After months of impatiently waiting for sports to return, fans are once again enjoying televised baseball and basketball, and Fox Sports is looking to capitalize on the rabid fanbase hungry for live competition. Fox has often been an innovator when it comes to leveraging technology for sports experiences – teaming with Google Cloud to maximize production capabilities and filling empty baseball stadiums with virtual fans created in Unreal Engine – and now the network is revamping its app with an enhanced feature set for diehard fans.
Fox announced that all its live broadcasts can now be watched via its Fox Sports app, which will integrate real-time stats, social feeds, projections, and special “Bonus Cams” for viewers who would rather use their phones as a second screen experience than as the primary display. Fox introduced its “Watch Party” concept with different camera angles as part of a quadruple header of MLB games on July 25th.
Moreover, the company said that Fox Bet, its sports wagering platform that launched last year, is going to be integrated into the Fox Sports app to display real-time betting odds during games – a feature that gamblers or even fans who casually bet among friends will appreciate.
For many people, the smartphone sits at the center of their lives, whether they’re watching video, working, scrolling social feeds, or just relaxing in front of the TV. Fox is wisely picking up on a trend that should lead to greater engagement for the company and its sports ecosystem. Interpret’s New Media Measure® shows that nearly 60% of passionate sports fans use their phones while watching TV, and an equal percentage of Fox Sports viewers share this habit, which puts the network just slightly ahead of ESPN.
