Imagine you’re on your smartphone, watching your favorite soccer team play a match against their arch-rival. The game has come down to a penalty kick in the final minutes. You’re holding your breath as your team’s star striker takes the kick. And then your signal cuts out.
Was it your device? Your internet connection? If internet capacity was the issue, why couldn’t someone predict that demand for services would be high for the hottest game of the season?
Many companies have been using data to anticipate needs, predict demand, understand engagement, and plan for the future. How quickly these companies can analyze that data to make an impact, however, has been the biggest factor in success. For companies aiming to deliver great experiences today, real-time data analytics—the process by which data is analyzed as it’s being collected—can be the key to allocating infrastructure, improving customer experiences, and driving customer engagement, especially in a fast-paced industry such as sports.
Gathering Millions of Data Points
One company reimagining how fans watch and engage with sports is DAZN. Since it launched in 2016, DAZN has quickly become the world’s leading sports and entertainment platform. In 2022, the company streamed 1.2 billion hours of sports coverage across over 130 million connected devices to 20 million premium paying subscribers, and year-over-year growth was upwards of 20 percent. This success is partly due to its use of real-time data insights on AWS, which helps DAZN deliver on its mission to become the ultimate sports platform destination.
DAZN’s subscribers tune in from over 200 global territories to consume almost every sport you can imagine—think soccer, football, Formula 1, basketball, baseball, boxing, and more. To deliver all of this content seamlessly to every fan, DAZN’s team gathers insights from a wide variety of data. First, they look at which sporting events are happening on a given day and use that data to determine how many subscribers each game will likely bring to the platform at the same time. From historical data, the company can predict where those fans are likely to be located and how many terabytes per second will be needed to support each particular market.
Next, DAZN distribution teams work with an AWS CloudFront team, experts in using a service that speeds up the distribution of static and dynamic web content—along with internet service providers and telecom companies, to make sure they have the capacity they need in every geographic area.
While each event is taking place, DAZN can look at real-time data to assess its signal transmittal and adjust as needed. If DAZN detects that the encoding of a video signal in a particular area is not working properly, the company’s infrastructure makes automatic adjustments to ensure service is not interrupted.
“My main focus,” says Stefan Kalcher, DAZN’s SVP of data platform and analytics, “is to optimize for the customer by being data driven. We're collecting data in real time from our customers in order to drive intelligence that makes for a better customer experience.”
For example, DAZN can use collected data to see if customers in a certain location have had a good experience. If fans had a bad experience, did it have to do with their location or their device? Was the problem widespread or individual? Being able to answer these questions helps DAZN deliver better service next time.
Similarly, when subscribers come to the site, DAZN uses data to better understand them and their needs. Do they browse? Do they search? Which features do they interact with? Who are their favorite players and what other sports might they enjoy? DAZN can then share those insights with sports leagues to help them better understand their fans on a market-by-market basis.
Becoming a Daily Destination
DAZN’s CEO wants the company's site to be a daily destination for sports fans, who not only come to DAZN to stream sporting events but also stick around for the post-game action. Whether fans are watching a game, reading the latest news, or betting on their favorite team, DAZN’s vision is to be every sports fan’s one-stop shop.
“The challenge is keeping fans engaged when their favorite teams are in the off-season,” says Kalcher. “But we know that data is what will help get us there. Every day, we’re gaining a better understanding of what additional teams or sports fans might be interested in—and what additional activities might appeal to them.”
With a business focused on predicting customer needs, creating personalized content, and delivering consistent, engaging experiences, every customer interaction becomes a valuable piece of data.
“DAZN is brilliant about using data points to better understand its customers, catering to their unique preferences—and delivering unparalleled experiences,” says Mindy Ferguson, VP of AWS streaming and messaging services. “Their growth speaks for itself.”
To find out more about how you can make better, faster decisions, create new experiences, and optimize your business with the power of data and machine learning, explore AWS for Data.
This story was produced by AWS and edited by WIRED Brand Lab.
