The Turkish live sports network S Sport Plus has chosen the UK-based platform Screach to launch a direct-to-enterprise streaming service.
S Sport Plus is a dominant force in Turkey’s live sport market, owning the broadcast rights to Europe’s elite football competitions, including the Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga, as well as F1 and the NBA.
Three years on from the launch of its consumer app, which millions of Turkish sport fans can now use to watch live broadcasts on a range of devices, S Sport Plus’s new steaming service will serve the estimated 15,000 commercial venues across Turkey that show live sport to attract consumers.
Screach is a cloud-based streaming platform built exclusively for commercial venues. It works via a smart TV app and is already available in 157 countries, enabling venues to stream the content they want in HD quality to their existing TVs, with no need for a satellite or cable TV connection.
Significantly, the Screach platform, which was developed by the UK tech firm Screenreach, also comes with advertising capability. This enables venues to turn their TV screens into an advertising platform they can use to boost sales and generate incremental advertising revenue to offset their S Sport Plus subscription costs.
The intention is to roll out the service later this year and through 2022 as Turkey’s lockdown restrictions begin to ease and hospitality venues reopen.
Commenting on the development, Ozgur Oguz, project manager at S Sport Plus, said: “Streaming has already transformed the way we reach our individual subscribers, enabling them to enjoy our content when and wherever they want.
“Our strategic partnership with Screach will bring us even closer to more sports fans, allowing them to enjoy live sport together. It’s an exciting way for us to extend our reach into the enterprise space, while giving commercial venues a frictionless way to stream our content direct to their existing TVs without the need for a satellite or cable service”.
Robert Rawlinson, CEO of Screenreach, added: “S Sport Plus has a well-deserved reputation as Turkey’s most pioneering and disruptive sports network, and it already streams more than 300 hours of live sport a month to consumers via smart TVs and mobile devices.
“By partnering with Screach, it is raising the bar once again – giving thousands of commercial venues across Turkey flexible access to its content. For the venues, streaming live sport is a powerful way to attract and retain customers, while our platform gives OTT innovators like S Sport Plus access to a large but underserved commercial market.
“S Sport Plus is exactly the sort of dynamic player we like to partner with. Screenreach is now in advanced talks with major rights holders in other European markets including Germany, Italy, France and Spain – and we will be making further announcements shortly”.
