How to Live Stream Sports: Making Your Virtual Sporting Event a Success

By Emily Krings | Posted on May 10, 2024May 16, 2024 by Emily Krings | 12 min Read

Streaming live sports is one of the most popular streaming service categories. Approximately 28% of Americans enjoy streaming sports. As more people look toward using streaming services for on-demand content, the numbers watching sports through live TV dwindles. As sports fans continue this trend and more people use a streaming app to watch their favour sports it’s becoming necessary that anyone broadcasting sports should do so via live-streaming.

We help you capitalize on this trend by covering how to live-stream sports and make your virtual sporting events successful. We go through the 6 steps you need to follow for sports live-streaming videos. We also review the process of broadcasting your sporting events, go through some of the best streaming solutions available, and give some tips and considerations to implement.

Table of Contents

Why Live Stream Your Sports Event
How to Live Stream Sporting Events: The Basics
6 Steps to Live Stream Your Sports Events
- Plan and Prepare
- Get Your Equipment
- Choose a Video Hosting Platform
- Promote and Monetize Your Live Sports Broadcast
- Conduct Multiple Test Runs
- Stream Your Event
Video Techniques for Live Streaming Sports

Over the last two decades, there’s been a major shift in the way people consume media. Dramatic declines in traditional television viewership and newspaper audiences have turned the internet into the primary media platform today.

Entertainment and news are both accessed more via the web and on mobile devices than through print media or television. The average person today spends more than double the average time online than they did just five years ago, and those numbers are still on the rise.

Even in less developed nations, mobile networks are leapfrogging ahead of more infrastructure-dependent and expensive technologies like TV.

Internet video is especially powerful. It’s a fast, effective means of communication that engages viewers. Compared to text, people are much more likely to watch videos online.

When it comes to sporting events specifically, live streaming online presents several advantages, including global reach, new revenue opportunities, and choice for consumers.

Global Reach

The greatest benefit of live-streaming international sports is the ability to reach anyone in the world who has a sufficiently fast Internet connection. Live streaming technology can dramatically extend the reach of sporting events.

Additionally, live sports streaming can help attract new partners, participants, and sponsors.

Revenue and Paywall Opportunities

There are two popular video monetization methods to earn revenue from your live streams that are quite lucrative: a pay-per-view model and a subscription-based model.

These monetization models are especially well suited for live sports streaming where you can utilize an integrated paywall to monetize your sports broadcasts, making them a great fit when you’re seeking a financially effective approach.

Here at Dacast, we have a lot of experience with live-streaming revenue generation. You can test our monetization tools and other powerful live-streaming features risk-free for 14 days if you sign up today.

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Consumer Choice

Streaming media is all about consumer choice and broadcaster flexibility. Viewers can tune in at any time, to any channel of their choice, without having to limit themselves to the channels that come with a cable or satellite subscription.

For broadcasters, the appeal goes even further. Live events, including live sports broadcasts, can be free or have a viewer paywall. Geographic restrictions allow you to limit access to your streaming content in certain areas based on IP addresses. That way, you can comply with contract rules and licensing agreements.

If you’d like to create a more customized experience, you can even package your live streams within an app. The NHL and MLB have both done so, for example, by building apps for their streams. These apps allow viewers to access multiple camera angles at once, view live scores of other games streaming that are happening at the same time, and even watch two games at once.

The flexibility for consumers and broadcasters alike makes the approach much more attractive.

How to Live Stream Sporting Events: The Basics

The process of streaming sporting and live events is relatively simple, even for those new to the game.

First, you will need to plan and prepare for your stream. Then, you’ll need to decide which equipment, encoder, and live-streaming host you’ll use. From there, you must promote your stream and conduct several runs. Once you’ve gone through these steps, you’re ready to start your stream.

Now that you understand why you should live stream sports events and how that will look, let’s dive further into the six steps you must follow to get your first sports stream up and running.

1. Plan and Prepare

Planning and preparation are key when setting up your first live stream. This is mainly because each broadcaster’s situation is very unique and a decent part of the streaming process depends on individual goals.

As you plan and prepare, you’re going to want to identify your goals. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

Who do I want to reach with my sports broadcasts?
Do I want to monetize my broadcasts? How much is my target audience willing to pay?
How often will I be broadcasting?
How can I reach my audience?
Where will my audience be watching this stream (cell phone, laptop, smart TV, etc.)?
What is my budget?
What tools do I need to achieve my goals?

At this stage, you should figure out what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. This will set the stage for the rest of the steps.

2. Get Your Equipment

As we briefly touched upon, you’ll need some different equipment for live streaming, including a camera, microphone, computer, internet, and any supporting accessories, like a tripod.

The camera component is fairly self-explanatory, and you likely want more than a webcam if you’re doing live sports streaming. If your league has the budget, then you’ll want to consider multiple cameras that connect to a live switcher for a seamless, professional broadcast.

An encoder takes the video content that you record on the camera and converts it into a viewable format for your viewers on their devices. The encoding device can be relatively simple as well. You have the choice between encoding software, like the free, open-source OBS Studio, or encoding hardware, which is more complex and more expensive.

Since sports generally require a more professional approach and better-quality cameras with zoom lenses, you’ll likely choose an external encoder. Generally, this means using a dedicated hardware encoder (ideal for heavy-duty use).

In addition to the camera and encoder, you’ll need a solid internet connection. In general, we recommend a dedicated line with an upload speed of at least 2 to 5 Mbps for HD-quality video.

Sports broadcasts typically use 60 frames per second since there is a lot of motion in the picture which can use extra bandwidth. Therefore, 10 Mbps or higher is the best practice for live sports streaming whenever possible.

3. Choose a Video Hosting Platform

Sports broadcasting requires special video hosting tools that you may not find on every platform, so choosing the video hosting platform that meets all of your needs is a must.

Your chosen online video platform (OVP) invests your video as it comes in from the encoder and re-encodes it into a variety of different bitrates. That way, your content can reach viewers with different internet connection speeds.

Your video hosting platform distributes your content to a worldwide network of servers known as a CDN, or content delivery network, located near your viewers.

In short, a live video hosting service ensures that your content reaches viewers as quickly and successfully as possible.

Once you upload your video to your chosen host, there are a variety of ways to distribute it. The most common approach is to embed your live stream to your website.

Please note that your viewers will not access your stream directly through this host but rather on your website or app where you embed the video player from this platform.

Another method for distributing your live stream is via Roku, a popular Internet-connected TV box. Most homes in the United States use Roku or a similar device to stream video to their TV.

Some features to look for in a video hosting platform include white-label video players, privacy and security settings, monetization options, 24/7 customer support, and a resourceful video content management system.

4. Promote and Monetize Your Live Sports Broadcast

You’re putting so much work into this broadcast, and it only makes sense that you’d want people to watch it. To have your fans tune in, you have to let them know that your sporting event will be live.

If you’re broadcasting an event for a team with a large fan base, social media marketing is a great place to start. If you’re broadcasting recreational or children’s sports, email and text blasts to the parents should suffice. You can also monetize your sports coverage with a variety of video monetization options, including ad-based video on demand, subscriptions, or pay-per-view streaming.

No matter who your audience is, let them know that you are streaming pay-per-view sports so they can find you online.

5. Conduct Multiple Test Runs

Make sure to test your setup onsite before you go live. This will allow you to work out any glitches ahead of time, and your viewers won’t have a negative experience on game day.

We recommend doing multiple test runs to make sure everything is working properly.

Additionally, you should test your internet speed to make sure your connection is fast enough and stable enough for your live stream. You can check your speed at TestMy.net

6. Stream Your Event

Once you’ve completed steps 1 through 5 and everything is in place, you are ready to start streaming.

On most online video hosts, starting a live stream is as simple as clicking a button.

If you are streaming with Dacast and have questions or concerns during your stream, feel free to call our 24/7 support team to troubleshoot in real time.

Video Techniques for Live Streaming Sports

Using an HTML5 Video Player to customize your live sports streaming will ensure that the videography styles are consistent throughout the rebroadcast.

At this point, you should have a good idea of how to livestream sporting events, so we want to leave you with a couple more tips that will help you take your live-stream sports event to the next level.

When filming any sporting event, you need camera operators who are familiar with how the specific sport works.

For live sports streaming, you should employ a minimum of two cameras: one to zoom in on the site of play and another to maintain a wider angle on the crowd.

You’ll also need a tool to control the camera’s motion. At a minimum, this means using a tripod. For higher-quality shots, you’ll want a fluid-head tripod that pans smoothly and cleanly. You may also want to consider a jib arm or track to achieve some camera movement in your shots.

Conclusion

You’re now equipped with the steps and procedures you need to live-stream sports events successfully. Whether your viewers are watching via an internet browser, mobile platforms, or other compatible devices such as game consoles, you can now deliver the best streaming service possible.

As we outlined, it’s important to choose a video hosting management platform with OTT video capabilities. This is so you’re well-equipped to deliver successful sports broadcasting right off the bat. Fortunately, Dacast has everything you need to make your sports live streams successful. With Dacast, you can broadcast live and on-demand content to your own OTT apps across all devices. Plus, with its professional can monetization tools, you can increase your revenue through your sports live streams.

You can try Dacast with our 14-day free trial.

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Emily Krings

Emily is a strategic content writer and story teller. She specializes in helping businesses create blog content that connects with their audience.