Making your sporting events available to fans via livestreaming technology sets your program up for success in today’s on-demand world — especially when face-to-face contact is limited or large gatherings are restricted.
Livestreaming Benefits for Your Team
Schools and clubs are livestreaming their sporting events to stay engaged with fans and promote their athletes.
- Cater to your fans. Broadcasting your games via livestream helps you meet fans’ demands for deeper, more engaging content from their favorite teams and athletes. With the rise of on-demand services, fans are also used to consuming that content at times and on devices most convenient to them. Thankfully, there is no shortage of streaming solutions that let you cater to your fans’ viewing preferences.
- Keep the spotlight on your athletes. Social distancing restrictions have changed how schools and clubs approach recruiting. Because coaches can’t visit recruits in-person and athletes can’t conduct on-campus visits, schools and clubs are depending on video conferencing and streaming technology more than ever to power their recruiting efforts. While teams use video conferencing to communicate as a team or one-on-one, broadcasting your games via livestream showcases your athletes on a large scale and keeps the evaluation process moving for recruiters.
These are a few ways livestreaming helps schools and clubs thrive in the era of social distancing. Learn how livestreaming can help programs make up for lost gate revenue and increase sponsorship opportunities.
Already sold on livestreaming and set up to record? Check out our third-party streaming overview page for instructions on how to livestream via mobile device, camera or Hudl Focus.
Start Livestreaming Your Sporting Events
Knowing your livestreaming needs and capabilities is the first step to broadcasting your games. Here are the hardware, software and personnel factors you need to consider in order to find the best solution for your team.
The Basics of Livestreaming Sports
Whatever your goals are, you’ll need to have these basics covered to get your livestreaming strategy off and running:
- Internet connection – Livestreaming can be achieved on a shared internet network, Wi-Fi or 4G, but we recommend using a dedicated internet connection for your streams to ensure the highest connection quality.
- Recording device(s) – Teams can use tools they already have — such as the cameras and microphones on their staff’s phones — or professional-grade solutions that can handle not only the recording of games, but also the uploading and sharing of game footage.
- People power – Identify the staff members and volunteers who can help you tackle all your recording, uploading, broadcasting and sharing needs and determine what additional support you may need. For example, if you have multiple staff members or volunteers that can help you record games and multiple recording devices, then you can stream on multiple social media platforms (e.g., Twitter and Facebook) at the same time. If you’re light on resources, then you’ll want to dedicate your energy to streaming on the social media platform that’s most popular with your fans. Student managers and members of your school’s audiovisual club are perfect candidates to take on these responsibilities.
Livestreaming Hardware
Your team’s venue and sport will determine which livestreaming hardware is right for you.
If you play in a gym or stadium, the livestream cameras Hudl Focus Indoor and Hudl Focus Outdoor make the process easy by automatically recording and uploading your games and practices so they’re available to stream. Popular video and social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook also offer livestreaming capabilities that work with most filming workflows.
Teams that already have their recording and livestreaming hardware squared away can check out our third-party streaming overview page for instructions on how to livestream via mobile device, camera or Hudl Focus.
Livestreaming for Indoor Sports
For indoor sports, you’ll need a livestream camera setup that keeps pace with the fast-moving action of a basketball game or volleyball match. If you plan to record your games with the Hudl app, you need to make sure your device is on our list of supported devices. If you’re using a handheld camera, you’ll need equipment like a Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Mini Recorder and an Apple Thunderbolt 3 Male to Thunderbolt 2 Female Adapter to send your video from the camera to a computer.
Check out the recording workflow recommendations for everything else you should consider when determining what equipment you need.
If you’re looking for an option that requires minimal people power, equipment and game day involvement, Focus Indoor is a perfect solution for you. The set-it-and-forget-it technology comes with complete Hudl integration, making every step of the process, from installation to streaming on YouTube, easier for everyone — especially coaches. And because this auto-tracking livestream camera is permanently fixed to your gym’s ideal recording location, all teams that play or perform in that venue have access to quality video from games, practices and scrimmages.
Livestreaming for Outdoor Sports
Recording from a high angle is crucial to capturing all the action on the field or pitch. To record your games with the Hudl app, you need to make sure your device is on our list of supported devices. If you’re recording with a handheld camera, you’ll need equipment like a Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Mini Recorder and an Apple Thunderbolt 3 Male to Thunderbolt 2 Female Adapter to send your video from the camera to a computer. While we recommend Hudl Sideline users use this ViewHD HDMI splitter to split the feed coming in from their camera, a third-party solution is still required to livestream games.
Check out the following workflow and hardware recommendations for everything else you should consider when determining what equipment you need to livestream your football, soccer or lacrosse events.
- Recommended recording workflow for football
- Camera recommendations for football
- Recommended recording workflow for soccer
- Camera recommendations for soccer
- Recommended recording workflow for lacrosse
If you’re looking for a solution that requires minimal setup and management, plus integrates with Hudl and Hudl Sideline, then Focus Outdoor is your answer. With a one-time setup in your stadium press box, Focus will be ready to capture all the action from the perfect angle. It’s packed with technology, like AI for player tracking, automatic software updates, and everything you need to start livestreaming your stadium’s events.
Livestreaming Software
Once you’ve figured out how to record, the next step is to determine which streaming platform you’re going to use to broadcast your games.
Streaming with Basic Features
If you want to broadcast your games in a “raw” format without any bells and whistles, the most basic streaming solutions will work best for your team.
Hudl Focus teams can broadcast their games on YouTube by following these instructions:
If you’re recording games on a handheld camera or mobile device (iOS or Android), the following tutorials will help you get started with the third-party streaming platforms recommended by our coaching community. Please note that only YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo offer livestreaming via camera.
Streaming with Broadcasting Features
If you want to include features like voiceovers, advertisements and graphics in your streams, then you’ll need to use a broadcasting platform in addition to a third-party streaming service.
You can use free broadcasting software like OBS, or paid software like BlueFrame Production Truck, Wirecast and StretchCast. There are tons of other broadcasting software options out there that also work with Hudl Focus — just make sure they accept IP feeds as an RTMP video source. For more details and to see how it works, check out our livestreaming and broadcasting guide.
If you’re looking to monetize your broadcasts, consider the tips included in this guide to earning money from livestreams.
These tools and guidelines will help you successfully broadcast your games, all while complying with social distancing regulations. Work with your school, local health, and/or government officials to gain a solid understanding about health and safety requirements related to COVID-19 and how livestreaming cameras like Focus can help you promote your program and provide a safe and engaging environment for fans.