The Future of Uniting Fans with Video Entertainment

Picture this:

You’ve spent your whole life playing basketball.

Your parents watched you take your first shots on a Little Tikes basketball hoop when you were just a toddler.

They took you to countless basketball tournaments, team try-outs, and neighborhood parks where you spent hours dribbling, passing, shooting, improving.

You met lifelong friends along the way who shared the same passion for the game that you had.

You learned from coaches who not only taught you how to play the game, but also how to navigate the kind of life challenges we all face when we grow up. You became to recognize these people as your mentors—wise sages who always seemed to know exactly what to say at the exact moment you needed to hear them say it.

You lost games along the way. Important games.

You felt the disappointment from fans when things went wrong.

And you learned to feed off of the raw energy and jubilant hysteria that came from the crowd when things went right.

You grew to love the experience of running out onto the court from the locker room and the hum that came from the sea of fans surrounding you as they waited for the game to begin.

You worked hard all your life and in exchange, life rewarded you. You earned a college athletic scholarship and a coveted spot on the university basketball team.

Then 2020 came along and suddenly... everything changed.

Games were postponed or canceled entirely.

Season schedules were altered.

New policies were put into place to keep people safe, and as a result, fans were shut out from watching their favorite teams and biggest rivalries.

Almost overnight, this meaningful relationship between fans and players became broken and distant.

Bringing Players and Fans Together Again

At Bleachr, we live and breathe sports, and our mission has always been to keep fans at the forefront. We connect fans to the teams and players they love through technology tools that create impactful experiences.

The sudden impact of COVID-19 was devastating for sports team and fans, but it also created a new opportunity and challenge for us: how can we not only repair the broken bridge between athletes and fans -- how can we transform it into something even better?

The process required us to completely rethink the way fans and teams interact with each other.

That’s how the Bleachr App, CrowdVIEW LIVE video platform was born.

CrowdVIEW LIVE creates an interactive, mobile watch party experience for fans and a cutting-edge solution for sports organizations to engage globally. Fans, close your eyes for a sentence… Sports organizations, you can monetize the fans too.

It enables teams to broadcast anything from live game action, to recorded highlights, to a player face-to-face meet-&-greet, special VIP sponsor events, or even social games synced to live-action. Heck, anyone could simply host a meeting with their friends, coworkers or audience too! The Bleachr team even built a plug-in that allows networks to take the feed to go live with the fans.

It’s the FIRST of its kind, intimate, dynamic, real-time face-to-face video platform for sports and fans.

https://vimeo.com/491726721

It’s the FIRST of its kind, intimate, dynamic, real-time face-to-face video platform for sports and fans.

How Duke Basketball is Keeping K-Ville alive with CrowdVIEW LIVE

Despite fans not being allowed at Duke games this season or tenting like in years previous due to COVID-19, the tradition of K-Ville continues in the Bleachr app. The Bleachr app features a revolutionary new video platform called CrowdVIEW LIVE, it allows students to earn points as they traditionally did during the outdoor K-Ville tent experience. CrowdVIEW LIVE features a dynamic center stage that is adaptable to various types of content from pre-game live-streams, Trivia contests and much more. Duke basketball even took those video cheers created by students’ tents and used them in-arena to bring the much missed fan energy into the arena.

This year students are building their community inside the Bleachr App with virtual tents, completing check-ins and attending virtual events including the debut of the new pregame light show. Students earn points through participation on the app to win the ultimate Duke basketball prize, tickets to an ACC Conference game in 2022.

K-Ville, named after legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, is a Duke basketball tradition dating back to 1986 where Duke University students pitched tents outside Cameron Indoor Arena to ensure they received the best seats possible for the historic rivalry game against North Carolina. Over the years the process has evolved including tent checks, trivia tests and more for over 1,000 students who participate. Duke HAD to continue this storied tradition and they’re doing that with flying colors in the Bleachr app.

Sports Teams Aren’t Waiting for Fans to Return...They Are Transforming The Experience

The bridge between fans and sports is broken in more ways than one. Smart teams aren’t waiting for fans to come back—they’re actively embracing and implementing technology to bring fans back into the fold today. The future of consuming sport is forever changed because of this pandemic. To hang out with the community you love is an imperative piece to the puzzle.

Don’t let the bridge crumble. Find the tools to rebuild and transform the relationship between your fans and your teams forever. Bleachr is happy to help be that video platform for you.

Sports entertainment is only the beginning

With streaming services coming out of every nook and cranny, the differentiators between them all will continue to be the content they own and produce, along with the friendliest way to unite people. Movie theatres will pivot and Crowdviewing opportunities will continue to grow as it’s easy to turn on from the comfort of your own home. We’re seeing beta versions of this from a few of the biggest companies in the world, but chat boxes aren’t enough. In the very near future, it will be the norm to watch your favorite shows with your friends on the screen as well. Bleachr can help.

What can you do?

For content owners, I’d be happy to discuss the data behind WHY CrowdVIEW is imperative to your growth. The ability to be closer to your loving audience will give you a leg up.

So reach out, turn on your camera and join the conversation!