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.”
DR: “I do not think Periscope and Snapchat are going to replace TV viewing or even on-demand video but it will boost its fans’ experience of the whole sport so they (rights-holders) should not view it as a threat. Actually, I'd like to see all forms of motorsport adopt it and the challenge will be to identify which kind of content is seen on what platforms. I saw a lot of ‘scopes during LeMans 24hr race but most of the content was disjointed. I would have liked a more coordinated approach.
For example, if viewers are interested in pit-stops, one could have a dedicated Periscope channel for pit-stops with different handles, segregate it and curate the content for your viewers.
Twitter owns Periscope and also Twitter Amplify which allows users to post video clips within Twitter feeds and I know a few US & EU sports teams have adopted Amplify too. So perhaps we could see a point soon where both will coalesce and maybe Twitter could offer this dual-option to broadcasters.”
BS: “These are certainly interesting tools – for me, Periscope is a way of driving traffic to events that they would not normally be aware of e.g. peripheral motorsport fans could get an alert saying a pit-stop is happening live on Periscope.
So there are ways of using Periscope and similar social media tools to drive interest to an event, and because the instantaneous nature (video clips have a short shelf life) stresses the urgency of clicking through and getting the content immediately. But as long as people are being protectionist about broadcast rights, it is going to be difficult for it to take off (in motorsport).”
DC: “To me, the term “disruptor” implies there is some element of fear associated with it and depending on your intent, your attitude towards it is different. American sports leagues (e.g. NFL, Major League Baseball) have decided to not use it (Periscope) due to value of the stream and potential loss of revenue to sponsors.
So it would be wise for series like FIAWEC or Formula E to set a precedent and rules at this point as to how to use it, even though we don’t know how its use might change in future.”
Social media expert, Rachel Clarke comments:
“Actually, Livestreaming across mobile device is not now; I first had it on my phone in about 2008 and there was UStream, Qik and Seesmic etc, but these were restricted by the data available so often it was only used over Wifi and one had to download an app which only works if other people also had it.
The problem there was low penetration, low uptake and never quite hitting critical mass outside of “geeks” or early adopters.
Data allowances, Costs and the ubiquity of Wifi has reduced that barrier now, but even so, before the more recent set of launches, such as Meerkat and then Periscope, the use of such apps were not that mainstream - it was still not critical mass.
Bunmi Ade (Moderator) – Focused mainly on sponsorship and marketing aspects of motorsport. Social Media Coordinator for @F1nomics, @eRacingNews
Bridget Schuil - Dedicated Formula 1 fan since 2004. She has contributed to Sidepodcast as a Daily columnist, and written for BadgerGP and eRacing Magazine.
Rebecca Zeitlin is the Managing Director of Starwing Strategy, a branding and communicaitions agency specialising in sport & crisis management. Rebecca also writes for Richland F1
and has worked with a leading sport sponsorship sales agency, and analytics firm. sponsorship sales agency, and a Big Data analytics firm. Rebecca holds two Masters’ degrees and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Deepali Ramaiah - MBA in Global Marketing graduate with 6 years of experience in marketing and engineering services. Motorsports blogger on F1 sponsorship. Former F1 writer for The Youth Express.