Periscope is taking off in FIAWEC and FormulaE – how might this “disruptor” affect other aspects of motorsport and rights owners?
PC: “Part of the question is to understand if these tools are going to take off in the mainstream: I know FormulaE has been receptive to Periscope (launched March 2015) but the app’s use is not yet widespread. Facebook (launched in 2004) has 968 million daily active users on average for June 2015 and Instagram has 300million active users monthly. If you ask anyone on the street about Facebook, they would be aware of it but not many will be aware of Periscope or Snapchat yet.
You may recall “Kangaroo TV” which was meant to revolutionise the way we consume motorsport. It had limited success in NASCAR in USA but didn’t fare well in Formula1 and this was mainly because every second of Formula1 TV stream has a value attached to it.
Unlike in FIAWEC & FormulaE where there isn’t a lot of money from the TV coverage so it makes sense to push content on every platform and build up more awareness of the championships and greater platforms for sponsorships.
True, applications like Facebook and Instagram are not identical to Periscope in their use, but these “disruptor” tools need to make a difference in the way we digest motorsport content in order to be considered game-changers.”
RZ: “Recent statistics say 400 million snaps are sent on Snapchat every day (and over 100millon active users in total) and considering that almost none of those people are over the age of 35! (laughter), it is pretty significant. A lot of sports are using Snapchat to good effect so far e.g. American football. But I doubt Periscope will ever be a threat to TV rights-holders because nobody is going to want to watch several hours of motorsports on a mobile/cell phone. That said, I think live-streaming applications like Periscope should be integrated into communications strategies and it is a game-changer in the way PR people do their jobs because content that lends itself well to Periscope are things that mainstream broadcasters don’t cover well at the moment e.g. pit-stops at a 24-hour race and Driver Press Conferences. Most PR people in my line of work are interested, and are beginning to get on-board with Periscope.”
Training the Periscope