Patrick Stuart de Fanatiz
At the same time as the creation of FzSports –part of Fanatiz-, was acquired the OTT technology solution, Nunchee. According to Patrick Stuart, Fanatiz’s VP of Content Partnerships, this move has allowed them to create a unique proposition “where we are forming alliances with rights holders of sports properties to build and manage their own OTT channels, so both can be a D2C service powered by Fanatiz and a B2B service available on Fanatiz as if it was a store in the mall.’”
He mentioned that the high competition for sports rights has increased their costs, “to the point that now there are even many who consider them inflated and their sustainability is questioned. Beyond that, we do not intend to compete with the big players for the most in-demand mainstream tier 1 property rights. Our vision is to focus on serving different communities and passionate sports fans who today feel neglected, and we built a content offer that fills that empty space. In fact, our initiative to make alliances with rights holders to build and manage their OTTs ‘powered by Fanatiz’ is an important part of our strategy”.
Stuart mentioned that the current challenges of the market are, “the fragmentation and at the same time the fidelity between the different sports offers: be TV channels, social networks or streaming services”.
He added that today sports are distributed among numerous sites and available under different modalities and that the fan does not care who broadcasts the match of his club, he just wants to see it wherever it is being broadcast. “Usually sports rights – at least for football – are sold for a few years at a time. So there is a challenge for the broadcaster / OTT service to make a significant investment in a property, not only in the rights but also in marketing, attracting subscribers and offering a better experience, among others”, he pointed out.
Another challenge Stuart highlighted was piracy, which remains “a huge threat.” He said that they work with different initiatives and technological advances that allow them to prevent and, at the same time, offer a safe experience for their users.
