Participant Observations 12/12/17 - Returning the Fox Box

I just had a really funny conversation with the woman at my local newsagent. I'll explain how it came about:

So I got an email from Foxtel this week, saying the voluntary account suspension of my satellite service was about to end, and that they would start to charge me for it again.

Having been with the Foxtel OTT service now for about the same length of time, and not particularly unhappy with what I'm getting, I decided that I would terminate the satellite service. So I called them up, and cancelled the service, but not before they again tried to pitch to me some deals to stay with them. Iit was too late for that.

So they sent me an email with details about how to return the Fox Box. I printed off the label that came attached in the email, packaged up my Fox Box, and walked it up the road to the designated dispatch point - my local newsagent. (For those who didn't know, getting a Foxtel Subscription does not buy you the Box - you effectively only rent it during your subscription)

I walked into the newsagent, and said, "I understand I can drop this off here to be returned to Foxtel?"

"Yeah, that's right," she said. She then took the package out to some back room. On her way back to the counter, a thought flashed through my mind.

I asked, "Do you get many of these dropped off here?"

She looked at me in a knowing kind of way, and said, "Yeah, we get heaps. Probably 6 to 7 a week, ever since Netflix and all them other ones came along."

I said something like, "Fair dinkum. They must get a lot of churn I reckon."

She countered with, "Yeah, they have to do something about their pricing or something to stop it."

It was an informal yet fascinating validation that the traditional Foxtel business model is in crisis. It in turn led me to two other thoughts:

1) A comment one research participant said in an interview, where they said Foxtel's business model used to be about just bombarding people with as many content as possible, literally 100's and 100's of channels. It probably also reflects an ideology of "Content is King", which I think may no longer be the case. It's been said to me more recently that "User experience is now King." Which now seems more apt.

2) It also reminded me of the 5 weeks I worked as a telemarketer for Austar (which became Foxtel) waaaaay back in 2002. One of the selling points of our pitch, we were told, was to talk about the number of channels we had, year round.

But the conversation with the newsagent lady was an informal validation of the changing media landscape. Sometimes I fucking love my research and where it leads me.

Participant Observations 10/12/17 - Fan Studies Network Conference

The Fan Studies Conference in Wollongong was a really interesting and reward experience. Some takeaways:

• I felt that the paper presentation went well. I tried to get it to follow a logical progression, and integrate the key concepts of the Produser and the Informal Media Economy clearly.
• Because Fan Studies is not an area that I'm too familiar with, it forced me to explain some concepts that I probably take for granted, such as what OTT and anti-siphoning is, which is I think a good grounding experience.
• Rehearsing for presentations is always helpful. It forced me to really tighten up the literature review, and it allowed me to get my presentation down to 20 minutes, almost exactly.
• Rehearsing also made me change the order of the material so that it made the logic easier to follow. After the intro and literature review, I looked at regulation, which led into the AFL Case study, and the outcomes of Illegal vs Legal consumption, then the introduction of key concepts, which then led to a look at AFL Produser consumption practices, and finally some conclusions.
• The conference also made me restate why an Interdisciplinary approach to study is important - most people had little to no consideration of industry at the conference, and I felt that a real strength of my presentation was that it did involve direct data from an industry source.
• I think the presentation was well accepted. There was some good comments posted on social media, and most of the comments seemed to stem from Smith's observation that sports fans experience the same neurological patterns as those people that are undergoing a deep religious experience. This shouldn't be too surprising I guess.

But otherwise the conference was ok. It was only small with probably 30-40 delegates there, but was well run.

It was also probably a bit like going to ComicCon! most of the presentations focus on particular fan communities, especially around TV shows or Films and so on. But it was compelling nonetheless. 

The two keynotes were also helpful I think in terms of understanding new ways to look at Fandom, that moves away from a high culture-low culture binary to more of a quadrant pattern. I'm not sure if this could be applied to sports fandom and AFL fandom, but it might be something worth considering.

And met some interesting people as well, which is always nice!

Now, I need to see if I can get the paper written up and published somewhere!

Participant Observations 10/12/17 - New PC

About a week ago, I (finally) took possession of my $1200 gaming PC. Here are some early thoughts on it:

• I fucking love it. I play games on it without fear of the system crashing. It's quiet, looks good, and has been a breeze to use.
• Unfortunately, using Foxtel through the windows browser is not as good as using Foxtel through the chromecast app. The image is more pixellated, and not as bright as through the chromecast. This surprised me because I always saw chromecast as an inferior product, in terms of latency and instability of the Foxtel app. I think this must have something to do with the graphics card or operating power of the PC, because the PC runs computer graphics as smooth as silk, but there may be a difference between computer graphics and streaming graphics.
• I'm super keen to play some online gaming or multiplayer gaming with it. My internet is fast enough, but I'm not yet confident enough to go into the online space.
• I'm having to guard against buying too many games too quickly. They are expensive, and sometimes not as good as anticipated.
• I'm also cognisant of not using up all my time on there, when I should be doing uni work or chores or whatever. 
• My favourite games so far: The Golf Club and NBA 2K16, both of which my old system would crash if it were trying to run it. I really want to build my own golf course, but I'm also aware that this will chew up heaps of time, which I need to be aware of.
• Games I want to get: AFL Evolution (which is expensive - $65), and perhaps some other first-person shooters/adventure games, like one of the GTA games.
• The games look FUCKING SPECTACULAR on my television.
• I have the free AFL Evolution Demo, but it only lets you play around with some list management features, which are nice, but really you want that gameplay action!! Actually, fuck it, I'm going to get it tonight...
• You become more aware of the whole 'microtransaction' process, and how fucked it is. I tweeted this article about it the other day: https://www.theringer.com/features/2017/12/2/16725196/reddit-fighting-microtransaction-exploitation-in-video-games For example, most of the golf courses on the Golf Club are locked and only open to 'platinum' or 'premium' members.

Here's what she looks like:

And some screenshots of my favourite games:

Which can also be found on my Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcMvWqrnc2X/?taken-by=ed_reddin

So maybe I need to come up with a name for it!!

Participant Observations 10/12/17 - Foxtel Survey

So I recently recieved an email from Foxtel, asking me to participate in a survey. I've grabbed screenshots below:

I completed the survey, and also checked all three boxes in the last quest. The reason I'd do this is because hopefully I can:

1) Give Foxtel feedback about their OTT app, and how to improve it, because I still think this app is underdeveloped in an attempt to discourage customers from becoming pure OTT consumers (i.e., they try to 'encourage' people to stay on a satellite plan because of the poor user experience with the app).

2) It would help me to maybe see the values and priorities for Foxtel from the types of questions they would ask me.

I also try to identify as an early adopter/influencer in this space, so I think my answers might be of some relevance.

However, it depends if I'm seen by them as a 'core' customer or not (i.e., I'm not a family with a huge amount of disposable income, or whatever it is that Foxtel see their core customer profile as being). So yes, ultimately I'm hoping Foxtel will add me to their survey group.

Particiapnt Observations 22/11/17 - Free TV app is alright

So, now that I stream most of my content, I've become adept at getting my free to air content that way as well.

What completely fucking surprised me, is that 7 Plus do not allow you to Chromecast... and yet if you go to the Free TV app, you can chromecast the same fucking channel from their app.

What fucking bullshit.

Channel 7 won't let you chromecast from their app, but the same channel, through the Free TV app, does chromecast.

What the fuck.

I cannot explain that. Either Channel 7 aren't aware of it, or their not concerned about people finding it out, or the numbers aren't big enough, or they're effectively conceding some of the market to a non-commercial partner. They may as well be giving their signal to the ABC - whose chromecast signal is FUCKING CRAP by the way...

I have no idea why the ABC steam is SO BAD. It is really really bad.

I've acknowledged before that Chomecast isn't perfect, but wholly fuck, if Foxtel and Netflix can deliver HD over Chromecast, whey the fuck can't ABC. Disappointing.

Participant Observations 22/11/17 - Internet Latest

So it looks like the NBN internet saga has come to an end.

After much dialogue with my NBN provider (Internode), who, by the way, were actually very amenable on the phone and in all conversations, I have a new modem, and have upgraded to a 25 down/5 up plan. So how did this all happen???

When I started experiencing poor streamlining, I contacted internode. We ran some tests, and even though they said they would trial me on a 25-5 plan, I was still experiencing issues. Testing showed I was still getting about 10-5 and picture pixellation.

An NBN technician came out. He said the modem was getting 25-5. So this was reported back to internode. It was assessed that the problem must be with the modem. My modem was under warranty, so a new modem was sent out - free of charge.

The new modem was tested. Still only getting 10-5. More phone calls with interode. It turns out that, despite saying I was on a 25-5 trial, they had coded my modem to only deliver 12-5. And I was experiencing the same issues with the new modem, which they assured me was capable of running 100-25. At one point, one of the Internode techs conceded that to run Foxtel with no latency or pixellation, you need about 1.5 upload speed - below what I had.

But even the techs at internode assured me (and sounded surprised) that my line was capable of running speeds well above what I was getting (this in and of itself indicates how bad the NBN is - even the people that sell it realise there is latency issues with the delivery, and that services may not always be delivered as advertised - more on this shortly...)

So after some more conversations, I effectively conceded that in order to get stable, HD streaming images for sport content that I want, that I needed to upgrade - or at least trial it and see if that would fix the problem. After all, Internode had effectively given me a new, better modem for free.

This is decided even though it would cost me $80 a month with the new plan (+$10 change over fee), again pushing me further back to the price I was at when I cut the cable.

However...

I am pleased to say that, over the last two days since the new plan came into effect, the internet signal has been stable, and constant HD with less latency and virtually no pixerllation. So is all good??

Well, I am still below where I was paying for satellite. It needs to be remembered that, even when I had satellite, I was still paying for NBN, at about $60 a month. And with no more satellite, I am still probably about $50 in front per month, even though I paying more for NBN.

So all in all, it was a fucking headache, but I have an upgraded modem for free, I'm pulling down as much data as I can handle, and the quality is about as good as I could hope for.

Also, as alluded to before, Internode techs on the phone are very deliberate in letting people know that they may not be able to deliver the speeds people expect - another indictment on the qaulity of the fucking Internet we have in this country - they should be pushing their speeds - not making people wary of getting their hopes up!!

Having said that, despite my best efforts, it should also be realised that Foxtel Now, no matter what speed internet I have state on their website, that linear TV is delivered at a maximum of 720HD, while on-demand shows will be in 1080HD.

As an avid sport watcher, you do notice the difference between 720 and 1080. It's not ideal. But I have HD delivered via internet, cheaper than satellite. This is my choice. This is incumbent on the government to also improve NBN.

I would hate to have been an elderly person, or someone who didn't usually speak English to have to go through all this. I fucking love my sport.

--------------

UPDATE: It's now about a week later, and the quality of the picture has been much better, with effectively no picture degradation at all. More about this in a future post (because Internode also tried to ring me about something, not sure what...)

Participant Observations 10/11/17 - Chromecast is a lesser viewing experience

Some observations about streaming to Chromecast over the last few months:

It's unfortunately a lesser product. I ran some tests with it, streaming sport to Foxtel Now on my laptop and to the Chromecast via the app on my tablet at the same time, and observed:

• Latency: The Chromecast runs about 15 seconds behind the online portal.
• Instability: This may be the fault of the app, but I have had the signal drop out once or twice going to the Chromecast, especially when streaming NBA
• More vulnerable: The signal to the Chromecast is a lot more likely to pixelate or drop off if I start running other screens and apps.

Granted, I ask a lot of my Chromecast - I stream most, if not all, of my content through it, and it's not the latest model. i expect the highest quality in terms of fidelity, and it relies on a strong WiFi signal.

And overall, in the longer run, I don't think the Chromecast is the optimal way to watch content, especially sports content. It's been a good way for me to get OTT content onto my television, and it's basically forced me into realising that my internet plan was probably inadequate for what I need, but I think it is soon to become obsolete.

Players in the OTT space are working on ways to get content to consumers directly - either through building apps into software (i.e., my smart TV came with Netflix and YouTube installed), or making them increasingly available in app marketplaces, or by building specific devices to replace it (i.e., the Foxtel Now STU).

There will always be a place for it, especially for those apps that haven't been able to achieve one of the other solutions, and I may need to buy a newer model that can handle better speeds and deliver a better picture, but ultimately it is a lesser way to get content via the internet.

Participant Observations 10/11/2017 - Foxtel Now Set-top Box

So as was announced in the press yesterday, Fotel have launched the Foxtel Now Set Top Box:

http://www.mediaweek.com.au/foxtel-now-hd-box/

Some quick hits:

• Firstly, it suggests that Foxtel are finally getting real about delivering an OTT service.
• Some important questions present themsevles from a consumer perspective. Can it deliver full true Ultra HD live streams of sport, with little to no latency, no pixellation, and a stable signal? It says it can deliver 4K for compatible apps, but what are the apps and does this apply to it's own channels?
• What does it need to work in terms of optimal internet speeds?
• $99 seems like a reasonable price, but I'm not too sure the benefit over the ways I'm already getting the service, such as through Chromecast or by connecting the television as a computer monitor and running the app online through my PC. If it's just a glorified Chromecast dongle, then I don't think there will be much benefit. And is a newer version and/or a reduced price model going to be released in, say, 6 months time, it's probably worh waiting for a while to see what happens.

But I think, as originally mentioned, the launch of the product makes me think that Foxtel should be seeing OTT plays as a legitimate part of their business.

Now, if they would only put some time and energy into fixing their app...

Participant Observations 19/9/17 - NBN whhhhhhaaaaaatttt...

As I've blogged before, I've cut off the Foxtel satellite and gone OTT with the Foxtel Now service. Upgraded my NBN plan to unlimited data, and stream not only Foxtel to my television via Chromecast, but also a lot of my other content, Netflix, YouTube, and Free-to-Air content.

For the first few weeks it was great - apart from some latency issues, and a truly horrendous Foxtel Now app, the quality of the picture was pretty good. A friend came over and when I tole them they were watching a stream, they remarked how good it was and that they could hardly see any difference in the picture quality.

And then something happened. I don't know if it was other people in my area started using more internet, or if there is an issue at the local node or exchange, but the quality of the picture would deteriorate around peak times such as the evening. It was a considerable drop off, especially with sport. I really have no idea, but my guess is that my neighbour - that just moved in a few weeks ago - has started drawing down a lot of data in the evenings.

I ran a few speed tests, and sure enough, the download speed was well below what I was paying for. 12MB down and 1MB up was slowed to 6-8 down and 1 up.

So I rang my provider, and over a number of days, it was established that the level of degradation I was experiencing was not unusual, but that there may be a smaller NBN unit at the local exchange - or something like that. But it was also established that for my level of use, which is quite pronounced, I may need to upgrade to the next level of internet plan - 25MB down and 5MB up. This is because services like Foxtel Now demand an upload speed of around 1.5MB up. I'm not sure exactly how streaming services need an upload speed - something to do with the asymmetry of the internet connection, but I have almost resigned myself to the fact that I'll be needing a bigger bit rate to get the kind of service I'm after.

I told this to my internet provider, and - God love 'em - they offered me a FREE trial period of a week on the 25-5 plan to see if it resolves the issues I'm having. If it doesn't resolve it, then it may be a technical issues that would likely need to be addressed by the NBN wholesaler. If the problem is fixed, then I may need to upgrade my plan if I want to keep the quality of picture.

I forgot to ask the provider today if the modem I have is up to the demands I'm placing on it. But I think it should be ok - I got it when I upgraded to NBN the first time.

If I do need to upgrade to 25-5, it raises other questions. the cost per month goes up to $80 a month - and all of a sudden I'm back near what I was paying per month for Foxtel on the satellite. Keep in mind that I'm already paying $65 a month for Foxtel Now. So I can chose to go to another provider - the cheapest I can find for a 25-5 plan is $60 a month with Amaysim, which is seriously good. However, I really like Internode as a provider, and I'm not sure if I change provider if my modem would be compatible, or if I would need to buy a new one. However, I'm hopeful that if I do need to change plans, I can haggle with Internode and get them down to maybe $70 a month for a 25-5 plan by leveraging the offer from Amaysim and my good standing as an Internode customer.

Generally I'm on this service as my preferred means of getting content - do I miss the satellite? At times, yes, but in some small way I also feel that if I am putting pressure on the infrastructure, then the government will ultimately have to bend to the will of the people and improve the infrastructure accordingly. I honestly don't see myself going back to the satellite unless there is a catastrophic failure with the NBN delivery. I can only see myself placing more demands on my service once I get my gaming PC back (!), in addition to the second and third screen viewing I'm already doing on my plan.

Maybe a 25-5 plan is inevitable...

Participant Observations - 7/10/17 - New Phone!!

So this week my new phone finally arrived. It's a Nokia 6 with 32GB of storage, with an additional 64GB of storage added with a micro SD card.

I've given myself 6 weeks to become fully proficient in using it - the architecture is Android, where as I've been using iPhones since 2010.

UPDATE 19/10/17

There are considerable differences, but the most obvious benefit is the overall improved performance and usability of the phone. The screen is almost twice the size as the iPhone 6, and this makes watching sport on the phone obviously far more enjoyable.

The apps are good, but I'm still floundering around with some of the settings for apps and the phone in general. I clearly have an Apple bias, but the functionality is not quite as clear as the iPhone, but again the unit has forced me - challenged in some respects - to engage and learn how the new phone works. There are some apps on iPhone that aren't on Android, but this is not a real disappointment with many comparable apps on the Google Play Store.

For example, I'm becoming aware that this new phone will not act like a storage device for songs like the iPhone did - streaming music will become much more common. This has it's drawback - everytime I take a photo, the phone wants to save it to the Cloud, where as the iPhone would only save it locally and then save it to the cloud if you requested it to. To that end, I have found the file storage a little bit frustrating with the new phone. With the iPone, every photo was saved to the camera, and easy to find there - there were no second, or third directories. With the new phone, there is a multiude of places the files can bse saved - the camera, downloads, the cloud, separate photos folders, and so on. This requires more time to be spent on file maintenance than I would like.

I'm still woking out how to personalise the phone, in terms of displays and backgrounds, but genreally i like the touch and feel of the unit, and of course I bought a case and screen cover for it almost immediately.

I am also basically consigned to the fact that Google will now have complete access to, and surveillance of, every part of my life that is connected to my phone in any way. I stopped short of using my fingerprint as a sign-in device however!! Haha. The screen unlock feature of pattern recognition is different - I'm not sure if I love it - your finger leaves a trace on the screen when you unlock it that a potential thief could see and replicate to unlock the phone - a PIN number does not have the same design flaw.

But on the whole, the new phone has made me somewhat critical of the iPhone - even though there isn't a great difference between the two, I am no longer a staunch advocate for Apple, and am happy to entertain alternatives.

Ok, so I will update this post in a few more weeks...

Participant Observations 28/9/17 - The domestic ecology of sports streaming consumption

I've recently come across the following article in Media International Australia, and feel that it relates in many ways to my own research:

Messe, J. (2017) The domestic ecology of Australian subscription video on demand services, MIA.

It has attuned me to be more aware of my own choices and patterns of consuming sport domestically.

For example, since switching off the Fox Sports satellite, I've found that not only do I now watch all of my Fox Sports via OTT, but I actually watch a lot of free-to-air television via OTT as well, even though terrestrial free-to-air is still available.

In some ways, I do this through the want to be seen as an OTT consumer, and and early adapter in this space. Part of me also wants to consume in this way to force all broadcasters to see that this is where consumption is going and so to force them to improve their OTT delivery and performance.

The apps that I'm streaming through, usually to chromecast, are by and large rubbish. Usually glitchy, with latency issues, and unexplained drop-outs. While the Foxtel app is by far and away the worst app, the other apps still have their own issues. The Channel 9 app drops out unexpectedly. The Channel 7 app won't allow to stream to the chromecast. The workaround in that situation is that you can chromecast from the Freeview app, and Channel 7 offer their content on there!!

The Freeview app I believe has won a number of awards, and you can see why. It's good to navigate, and has good functionality and responsiveness. It carries most - not all - of the FTA content, and it's guide is also very good. ABC iView is not far behind, and offers good quality, although I've found some issues with the display. For instance, it doesn't always display the latest episode of a series in search results. Channel 10 and the SBS really need to pick up their act in this area - much of their content can't be streamed live.

I've also become a lot more aware of the linear nature of my viewing now, or outright on-demand consumption. I no longer have the set-and-forget series record of iQ on Foxtel, so I now have to remind myself what day a particular show is on, and try to watch it when it airs (with the ads as well!) For example, I now have to be at home at 7:30pm to watch AFL 360, or try and catch the replay at 9:30pm. By the time it appears on-demand on the app, it's over 24 hours old and effectively out of date. The same goes for MediaWeek on Sky Business, which can be difficult because it's at 2:30pm on a Thursday. Where content isn't available after first airing - such as MediaWeek, I've been forced to try and find that content on their own website, or on YouTube. I'm sure there may be notifications, or alerts that you can set up on the various apps to let you know when a show is airing, but I haven't looked into it yet.

There has been the loss of some channels as well SyFy and Fox Classics aren't channels I watched a whole lot of, but they were things I turned to during the summer or at other low points. Fox Classics always had Hitchcock and Eastwood marathons, and I can't find anything similar on other apps or in other libraries.

The other mode of my viewing incorporates binge watching of on-demand drama or doco content. For instance, I've revisited Louie on-demand, and East-bound and Down on demand, and lots of movies on demand. Because of the change in the previous paragraph I've had to now watch some shows this way instead of on a week-to-week bases. The Katering Show and Media Watch, both on the ABC, are examples of this. Previously watched from the DVR after they'd aired, I now watch them in binge-mode which isn't great because, especially with Media Watch, they tend to be based on events of the last week.

Probably another shift is a return to viewing content on FTA, but more so in the shape of watching shows on-demand via their apps. So for instance, Kath and Kim is a show I hadn't watched at all since switching to Channel 9. Because Channel 9 wasn't mapped onto my Foxtel service, I couldn't DVR shows, so it fell off the radar. When it was on the ABC I could DVR it. Now, I've turned back to it, because I've been forced to trawl through my available libraries to find content. These libraries include all the FTA apps, the on-demand on Foxtel, and Netflix.

A major drawback of my consumption now is the inconvenience of use - turning the TV on, launching the app on the iPad, then casting to the chromecast is a pain in the ass. And then changing the channel takes time and patience, due to latency. Also searching without changing channels is difficult. On iQ it was pretty straightforward, but it now involves switching between apps, guides, and so on.

In the morning there is nothing on - this used to be the time when I would watch programs saved on the DVR in the iQ that had been recorded overnight. So for example, I've hardly watched any episodes of The Jump or OTL since switching to OTT, because the Foxtel app doesn't offer these programs on-demand, possibly because they are ESPN native programs. These programs were a great way of getting the latest on NBA and American sports, and definitely my knowledge base in this respect in these areas has suffered as a result.

Much like the Messe article, I find myself watching the TV in the living room during the main part of the evening, then might go to bed and watch on the iPad, sometimes to finish what I've been watching earlier.

Also, since I've gone OTT, I've found my VPN use has probably dropped, and is used strategically on occasion, as also outlined in Messe. For example, I will use the VPN if I want to get a particular movie or TV show that isn't on one of my libraries. And I've also found the VPN less effective than it used to be, especially when run through the chromecast, also reflecting a finding of the Messe article, in that it seems that some formal structures are 'fighting back' against VPN use.

One other comment about the Messe article - I think it does some great observational work, but it fails to discuss in any great length the use of sports consumption in that space. There is one mention of NHL watching, without exploring the idiosyncrasies of sports consumption.

Finally, and I may have blogged about this previously, but I've found myself now sharing logins with others. This is talked about in the Informal Media Economy I think, but I share my Foxtel Now login, of which I have 5, and a mate shares with me his Netflix login. It saves money, and is an affordance of this type of delivery.

Participant observations 25/9/17 - NFL considers delivering 40 minute highlights packages

Saw this article today, and an element of it reminded me of some data that came out in an interview recently with a research participant:

http://www.redtorch.co/nfl-game-pass/

Aside from customer data, something that must have really grabbed the NFL’s attention was its declining TV audience. It’s no coincidence that the massive investment in OTT has come at a time when traditional viewership declined by more than 10% in the first few months of last year’s NFL campaign. Forbes concluded the League lost over 1m viewers per game.

This corresponds to the general decline in TV viewership: children spend more time online; more have tablets and smartphones, and most want to tune in to sports events only for the good bits. Like it or loathe it, the culture of sports consumption has changed.

The NFL is dealing specifically with this last issue by the introduction of ‘Game in 40’ – an improved feature that offers a downloadable, condensed version of the game, bringing fans only the best of the action. If you sometimes sigh at the length of NFL games when live action amounts to just 11 minutes, this feature might well entice you to give the sport another look.

This corresponds to a research participant saying they believed sports games would be broken down into 30-minute highlights packages and delivered on-demand after games.

Participant Observations 18/09/17 - The final switching off of the Foxtel Satellite

So it's been since Friday night when the satellite service to Foxtel was switched off. There are a few observations since then, but also some observations before then that are also worth mentioning.

Firstly, when I rang Foxtel to cancel the satellite, they made a lot of effort to keep me on as a satellite subscriber, even though I told them I would still be getting the OTT version. For example, they offered the full platinum package for $89 a month for 12 months - of course, after the 12 months, I would go back to paying the full price for the platinum package, which is about $135 a month. My current service was around $115 a month.

They also allowed me to suspend my service for a fee of $5 a month. I had hoped to do this anyways, at it means that I don't have to pay the $200 installation fee if I go back onto the satellite service.

Ok, some of the observations since the change over:

Firstly, the viewing experience is not as good. There is the tendency for the vision to jump, and the buffering when changing channels is a headache. The loss of a DVR function and the inability to fast-forward through ads is also tiresome, as is having to watch programs linearly - I.e., as they're being screened without time delay.

The fidelity and crispness of the picture is also not quite as nice, although the Formula 1 was still very good. I also think some picture quality may be due to the chromecast. I've just spent a huge amount on a new PC, which, when built, I will hook up to the television and log into Foxtel Now through the desktop version, and hopefully the speeds will be quicker that way. There does seem to be less buffering and lag when I watch it on the PC at work that way.

The app itself is not the greatest. It has a tendency to freeze and crash, and the program information isn't as easy as the EPG on the FoxBox. I think it has the right look and feel to it, but it's just not very reliable. Again, the cynic in me wonders if this is a deliberate ploy to entice the viewer back to the satellite.

I also completely reconfigured my iPad at home, because this has become effectively the remote control for the Foxtel Now. So all my streaming apps are now on the home screen. While there is some drain on the battery, it's really not too much of a problem, although obviously no where near as convenient as the Fox remote control. I'm also not worried now about turning off the chromecast when I go out because I've upgraded to unlimited data. There doesn't seem to be too much of a drag, and non-sports shows still look excellent, but I'm keen to see it running without chromecast, which runs on WiFi, and instead through the new PC, which will be connected via Ethernet.

There are also less Ethernet cables altogether though, because the FoxBox is now an ornament. It was unfortunate that when the satellite was stopped, I can't even playback the shows I had saved on the DVR. I can't see how this is any real benefit.

But obviously I'm excited, and can't wait to not have to pay so much money every month.

Participant Observation 5/9/17 - Channel 9 Advertising on Foxtel??

A short post today, but something that struck me as unusual. Yesterday, I was watching the Fox Sports coverage of the cricket in Bangladesh, and I noticed a Channel 9 promo for the upcoming ashes tour.

What is a free to air station with a promo on Fox sports?

Are Channel 9 and Fox Sports in some type of rights sharing arrangement this summer, such as simulcast or replay rights? Was the promo limited only to Foxtel Now, where I was watching it? Does Channel 9 have a stake in Fox Sports, like they used to, or vice versa? Have Channel 9 just paid for an advertising spot on Fox Sports like any other advertiser? Has Cricket Australia been involved to try and promote the series after all the pay dispute nastiness?

These questions could be used in a formal interview with someone from Fox Sports or Channel 9 of CA?

Again, going on what was said to me the other day in an research interview with someone from subscription television about the relationship between broadcast partners, quite often these relationships are treated in reasonable spirit, and are less antagonistic than what I first imagined.

--------------

Postscript: 17 September 2017

So I was later able to capture the Channel 9 promos on my mobile phone while watching the cricket:

My thought is that Channel 9 have paid for these spots, but it may also be some kind of in-kind promo placement to sweeten the relationship between 9 and Fox Sports ahead of cricket negotiations this summer, or as Fox Sports may sell-off it's AFL game to a free-to-air broadcaster.

Participant Observation 2/9/17 - Broadcaster Relationships and Sharing Vision

While watching the final round of AFL last week, I was struck by the appearance of Fox Footy commentators on the Friday night Channel 7 coverage. Clearly this is unusual, but was probably facilitated by the broadcasters due to the significance of the situation, as three AFL greats were retiring. Two of them were Western Bulldogs players, Matt Boyd and Bob Murphy, and a former Bulldog is also one of the Fox Footy commentary team, Brad Johnson:

What is significant is that during one of my research interviews this week, someone with close knowledge of broadcaster relationships said that it was in the best interests for broadcasters to work like this together, with the understanding that branding elements would be removed. In this example, the commentator is using 'generic' AFL branded microphone cubes, rather than Channel 7 or Fox Footy cubes. However, I think the Channel 7 commentators still used Channel 7 cubes - perhaps this was an oversight, something more antagonistic, or perhaps it was an agreed on stipulation between the two broadcasters.

Evidence though perhaps of a correlation between my own data and practical application!

Participant Observations 26/8/17 - Foxtel Now, One Week In

It's now been about a week that I've had the OTT Foxtel subscription, and it's looking increasing likely that I will end the Foxtel satelitse subscription and go pure OTT instead. Here is a matrix I created to quantify my consumption:

Characteristic	Best	Middle	Worst
Functionality	PTV	FTA	OTT
Fidelity	PTV	FTA	OTT
Advertising	PTV	FTA	OTT
Audio & Sound	FTA	OTT	PTV
Latency/Delay	PTV	FTA	OTT
Signal Stability	PTV	FTA	OTT
Cost	FTA	OTT	PTV

Some notes:

• PTV is clearly the best platform for sports except possibly the most important one - cost
• Presentation is not included. It's more on taste, and the Foxtel platforms carry a combination of their production, and C7's production.
• Advertising is interesting - FTA ads are regionalised, while OTT is national and PTV has none. 
• Advertising matters - as soon as an ad comes on, I almost always reach for the remote or the phone.
• Audio and Sound quality is not represented in the table, it is a descending matrix of volume. FTA is the loudest, PTV the quietest. I would think PTV audio quality is actually the best.
• OTT is about 30 seconds behind the other platforms in terms of latency or delay. Again, this matters when I'm texting with friends during games. It would be even more of an issue if I was betting during games.
• OTT is well behind in stability. It takes anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes for the OTT signal to stabilise when changing channels, so changing channels is much rarer. Also it can pixelate occasionally. But I was overall impressed with the quality of the stability and fidelity of the OTT signal, especially on mid-length shots. The main difference comes in long shots and ball tracking, where the movement can get a bit noisy. Some playing around with TV settings is useful, but it's not as good as PTV no matter the settins adjustment.

So why am I getting rid of the PTV? Basically, the cost mainly, and I don't think the added functionality of it warrants keeping it - it's only marginally better.

This raises the question of how 'hard core' I am as an AFL fan, because if I were truly hard core about being an AFL fan and seeing my team in the best possibly way, I might pay whatever it took.

But I think the research is also about finding the strategies to access content for people that can't afford it, so in some respects I'm trying to establish what I'm willing to forgo (functionality, latency, fidelity, advertising) in addition to the cheaper cost, in order to get access to my team every week.

Participant Observations 22/8/17 - Becoming a Foxtel Now Customer

Foxtel Now.

So Last Thursday I signed up for the Foxtel OTT play, Foxtel Now. Here are some preliminary observations.

• There is a certain lack of functionality. You cannot series link content, and you cannot record shows. If a show airs on Foxtel and you miss it, in most cases the show does not become available on Foxtel Now until about 24 hours after the first airing for an on-demand viewing.
• There is no Foxtel store, but I RARELY buy shows, and use the store for free content, that I can mostly get via the on-demand part of the OTT app.
• Changing channels is something of an issue, although not something that makes a huge difference. It's slower to change, and sometimes, especially with Live TV, it can take a minute or two for the signal to settle in and establish, without buffering, jumping, skipping etc.
• The quality varies from Live TV to On-Demand. This is especially the case with live sport, with some lack of picture quality observed in AFL. One of the most annoying aspects is the ball-in-flight flicker that you don't get with the satellite, although I may be able to fix this by adjusting frame rates and smoothing etc. On-demand though is virtually flawless, with no discernible difference from the satellite.
• It is a LOT cheaper. I'm looking at $65 a month for almost the same package I get now on the satellite, that I pay $117 a month for. 
• I'm running Foxtel Now on an app on my tablet and then chromecasting it to the TV. Some of the quality issues mentioned above might be resolved once I can hook my PC directly up to the television and basically use it as a monitor.
• Your login can be used across 5 devices. I have shared one with a friend, but I will probably have to use the remaining ones myself (PC, tablet, phone, and laptop). However, it is good being able to share the logins. I feel this is part of the informal media economy that I have been reading about in the book by Lobato and Thomas. I was generally excited for my friend when he sent me a photo showing me that he had used my login to get Foxtel on his computer.

• One issue that remains to be seen is the data usage. Some performance issue may be resolved by increasing my NBN tier. At the moment I'm paying $70 a month for 500GB of data with a 12-down, 1-up plan, but a 25-down, 5-up tier might improve performance as well.
• I really feel that my satellite subscription is on the way out. This is for many reasons, apart from just cost. I feel the OTT play will cut my dependency on Foxtel, and increase my viewing of free-to-air content, as well as other OTT content such as Netflix. Getting Foxtel Now has also really made me want to get Amazon Prime. This will have to wait until my PC is up and running (it's currently out of action) but I also want to see myself as something of an early adopter in this space. I already watch some of my FTA content via their apps, and I am no longer really seeing the benefit of keeping the satellite. Most of the content stored on my IQ can be called up via On-Demand, and I don't really watch it repeatedly enough to warrant keeping it./ The main drawback will be the loss of scheduled recordings and series links, especially with content such as AFL36 and AFL Tonight, which I watch daily via series link. But is it worth paying an extra $50 a month for? I doubt it. With that money, I could increase my data limits and speeds, and get the Amazon Prime subscription.
• The difference between the satellite service and the OTT service can be seen here: https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/shop.html

So in summary, my satellite subscription is on the way out. I paid for another month recently, so I will get closer to the billing date and then cancel the service, or suspend it.

To be honest, my satellite subscription has been great for a very long time, but also very expensive. Unless Foxtel can supply skinny bundles, or significantly reduce the cost of a subscription, I can't see a reason to keep it.

Another aspect that may ultimately prevent me from completely abandoning the satellite is the live sport aspect. If the OTT app can't delive reliable high-fidelity sport with no or little latency, then I would have to revisit the satellite service. But I don't think that without completely abandoning it first and truly experiencing the consumption of sport via OTT (and a return to FTA sport) that I'll get an understanding of how important hi-fidelity and no latency sport is, and if I can live without it, and if I can get speeds and performance out of an OTT set up to keep me happy as a sports (particualrly AFL) consumer.

Now is the right time to do this. AFL finals will soon be here, so all games will be on FTA anyway. I can experiment with the setup I have to get optimal viewing, knowing that if I can't I can fall back on the FTA coverage for the rest of the season. Then in the off season I can spend more time experimenting with TV settings and data plans, albeit on other sports, or even decide to go back to the satellite service.

Participant Observations 9/8/17 - Confirmed! People don't like a reduced screen size on tablets

I was watching footy with a mate recently, and he said how disappointing it was to watch the AFL on a tablet now through the AFL Live app, because the size of the screen had been reduced. I mentioned this in a previous post, and I thought that it was a new change under the new rights agreement, but this confirms it. His response was negative to say the least...

SMH article - CrownBet 'accidentally' breaches AFL's $2.5b rights deal

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald has a lot going on from my perspective.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/crownbet-accidentally-breaches-afls-25b-rights-deal-20170729-gxli8h.html

CrownBet accidentally breaches AFL's $2.5b rights deal

Basically, it outlines how people using a betting application could get virtually free access to AFL games on televisions, that should have been hidden behind paywalls.

This situation is interesting to me for many reasons:

• It demonstrates the overlap of sport, gambling, television, new media, technology, and users.
• It demonstrates an inability of the AFL to govern the terms of it's own licence agreement.
• It demonstrates Telstra's inability to monitor the way it's product was being used.
• It demonstrates how users are always alert to opportunities to circumvent the walled gardens
• It demonstrates the evolving and fluid nature of technology, especially mirroring technology that can allow content that is supposed to be limited to mobile devices can become content that can be consumed on a television.
• It demonstrates the way that live sport has far greater appeal in being consumed in this way (i.e., that the prefered viewing expeirence of the sport fan is on large screen)
• It demonstrates the insidious and pervasive relationship between gambling and sport, and the way that sport welcomes in gambling.
• It demonstrates in some way the produser or informal media economy, because people were circulating this knowledge on forums for 4 months before Telstra was alerted to it.
• It demonstrates the power of news media, because it was only after an inquiry from a newspaper that Telstra became aware of the problem and shut the service down.

I'm also cyncical of the headline that CrownBet 'accidentally' breached the terms of the deal. Who's to say CrownBet didn't know about this and knowingly did nothing to act on it, as it would have attracted customers they could pitch their marketing to. 

This also relates to my own research, as it demonstrates another way, outside of using VPN's or pirate websites, that people can circumvent the measures put in place to try and protect the exclusivity of content.

Participant observations 18/7/17 - Applying An Entrepreneurial Mindset at NBN News

So, I have recently found myself applying what feels like an entrepreneurial mindset in my full-time job.

I work as a Digital and Social Media Producer in the newsroom of NBN Television, a regional broadcaster serving the north coast of NSW from the Central Coast to the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Recently, I have been working on trying to get a regular podcast recorded by some of the journalists and newsreaders in the newsroom as a way to generate extra content.

I believe that this has required me to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset in the following ways. Firstly, I identified a gap that was existing in the content that was being produced. Also, I simultaneously identified that this content, if it was produced, could be monetised or exploited in a that could generate revenue for the organisation. Lacking the requisite skills to do this myself, I needed to utilise the network of other employees at the station to get it done. This included the Chief of Staff, the Head of News, the Head of Digital Strategy, the post-production department, such as one80 Digital Post, the Graphics department, not to mention the other journalists and producers in the news room that have also come up with ideas and added to the content as we've gone along. Also, this project has required me to continually keep my motivation and enthusiasm levels up, as you face a huge number of hurdles in trying to get this across the line, and that energy level makes it also easier to recruit people to your end, and get buy-in. Most people have seen this as a worthwhile project - I hope it turns out that way, because it could be damaging if not. So obviously, there is an element of risk-taking involved, in that it might not work, or it might die out after a few weeks, or it might not get the audience interest to be sustainable.

What were my motivations for doing this? Firstly, I listen to a number of podcasts myself, and I genuinely believe that many people now want to get their content this way. I also felt that this was an opportunity for me to earn some recognition and credentials in the workplace. I've basically taken on the role of producer (self-appointed) and if it comes off, I think this will give me some clout at the next performance review. I was also hoping this would be a way for me to generate extra revenue. My job doesn't pay very well, and my first idea was to try and sell sponsorship and/or commercials on the podcast, and that I would take a cut of the revenue. This way of thinking was obviously too radical for the established model... It was flatly refused. It is written into my contract that any content or revenue raised while employed by the company remains the property of the company, so I wasn't expecting anything different, but I tell myself that this was my entrepreneurial mindset taking over, and looking at I guess non-traditional ways of approaching the situation. 

There are also elements f the systems model and structuration in this. Obviously, I needed to understand the rules and resources available, and I saw these as both enabling and constraining. For example, the journalists (i.e., the resources) are already heavily worked, and I was cognisant of not wanting to give them more work to take on as it could dim their enthusiasm. My solution, was to come up with two 'teams' of people that would be involved in the podcast, and then record each team on alternating weeks. This way, the people involved only have to be asked to do something once a fortnight, which hopefully is not too big a burden. In order to further get the buy-in from everyone, I've agreed to take on some of their responsibilities (i.e., some of their rules) by writing updates for them on the weekends. Obviously I've had to learn new parts of the domain - such as the equipment involved, and elements of creating a rundown in the ENPS software that we use, and I've heavily relied on the field to get it done. Ultimately, I'm also looking to the field to validate the project. Other producers, the Head of News and so on will all give the indication of whether this is something that should be accepted into the domain or not.

So anyways, we've booked time in the audio recording booth, and a rundown has been created and some journalists are lined up to record it. Today is our first day.

Participant Observations 11/7/17 - Sharing logins as produser behaviour

There will be a separate blog post for the thoughts and ideas that came through the ANZCA conference, but I was reminded the other day when I was watching sport around at a friends place about some produser behaviour that came up.

Is there the possibility to evade the structures of industrial production through sharing logins? I know that companies often put a limit on the number of logins that can be used on different devices and if they are being used at the same time or not, but there may be a way to exploit this through the sharing economy.

For example, I was able to stream something to Joe's television using my own paid subscription to an app and then streaming that to Joe's chromecast.

This also reminded me of something the other day that another friend said to me a long time ago, about how frustrating it was to have several different subscriptions and getting a lot of unnecessary duplication across those subscriptions.

For instance, they might have an AFL or NBA paid subscription, and then if they get a Foxtel subscription, they get those sports as well when they probably don't need them.

Perhaps a way around this would be to again unbundle the channels in the Pay-TV app, so that you only select the channels you want, and don't get unnecessary duplication?

Participant Observations 15/6/17 - Purchasing and Chromecasting the Watch AFL App

This week I purchased a "Watch AFL" pass through Fox Sports. This is the AFL portal to watch games for people overseas, and replaces the AFL Global Pass from last year, which was administered by the AFL itself.

Some observations about accessing games in this way:

• I was still able to use a VPN to view the games. This was done through a PC with Private Internet Access VPN installed.
• I was able to stream a game to my TV via a Chromecast connection from my laptop, but as my PC is connected to my television, I was able to watch games on the television via a direct login to the Watch AFL website on the PC connected to the television.
• The Watch AFL app is far better than the Global Pass that it replaces. It allows the user to select more gradations of stream quality. The old app only had three levels of quality to select - the new app has 5 or 6 levels to select from. This allows the user to get much closer to their streaming capacity.
• The 'liveness' and fidelity is also much better. I noticed a delay of only about 10-15 seconds when compared to the coverage on Pay-TV or Free-to-Air. And overall, the mid-range quality settings are eminently stable and watchable.
• Fox Sports coverage was in place during the live coverage of the half and quarter time breaks, but it seems to change back to Channel 7 coverage in the replays??? This includes commercials, which is the one drawback from last year. Last year, the Global Pass ran highlights packages in the breaks. I can only assume this is a licencing agreement.
• What was also disappointing was that I couldn't stream the Watch AFL app on my mobile devices, despite activating the VPN app as well on those devices. I would assume that this indicates the VPN on my mobile devices is inferior to the one on my laptop and PC, which worked seemlessley. So you get what you pay for - the mobile VPN is free, the PC and Laptop VPN is about $40 a year.

Post Script: I was able to get the Watch AFL app to stream on my Tablet after I changed to a better VPN app. Obviously not all VPN apps are the same! This app allows 500mb of free data before requiring a paid upgrade (the freemium model) but at least this demonstrates that a VPN can be used on mobile devices. One disappointment of the Watch AFL app is that there doesn't seem to be the ability to chromecast the vision to the television, even though I could do this when I was using the app on my Laptopb via Google chrome.

Participant Observation 6/6/17 - Is it time to cut the cord?

Participant Observation 6/6/17

Cutting off Foxtel is the only way to speak for the produser.

I really need to go without pay television for an extended period of time to compare the accessibility and fidelity and usability and enjoyment of getting games via Pay TV compared to FTA/OTT. How close is it? I'm not looking forward because I pride myself on finding peak fidelity and catharsis when I'm immersed in games, but how can I ever know what it's like to do it as a produser if I'm hollowing out the term by not adhering to it's principles?

Two moves need to made further in this respect. One is to get the Watch AFL app. Hopefully there will be a half-season option, that I can buy. The other is to investigate the new Foxtel Now app that offers OTT live streaming in HD

https://www.foxtel.com.au/now/shop.html

This option does seem to give me all the things I want with my regular foxtel, but only $74 a month. HOWEVER, what will the fidelity be like, and the usability, and how much data will I use?

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UPDATE 26/11/17: Foxtel Now only delivers 720p for linear TV, and 1080p for on-demand content.

Participant Observations 24/5/17 - Becoming a Telstra customer

Last Wednesday, I signed my mobile account over to Telstra, so that I can get free access to the AFL Live app on my mobile devices. The pros and cons of this are seen below:

Pros:

- Able to access AFL games live on my mobile.

- I was able to use my login credentials to access the app on my tablet, even though my tablet was running off WiFi, and not the Telstra 3G or 4G network.

- The quality of the image is better from what I can tell, than accessing these games via the Foxtel GO app, which seems to only stream in SD

Cons:

- Slight increase in the monthly fees I pay for mobile access. Optus was about $40 a month, Telstra is about $50 a month (although the salesman said it should come down to $40 based on some discount he configured when I changed over - we'll have to wait and see about this when the bill comes in)

- By far the biggest con is that, even though I can access the app on my tablet on local WiFi, the image is not full-screen, and instead is reduced to include stats on-screen. There is no 'full-screen' function:

- The Foxtel GO app allows these games to be watched on the tablet in full-screen. I feel that this is an effort by Foxtel to push audiences towards their app:

Observations:

- I definitely felt resentment and anger when I realised that the AFL Live app on the tablet was less-than-full-screen. I immediately thought about ways of getting around this - VPN's, chromecasting etc, but nothing seemed immediately apparent. I also felt that this was a commercially driven outcome.

- The next step is to sign up to a Watch AFL account. This is the new 'global' account for the AFL which is run by Fox Sports, and seems to have replaced the old AFL Global Pass that was run by the AFL. I should be able to fire up the VPN, sign into this account, and get games full-screen that way. I know this app also has the capability to chromecast as well.

Produser Observations 19/4/17 - Early moves in becoming an AFL Produser

Some early observations from a produser perspective as the 2017 AFL season kicks off:

- I need to start following the Big Footy blog more often. Similarly, I need to start following The Age podcasts and football section.

- I was able to get a refund from Fox Sports after I felt they incorrectly charged me during their 'trial' period of their online streaming app. The set up is different from last year in terms of their Global AFL app, so I need to do some more investigations here.

- The lure of the free AFL Live app and free data on Telstra mobile plans is a strong incentive for me to change providers. Currently I'm with Optus, but I need a new phone, and I think this will be a major factor in the decision to change providers when I get a new phone.

- A friend recently said to me how exasperated they were by the fact that they had several subscriptions now to watch AFL on various apps - they felt the way to watch games should be much simpler and streamlined than the proliferation of products he had, and that he felt that some had been sold to him, or used as selling points, in a not entirely direct and honest manner.

19 April, 2017

Participant Observations 23/2/17 - Preliminary Observations During Research

Here is an early preliminary list of Participant Observations during the early stages of the research:

• Getting AFL via the AFL Global app, which effectively allowed me to bypass the subscription model of getting games (See earlier blog posts)
• I want to see if I can get the VPN to access the SlingTV app, which I could then cast directly to the television. This might be another alternative to the subscription model. What interests me is that this technology is not available in Australia, and that is almost certainly a result of the TV Now case a few years ago.
• I want to see if the quality of the picture of say NFL is different via the Watch ESPN app vs the Foxtel GO app vs the Twitter stream of Thursday night games. If Foxtel are streaming games at less than HD quality, they are obviously still trying to force people onto their primary subscription platform to maximise their current business model and content rights. But people can authenticate the Watch ESPN app using their Foxtel login, so are Foxtel relying on people not knowing about the Watch ESPN app? Otherwise, why would you watch the game in lower quality when the option is there to watch it in HD?
• Are rights divided along quality lines? I.e., HD vs SD? Foxtel cannot otherwise own the EXCLUSIVE rights to stream NFL in Australia on mobile platforms if Twitter and ESPN are also able to stream the games at the same time in as-good if not better quality
• Purchasing a Smart TV opens up an understanding of IPTV, how easy it is to stream, how international in flavour it is, and the quality of the picture.
• How often I consume sport as a 2-screen experience, especially given the number of replays in the broadcast that allow you to keep track of play, while browsing social media and fantasy sports on the second screen
• How I have produced live streaming for sports production: SEABL TV and Bar TV Sports. This gives an understanding of the nature of streaming production, the ease and affordability of it, but the low numbers of consumption as well.
• How I have watched illegal streaming sites in the past, such as the superbowl in 2012 when San Francisco were playing against Baltimore. 
• Is Watch ESPN on delay/near live deliberately, due to Foxtel holding the exclusive rights to content on that platform in Australia, or is that just a technical consideration?
• Hutchins and Rowe refer to their dealings with organisations at grassroots level that exploit the Democratic and participatory nature of new ICT's - my own experiences with Sporting Pulse reflects a first-hand experience of this observation.
• I was able to watch games of NFL simultaneously on Foxtel, Foxtel GO, Watch ESPN, and Twitter. There main difference was not so much the quality of the vision, although this did vary a bit across the platforms, but it was the amount of delay across the platforms. I think the order of 'liveness' was Foxtel, Foxtel Go, Watch ESPN app, and then Twitter. Is this delay in coverage a deliberate strategy? I.e., are games sold on their liveness across the platforms, with the 'livest' being the most premium rights? Or is it just a condition of the technology? I.e., the streaming apps just can't relay the signal as quickly as the cable/satellite signal? Overall, the delay in some instances was substantial - I think the twitter delivery was about 90-120 seconds behind the Foxtel delivery.
• The NBA tries to facilitate people watching the game on mobile devices through NBA League Pass by including a "Mobile Cam" option, where a camrea follows the ball in a mid shot (instead of a longer shot) so that the viewing expereince is better on mobile devices, as the play is 'closer' to the action.
• Cricket coverage, especially in India for example, have ackoledged and anticipated the global nature of their audiences, by incorpoarting features into the broadcast to acommodate this, such as 'Local Time' displays on scoreboards:

• Produser content is being incorporated into mainstream television broadcasts, and being commercialised, such as the promotion of the "Backyard cricket heroes" in the Big Bash coverage over the summer, that is sponsored by KFC.
• Audience interaction is facilitated via live synced fantasy sports apps, such as the NBA InPlay app, that syncs up a mobile device to a broadcast game, so that fantasy games can be played in real time in sync with the broadcast.
• NBN News has aligned its website reporting with Neilsen. This allows the website traffic to be counted towards the Nine Digital Operation. The NBN News website performance will be reported by Neilsen on a daily basis, this helps to "gain valuable understanding on what really works for us across content, publishing and platforms day by day. Our 2017 goal is to continue to create great content, but deliver it in ways that really drives traffic." (Laurence Schuberth, NBN Digital Manager). Social media isn't included in this figure however. 
•