Professional sport is a huge industry. As technology has evolved, fans have been able to get increasingly better experiences when watching their favourite teams. More and more sports games are being broadcast than ever before, with broadcasters fighting for the rights to show major events like the latest title fights from the UFC and boxing, to the Super Bowl, Formula One races and European soccer from the likes of the English Premier League and the Champions League.
Broadcasts have become increasingly integrated with real-time statistics, powered by AI to drive interaction. There are multiple camera angles covering a single game, high-tech slow motion replay analysis, player cams and even the ability to pause the game on your TV and switch over to your mobile phone and continue the stream. But there is another way that fans have been dipping into to watch their favourite sports – and that involves a trip to the cinema.
Getting Your Tickets
Today, accessibility has increased in many areas related to sport. For instance, betting fans no longer need to visit physical venues; everything can be done online. Many sites now allow small deposits too. On£5 deposit betting sites on Legalbet.uk, where betting experts review and compare licensed operators, you can find sportsbooks with a minimum deposit of just five pounds. There are also plenty of bookmakers on the UK market offering deposits of around ten pounds.
And if you’d rather watch your favourite team play in a big tournament surrounded by fellow fans, but spend about the same ten pounds, some cinemas in the UK and US now offer just that.
Event Cinema
There is an increasing trend of the “event cinema”, which is where live sports and Esports are shown. Cinemas in the US and the UK have come under increasing competition from streaming services in recent years, as people can just stay at home and grab the latest movies and sports from the comfort of their own living room.
To diversify, cinemas have started to show major sporting events, marking a potentially fundamental shift in the business model of cinemas. Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC, the largest cinema chain in the United States, even once publicly stressed the importance to the company of acquiring the rights to sports broadcasts. For cinemas, showing sports is a great way to fill some empty seats in between blockbuster movie releases, and they provide an unrivalled high-immersion experience.
The Difference
You are not expecting to walk into a cinema during a live sports event being shown, and everyone is silent like during a movie. Event cinema showings are communal events, where fans can feel free to express themselves and cheer for their favourite teams, and really get involved in the action. That sense of community will include a mix of people cheering and hoping for different results, creating a fun, stadium-like atmosphere.
After all, watching the latest NFL match on a high-fidelity, stadium-quality surround sound system is going to beat your home TV or one in a bar or pub. There are also recliner chairs and cinemas with stadium seating, which means that you are going to have a comfortable, unobstructed view, plus snack services close at hand.
Has It Been Done?
In the US, AMC and Cinemark have had pay-per-view deals to show major UFC cards. Given the cost of a PPV ticket just to stay at home, heading to the cinema may give people more bang for their buck. Regal Cinemas in the US show WWE Premium Live events, and AMC has shown live coverage of the Olympic Games before.
In the UK, major soccer matches like the UEFA Champions League and Europa League Finals have been shown through chains Vue Cinemas and Cineworld, as have FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship matches. This creates a great fan-zone type experience, but indoors, where the weather isn’t a factor.
Esports is a huge deal across the world, and live streams of European and global events have shown up in UK cinemas as well. A good example is the League of Legends World Championship Finals, where fans turned up in cosplay, and had a full day of activities through pre-show parties to fill out the experience.
The Theatre of Sport
This is a newer experience and one far removed from being in the stadium or arena watching the sport in person. It’s a dialled back, more intimate and friendly type of experience, and the size of the wall-to-wall screen is a huge appeal, especially with high-quality laser projectors showing things in ultra high definition.
But it’s a little more than that. It’s the built-in community that goes hand in hand with the experience. It’s a communal viewing space, a nice middle ground between wanting to get away from home streaming, without all the expense and hassle of attending major sports events in person.