Ease Live to Showcase Interactive Overlays at IBC 2024: Driving Engagement and Revenue for Sports Broadcasters, Teams and Leagues

Bergen, Norway, 22 August 2024 – Ease Live, an Evertz company and leader in interactive technology, will demonstrate its cutting-edge interactive graphical overlays for connected TVs and mobile devices at IBC2024 (RAI, Amsterdam, 13-16 September). Ease Live will showcase how its solutions enable sports broadcasters and rights holders to maximise video advertising revenues and enhance audience engagement, as well as demonstrating its graphical overlay packs developed for the world’s leading sports, including baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey and tennis.

Additionally at IBC, Ease Live will discuss why it has made the 2024 IBC Innovation Awards Content Everywhere Shortlist for its work with Play Anywhere for LaLiga, enabling true fan interactivity for LaLiga and its worldwide broadcast and streaming partners.

“At IBC2024, we’re demonstrating the tangible benefits of our technology, showcasing real-world success stories from our collaborations with Servus TV and Bedrock to launch interactive capabilities during this year’s UEFA EURO Football Championship. We believe the scalability we’ve demonstrated, combined with the increase in fan engagement and the potential for new advertising initiatives, is a gamechanger for live sports video rights holders.”

At IBC, Ease Live will share insights into the performance of its graphical overlays on TV and mobile for coverage of the UEFA EURO 2024 tournament by Austrian broadcaster Servus TV, a Red Bull Mediahouse company. Additionally, Ease Live will discuss how it enabled streaming technology company Bedrock to increase fan engagement for France’s M6+ during the Euros. The M6+ and Servus TV projects enabled both broadcast partners to significantly enhance engagement by allowing viewers to access graphical overlays during the live broadcast of tournament games.

Key statistics from Servus TV’s UEFA EURO 2024 coverage include:

• 62% of the audience interacted with the content.

• 56% of viewers responded to polls presented on-stream during the games.

• High engagement on mobile 1st screens: 60% viewed team line-ups and 54% viewed season stats multiple times.

Commenting on the projects, Horneland noted: “The ease of integration and the efficiency of the platform ensured that we could launch these services in weeks rather than months. This rapid deployment was made possible by Ease Live’s extensive pre-integration with major video players and sports data providers, allowing our broadcast partners to focus on delivering an enriched viewing experience. Our graphical overlays transformed the EURO 2024 viewer experience in France and Austria, setting a new standard for interactive content delivery.”

Ease Live highlights at IBC 2024 include:

• Maximising Advertising Revenues:
  Ease Live’s interactive overlays provide broadcasters with innovative ways to add new advertising inventory. Through integrating real-time stats, polls, and interactive elements, advertisers can now engage audiences directly during key game moments, creating highly valuable advertising slots.

• Enhancing Audience Engagement:
  The results from the UEFA Euro 2024 demonstrate the significant increase in viewer interaction. With over 60% of the audience engaging with the overlays, Ease Live has proved its ability to captivate viewers and keep them engaged with content.

• Contextual Advertising:
  Ease Live’s platform enables contextual advertising that blends seamlessly with the live action. Ads are strategically placed to coincide with significant game events, enhancing both viewer experience and advertising effectiveness.

Looking at the financial opportunities from deploying interactive graphical overlays, Horneland concluded:

 Note to editors: If you would like to meet up with Ease Live at IBC, please email Ease_Live@platformcomms.com.