TicketCo TV provides live streaming service

Liam Watson
Altrincham FC has adapted to fans being unable to attend games by delivering pay-per-view live streaming in collaboration with TicketCo TV.

Fans haven’t been able to attend games due to Covid-19, but Altrincham FC has adapted to deliver pay-per-view live streaming in collaboration with TicketCo TV. 

The Manchester-based club, playing in the UK national league, were able to establish a secure and sustainable revenue stream with all home games streamed at The J. Davidson Stadium. 

Co-chairman Bill Waterson had previously thought about live streaming even before closed doors restrictions began. 

“Live streaming games was a service we wanted to deliver this season regardless of how Covid-19 developed in the late summer and early autumn,” he said. 

“We knew we had the technical capability to broadcast games, but we were short of a means of broadcasting it and doing so in a secure and financially viable way.  

“We wanted to use our own broadcast capabilities by using our own cameramen and commentators, but at the same time we required a strong commercial model.  

“TicketCo fit the bill for all of our requirements and we are delighted to be working with them.” 

TicketCo have worked with FC Isle of Man who launched their own live streaming service during a pre-season friendly against Guernsey FC. Isle of Man reached a new global audience using TicketCo TV’s HD quality and even sold both physical and live streaming ticketings to supporters for the game on the same platform. 

“FC Isle of Man had nothing but good things to say about the service TicketCo provided,” Waterson said.  

“One key attraction to us was the fact the payment and streaming service was all available via one platform.” 

Altrincham’s first game with TicketCo came against Salford City’s U23s where the hosts won a pre-season friendly 5-1 at The J. Davidson Stadium. Originally a test events for fans to return to terraces, it instead proved a test for upcoming live streams. 

“We marketed the live stream to supporters the day before the game as the developing Covid-19 situation meant we had little notice from Government regarding our ability to welcome supporters back into the stadium,” Waterson said. 

“Despite the short notice, 60 per cent of our season ticket holders tuned into the game using a free access code and some non- season ticket holders used TicketCo’s pay-per-view option too – it was a great success. 

“The following Saturday, 749 users tuned in to watch Altrincham’s first league game of the season against Weymouth.  

“Many of our season ticket holders live in the same household, so to have 749 individual users login to watch the game was beyond all of our expectations,” added Mr Waterson. “We believe we can push over 1,000.” 

Live streaming has the capability of reaching audiences that clubs may never thought of before. 

“The analytics really opened our eyes,” Waterson said. 

“We have viewers tuning in from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada – and even Afghanistan!  

“It’s exciting to learn this new information. Although we only have a small fanbase outside of the UK, we will consider providing a live streaming service to supporters that live abroad once Covid-19 restrictions ease.  

“TicketCo make the service we provide easy to execute, so we’d be silly not to consider these opportunities for the future.” 

If restrictions continue, Altrincham have plans to advance their live streaming capability to make the viewing experience better. 

“We have introduced graphics and captions, next we want action replays and a selection of camera angles to improve the stream’s quality,” Waterson said.  

“TicketCo’s platform allows us to upsell products like programmes too, so there is an option to maximise revenue which we are keen to explore.  

“Now we know we have established a quality streaming partnership with TicketCo, we want to do develop it to offer more digitally.  

“For example, we could stream our youth team’s games should the demand be there for it.  

“That’s the beauty of TicketCo, we can almost instantly create a pay-per-view streaming service if demand is there.” 

Altrincham is a semi-professional club just like the many National Premier Leagues (NPL) clubs we have in Australia. TicketCo presents as a streaming service provider for local-based clubs wanting to extend their coverage of league and cup competitions. 

TicketCo TV’s pay-per-view is an on-demand service which is fully integrated with TicketCo’s payment platform. There are no set-up costs, an affordable pay-as-you-go price plan and streaming software is provided so a club could easily start streaming in Full HD quality with crystal-clear sound. 

“Football faces major challenges, but there are solutions that can help generate revenue and keep fans connected,” TicketCo UK Senior Key Account Manager, Joe Edwards said. 

“It is quick and easy to set up and comes with additional commercial benefits including the ability to fully brand the stream with club colours and branding and the functionality to sell sponsorship and retail products.  

“Pay-per-view live streaming is available for clubs of all sizes now and will become as important as seats in the stadium. We are here to help clubs of any size.” 

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Global Institute of Sport hosts Masterclass on Athlete Management and Engagement

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Image Credit: Global Institute of Sport

The Global Institute of Sport (GIS) held an Industry Masterclass on Athlete Management and Engagement, featuring guest speakers Brad Lloyd and Stefani Chinn.

This is part of its broader course offering, which includes a Master’s in Sports Business and Sports Analytics through the University of Newcastle.

The Masterclass addressed four themes: the day-to-day operations of player management, the construction of authentic athlete brands, the role of agents, and the impact of data.

The Panellists

Brad Lloyd is the founder of Apogee Sports Advisory, which develops micro-credentials in sport, and previously served as General Manager of Football at Carlton Football Club and as a player agent.

Stefani Chinn is a sports marketing consultant specialising in ambassador program design and formerly served as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications at the World Surf League (WSL).

Player management: the daily operations

Lloyd outlined the complexities of player management, drawing on his experience as General Manager at Carlton, highlighting the role of “list management.”

This involves negotiating player contracts and managing the composition of the list, including age profile and positional spread, to align with the club’s broader requirements.

Player welfare also falls within this remit, with a high-performance manager tasked with ensuring athletes remain fit and available.

“It’s all about attraction and retention,” Lloyd explained.

He noted that communication with club shareholders is a constant part of the role, with “talking up and down” the organisation requiring a strong team.

“Getting people, you trust with their credentials in these roles is paramount,” Lloyd explained.

Building Authentic Brands

Chinn addressed the construction of athlete-focused marketing strategies, arguing for a shift away from organisation-centred approaches.

“What was needed to do from a fan, athlete and commercial perspective was lead with an athlete-first approach.”

For this Chinn emphasised the importance of understanding athletes beyond their on-field performance.

“Knowing the athlete first is such an important piece, there is so much to the athlete than just how they play,” she said, also cautioning against an overreliance on social media metrics: “What we say is fit over followers, followers is a metric, but not a central one.”

Role of Agents

Lloyd addressed the function of agents, noting that while contract negotiation is central, agents must first understand the player and assess whether an opportunity is a suitable fit.

“I find if you get the agent onboard quickly, they will work with you,” Lloyd said.

Chinn distinguished between agents and managers: “Practically, in sports less governed, there are less agents and more managers”,

“It’s important to get the manager onside… the management team is critical” Chinn highlighted.

She noted that within the WSL, relatively few athletes have formal management, making direct engagement with players important.

The Impact of Data

Lloyd underscored the value of organised, accessible data that allows analytics to support and verify observations made within the team and the club’s image.

Though, he did stress that data-focused staff need to communicate their analysis clearly into club strategy.

Chinn discussed the evolution of data use in marketing, noting it was once used in a limited capacity, described as “spots and dots,” to determine audience reach.

Its current application allows more targeted decisions, resulting in what she described as “incredibly informed decisions.”

Though not football-focused at its core, the Masterclass offered insights applicable across codes.

Football’s scale means the club and agent-based environment is ever-present.

As individual athlete identities grow more prominent within sport, lessons from individually driven codes, offer valuable insight for a growing market.

These findings from other codes can be adopted into football; to benefit the whole system, it would be restrictive to not take these into account.

FMDB Pro aims to streamline football recruitment through data-driven insights

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Image Credit: FMDB Pro

Football recruitment platform FMDB Pro is positioning itself as a tool to help clubs, federations and recruiters make more informed decisions by bringing greater structure and context to the early informal stages of talent identification.

The platform has been developed by Sports Interactive, the same developers who make the Football Manager game.

Supporting, not replacing, traditional scouting

FMDB Pro is designed to support traditional recruiting departments by narrowing the pool of potential signings before traditional scouting processes commence.

Rather than replacing existing channels and scouts, FMDB Pro is intended to complement existing recruitment workflows by allowing clubs to filter players.

Using hundreds of data points, it will help clubs identify prospects that meet specific technical, physical and regulatory requirement.

Powered by Football Manager’s global database

The platform draws on Football Manager’s extensive global database, covering more than 310,000 players across over 200 nations and thousands of competitions.

Users can search by a wide range of criteria, including playing attributes, positional profiles, contract status, injury history, international eligibility and governing body endorsement requirements.

FMDB Pro Business Development Director Michael Fleming said modern recruitment departments often face the challenge of assessing thousands of players across multiple competitions before deciding where to invest valuable scouting resources.

Introducing FMDB Pro | The Starting Point for Smarter Recruitment
FMDB Pro draws on Football Manager’s extensive global database. Image Credit: FMDB Pro

Streamlining the recruitment process

The platform aims to reduce that workload by providing recruiting teams with a stronger information base on each player.

This enables more specific scouting and reducing the time spent evaluating unsuitable candidates.

In addition to player data, FMDB Pro incorporates benchmarking tools, market valuations and recruitment reports to help clubs compare players across leagues and identify prospects who best fit their recruitment strategy.

According to Sports Interactive, the objective is not to replace human decision-making, but to improve the efficiency of the recruitment process.

By giving clubs better information earlier in the talent identification cycle, the process can be streamlined and make human decision-making easier.

Growing role of technology in football

As clubs continue to embrace analytics and technology across football operations, platforms such as FMDB Pro reflect the growing role of data in modern recruitment, where combining traditional scouting with advanced analysis has become an increasingly important part of identifying and securing talent.

FMDB Pro has already partnered with a number of clubs across Europe, including Newcastle United, AS Monaco and Dinamo Zagreb.

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