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SA niche sports get new digital platforms for mainstream exposure (Demo)

Digital Entertainment on Demand (DEOD) has gone live in South Africa, offering a selection of rental and subscription video entertainment on-demand services including a new, unique sports bouquet with five sports-focused internet TV channels and a host of new digital solutions for sporting bodies.

Brought to you by video on demand (VOD) solutions provider, Discover Digital, the DEOD Sports Pack will allow South African viewers 24-hour access to a range of popular sports they previously had little access to, and give individual sportsmen, sporting bodies and sponsors unprecedented new levels of exposure among fans.

Moving beyond mainstream sports, the DEOD Sports Pack launches with five channels for subscribers:

  • Channel Edge HD – an extreme sports bouquet
  • Fightbox HD – covering all forms of fighting and martial arts
  • Motorvision TV – an automotive and motorsport channel
  • Nautical channel – for sailing and boating enthusiasts
  • Sportskool – a tuition based channel with instructional content across a broad range of sport.

The DEOD Sports Pack also includes daily news coverage of top local and international sporting events; as well as interviews, magazine shows and analysis.

“The new DEOD sports offering is just the first of a broader range of Discover Digital on-demand services set to propel South African niche sports into the limelight,” says Discover Digital Managing Director, Stephen Watson.

“There are probably 40 or more sports in South Africa that have thousands of participants, national championships and even international competitions, which do not enjoy airtime on traditional TV in South Africa,” says Watson, “Via the DEOD sports desk, they now have an opportunity to secure coverage of their events among local fans. But this is just one component of the new Discover Digital entertainment on-demand service. We also have the capacity to help sporting bodies stream, package and archive their events on any number of digital platforms for a broader international audience, which allows their sponsors to gain more exposure, better monetise their events, and showcase their participants.”

Watson says that sports such as women’s hockey, SuperGP, mountain biking, surfing, gymnastics, tennis, netball, water sports and boxing have large followings but seldom secure airtime on mainstream TV. Major school leagues and tournaments have potentially tens of thousands of viewers, but secure very limited traditional TV time.

“Our digital platforms allow these sports to get their content to interested viewers around the world to grow their followings and secure more sponsorship,” says Watson. This will allow family and fans of a sportsman to track their progress; international talent scouts to discover local rising stars; or international competitors to study the form of local teams.