‘Innovation in your own personalised vision’: Kayo chief reveals what the future of live sport on TV will look like
If you thought 4K was the best we’ve seen for live sport, think again.
Appearing on a new episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast, the CEO of Foxtel’s streaming and advertising division, Julian Ogrin, said investment into the future of live sport on television is already in motion… and it’s big.
This year alone, Kayo Sports subscribers are up 14% year on year to 1.6 million subscribers (1.55 million paid), and between Binge and Kayo almost 200,000 paying subscribers in the latest quarter.
According to Ogrin, live sport consumption is extremely healthy, with more older audiences using Foxtel and younger viewers skewing to Kayo.
I find the concept of second-screen sports experiences incredibly exciting, and I’m eager to see how this will be implemented. As someone who often watches the F1 in Singapore, I already use Kayo on my TV and have the F1 Live Timing on my tablet simultaneously.
However, I do have some reservations about what commercial success looks like when the current offering has challenges that haven’t been rectified. For example, the frequent appearance of the “We’re in an ad break. We’ll be right back” holding screen while I have campaigns that continually under-deliver makes me cautious about presenting any tech updates to my clients. Consistent and reliable delivery is crucial, and addressing these current inefficiencies should be a priority before we fully embrace these exciting innovations.