Use Cases
COPA EUROPE will utilise the aforementioned technologies so as to address indicative business cases, targeting close-to-market prototypes:
Use Case #1: Disrupt the sports media distribution ecosystem by transforming the existing centralized architectures.
Consumer interest in live sports is one of the core pillars in both pay and open TV services. Through this Use Case (UC), COPA EUROPE will demonstrate support for higher quality experiences in premium sports service broadcasting by harnessing the properties of its microservices-oriented, cloud-based infrastructure so as to deliver innovation across several key areas. More specifically, this UC will pilot and evaluate user-driven and user-centric media approach of COPA EUROPE to enable Sports-centric OTT service providers (represented by UC Leader FNET, the largest alternative fixed operator of broadband and pay TV services in Greece) to embrace the opportunity to unify and enrich the sport experience in new and meaningful ways. Hence, this UC will deploy COPA EUROPE technologies targeting: i) immersive viewing experiences, harnessing the promise of alternative viewing platforms (e.g. VR) to enable fans to watch sports from entirely new perspectives; ii) AI-powered personalization, leveraging on the collection and analysis of viewer data to adapt and tailor the user interface according to individual preferences; and iii) the emergence of a decentralized model for content distribution and monetization via blockchain, providing economic incentives to different parts of the ecosystem so as to fund the development of content, bypass middlemen and persuade even the most reluctant consumers to pay for specific content.
Use Case #2: Cultivate European eSports as a broadcasting property
eSports is quickly being established as one of the fastest growing niches on the digital media market , and is attracting the attention of an ever-increasing number of consumers, actors , and investors throughout the European continent. Through this UC , COPA EUROPE aims to promote the cultural phenomenon of eSports and drive significant growth that can place Europe in a leadership position worldwide. […] As such, this UC will establish closely working groups of eSports professionals and the core eSports fanbase to produce transmedia storytelling efforts so as to co-develop the eSports broadcast narrative in ways that make live coverage more entertaining , and easier to consume by a traditional TV-viewing audience. Through this UC, eSports celebrities will be created, well-known teams will be portrayed , and rivalries will be established, while new graphical innovations for live coverage will be co-designed and piloted for live eSports broadcast so as to explore new narratives and storytelling forms that service the needs of both the existing audience , as well as the average media consumer. Secondly, this UC will leverage on the blockchain to demonstrate how COPA EUROPE disrupts current industry models related to streaming, sponsorship , and standard sports compensation, proposing a shift to a more decentralised model (such as , e.g. , prize pools that are gathered by the players themselves). This UC will be led by LU, who brings significant expertise in eSports production , streaming from events and tournaments, such as in E3 2018 . […] Stakeholders in these groups have already been contacted , and committed to provide full access to a wide range of high-profile eSports tournaments, such as those organised by the ESL, the world’s largest eSports company, and DreamHack.
Use Case #3: “Glass-to-Glass” live coverage streaming over 5G networks
Through this UC , COPA EUROPE, utilising the FHHI’s membership in the 5G-Berlin Association, will capitalise on the open, evolutionary 5G communication network established in Berlin so as to investigate (e)Sports media streaming over 5G, standalone or bonded with/by 4G, and test “glass-to-glass” applications with high demand in terms of extremely low latency and extremely high bandwidth. This UC will thus bring streamers and viewers together in new ways toward facilitating the delivery of non-stop live sport coverage by any size of broadcasting operation, be it professional or amateur, ranging from a one-man show to a full-scale production, through reliable, high-quality streams from remote locations and/or in congested network environments. Led by LU, the company delivering world-leading broadcast technology to the sports world, this UC will aim to: i) leverage existing commercially available 4G networks, as well as experimental 5G communication networks and technology where/when available, as a means to demonstrateof huge investment costs , required for high bandwidth (fixed, satellite) communication lines and equipment , so as to facilitate a highly-reliable service; and ii) capitalise on the blockchain to reward both content creators and viewers for engaging with the platform , and thus innovating in new ways to co-fund future productions and content. Toward this end, through this UC, additional streams of the games, as well as other types of live sports (owned by the media rights owners) will be made available through the LU multi-link adaptive video transmission technology, providing commentary by a variety of live coverage streamers, offering various viewing angles etc., that can be viewed either live or via video-on-demand . […] It also enables (e)Sports transmissions from anywhere, removing the content curation and selection inherent to the traditional centralised model, thus enabling , and promoting contribution and later consumption of many new sports, local sports, women’s sports, and other less viewed sports. The multi-link bonding adaptive video transmission ensures that wherever (e)Sports is taking place, it can be shared and put into the OTT workflow described in the other UCs.
