it works particularly well with live events, specifically sports, but also news and entertainment events. Alt-casts essentially packages up the same content that’s featured in the main broadcast, in a certain way in order to appeal to different tastes, interests, or demographics. With news and live entertainment shows, service providers can offer viewers different versions with different visual styles, tonal approaches, or presenter formats that resonate with distinct audience segments.
With sporting events, alt-casts might feature different commentary, camera angles, or overlays that could be aimed at casual viewers, a younger audience, a minority group, a particular region, or even fans of a particular team. As seen with the NFL Manningcast, a more light-hearted take on the game broadcast during Monday Night Football, and ESPN’s Megacast, an alternative broadcast of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four, where different commentators can create a completely different feel, thereby appealing to a different cohort of viewers.
Fun in-game graphics and overlays can be used to create a more playful experience for younger or less serious fans. CBS Sports and Nickelodeon’s alternate broadcast of the NFL Wild Card Weekend playoffs was a great example of this in action where they pulled out all the stops to make the broadcast fun for all the family. The alt-cast featured augmented reality graphic overlays including a slime cannon, characters such as Spongebob Squarepants, as well as kid friendly commentators. Overlays are not only for injecting fun into the broadcast though, they can also be used to ensure accessibility for audiences in different regions or those with specific accessibility needs.
Although it’s not a common term that’s banded about, alt-casting has actually been around for quite a while. ESPN experimented with alternative broadcasts as far back as 1993, using ESPN2 to air car races exclusively from in-car cameras. What has changed is the technology enabling these broadcasts, because the technology now exists to quickly and easily launch and manage additional alt-cast channels. In the past, broadcasters would have had to invest in dedicated hardware, but now, with cloud-based playout, service providers can create and launch alt-cast channels in next to no time without any capital expenditure. The complexity that once made alt-casting a niche experiment has been reduced, opening the door for regular use across different genres and events.
Providing Choice
We’re living in a time when choice has become the defining expectation of audiences. For service providers, alt-casting’s value lies in its ability to give viewers the freedom to choose how they experience an event. It allows providers to explore alternative presentations and formats to better meet the demands of a wider audience. With this approach, a single event can be turned into multiple, distinct experiences, each capable of reaching and engaging a different segment of viewers. Audiences who would never otherwise engage with the main broadcast find that once the content is more tailored to their preferences, it becomes enjoyable. From younger viewers to minority groups and international audiences, with the right commentary, formatting and graphics, the content can be tailored specifically to meet their distinct preferences.
Alongside increasing engagement, alt-casting also creates opportunities for additional monetisation through advertising and targeted sponsorship. Alt-casting also makes experimentation feasible because new formats can be trialled easily, and different approaches can be tested and refined. Over time, this iterative process can expand reach, improve audience satisfaction, and help service providers understand how different formats resonate across platforms and demographics.