Even before they officially start, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are breaking records for the Seven Network’s 7plus platform.
Yesterday 7plus set a new record for the number of minutes live streamed this year, at 45.9 million minutes. It was the second biggest event in the history of 7plus, behind the Rio Olympics 2016 (all days).
Fuelled by the Matildas and the Aussie Spirit softball team’s pre-Opening Ceremony matches, the platform captured a 56.1% share of commercial free-to-air live streaming, and a 44.4% share of total (live plus VOD minutes).
Seven West Media chief digital officer, Gereurd Roberts, said: “Even before Tokyo 2020 formally starts, Australians are flocking to 7plus to cheer on their teams.
“Tokyo 2020 will not only be the world’s biggest sporting event, it will also be the biggest digital event in Australian history. If yesterday was any indication – and we think it was – the audiences are going to be enormous.
“7plus is the only place to watch over 40 channels of sport, see what’s on when, create a watchlist to follow your favourite events, choose a language or catch up on highlights – the most live streams ever hosted by an Australian broadcaster. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are just one click away on your smart TV, mobile, tablet or computer,” he said.
New features added to 7plus for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics include:
• Watchlist: Provides users with the ability to add their favourite sports to an easily discoverable watchlist.
• Continue Watching: This gives signed-in users the ability to watch a sport full replay and pick up where they left off via the continue watching carousel located on their home screen.
• Captions: Live and VOD (including multilingual): To provide an accessible viewing experience for all users, it’s important to provide captioning to ensure as many users as possible can watch their favourite sports, events and highlights.
• Autoplay: The autoplay functionality provides viewers with a simple way to binge multiple event replays, highlights and sports minis without needing to lift a finger. It simply plays the next relevant piece of content.
• Chromecast and Airplay: As most people own multiple devices, including smart TVs and mobile phones, it’s becoming ever more important to provide a streaming service that supports this behaviour. The 7plus app allows users to either Chromecast or Airplay content to their Chromecast or Airplay compatible device. This allows users to stream Tokyo 2020 on 7plus no matter the age of their television device.
• HD/SD selector: The 7plus player provides users with the ability to toggle between HD/SD to allow for the best and most data efficient streaming.
• Freeze Frame: A select, scaled range of devices have been enabled with Freeze Frame ads that appear as an overlay whenever a user pauses the content.