Live Events 101: Ideas for Paid Digital Sports Content

With matches being held behind closed doors and community meetups postponed due to the global pandemic, there has never been a better time for sports teams to look at alternative revenue streams.

Virtual events have presented a crucial opportunity for sports organisations to drive audiences and revenue. Facebook’s new paid live events is one such tool that gives the ability to schedule an event, charge for tickets, and restrict access by location and by demographic data.

I've been taking a look at some of the potential uses for paid live events for sports organisations:

Digital Player 'Meet and Greets'

Meet and greets are an integral way for sports organisations to build a community. These ticketed events offer the chance for supporters to connect with their playing idols. However, due to the pandemic, many have been cancelled.

Facebook paid events can offer you an alternative way to deliver the meet and greets. You’ll have the opportunity to reach a wider audience with players and fans interacting directly through a live video stream question and answer session.

You could invite former and current players to take part, with a series of sessions generating significant revenue from up to £10 per viewer per event.

Live-Streamed Press Conferences

Most professional sports teams will already have a set routine for hosting a pre-match press conference, but have you considered inviting fans to watch along live from their homes?

You could charge £5 per person and even give the opportunity for the Manager or Head Coach to answer a question from the viewers.

Online Skills Schools

Why not utilise the coaches within your sports organisation to deliver a series of paid online skills schools?

Replicating the summer camps model that is traditionally done face-to-face by many community departments and foundations, these are a great way to engage a younger audience with the club to turn them into lifelong fans.

At £15 for a two-hour session, you could be opening up a window for significant digital revenue generation.

Fan Matchday Watchalongs

Do you remember the days of fancam on Sky Sports? With co-hosted Facebook live events, sports clubs now have the opportunity to produce a version of this themselves.

This user-generated content can be broadcast live during the match for a set fee to viewers. Clips can be taken as follow up content in days leading up to the next live stream.

Want to find out more?

Get in touch with the Nifty team today and let our experts guide you through the process of setting up monetised content on social media.