Roller derby is an adrenaline-fueled sport in which teams of 5 battle around the track to score the most points by legally passing opposing skaters. It is often said once you watch roller derby you are hooked and this year the World Cup of Roller Derby has looked to build their global presence and audience engagement through live streaming all the action. 38 countries from around the world have teams entered in the draw.
Fans have two options for accessing streams, either buying a pass through the Roller Derby World Cup website or watching on the BBC Sport Website where it will be broadcasting for free. If used correctly, streaming sporting events can result in substantial fan engagement growth. Through using a variety of platforms coverage of this growing but yet niche sporting event is available to be viewed by fans all around the world giving viewers more opportunity to watch their teams smash through the competition.
This move is following a new trend of promoting smaller, niche sports to fans through online watching platforms. Live streaming opens up the sport to viewers at home who cannot get to the events. By focusing their outreach online, they are able to reach a more widespread global audience than through traditional broadcast deals which only reach a small sector of the global fan base. The more supporters, the more coverage will continue to grow. Official streams are available on our football live stream page which contains sky sports and other providers.
One organisation which has reaped the benefits of live streaming on social platforms is the World Surf League. Following on from the 2017 success, this week the World Surf League penned an exclusive deal with social media giants Facebook to show their events next year. Using this broadcasting medium gives the event flexibility for when rounds overrun or are delayed, a common problem with the fickle waves in surfing.
Streaming through social media and online networks has allowed smaller sports to reach existing fans with more extensive content and interaction. Additionally, it reaches new fans by showing up in their feeds as they are scrolling through social media. With this, it creates a global community who can connect online and interact together over their love of the sport.
You can stream the Roller Derby World Cup online from Manchester, U.K., February 1-4, 2018.
Written By: Kristy Ramer
