Polish Ekstraklasa to choose a partner for the league OTT service – Ekstraklasa.TV

"During the first two years, we successfully launched the Ekstraklasa league OTT platform with the most important functionalities and gained a significant group of users. Now we are trying to find a supplier who will provide us with the best possible tools, in terms of finance and technology, for further development of our video product from the 2021/22 season onwards. It is also one of the important elements of our strategy of selling media rights, starting from 2021. Online video, mobile applications or SmartTV are one of the most dynamically developing sectors. Currently, there are numerous solutions based on machine learning and artificial intelligence, which is responsible, for example, for automatic, and above all, quick, preparation of match highlights or their immediate publication in integrated social media. We will also want to offer our customers new attractive models of access to the video content – we are considering the implementation of the AVOD model in Poland, under which users will be able to watch a given material, preceded by short commercials, free of charge. Rich in know-how, the knowledge of customers' expectations, as well as experience in working with an OTT platform, we want to implement new solutions in the next step, which will be attractive not only to our current users, but also to the largest possible number of fans", commented Leszek Miklas, the President of the Management Board of Ekstraklasa Live Park.

Ekstraklasa launched the league streaming service – Ekstraklasa.TV – in August 2019 in cooperation with OZ Sports, which has been dealing with the technological preparation of the platform since the beginning of 2019. Since then, the platform has been systematically expanded. It is currently available in a desktop version and iOS and Android applications. Preparations are in progress to launch the service on Apple TV and Smart TVs. The Ekstraklasa.TV platform provides paid access to PKO BP Ekstraklasa matches all over the world (except for Poland and seven Balkan territories covered by exclusive licensing agreements) – in the form of pay-per-view access and in a monthly or annual subscription model. In addition, all registered users, also in Poland and the Balkans, can watch free match highlights. Users of Ekstraklasa.TV application can also watch the most important match actions during the game in the form of near live clips. Currently, the service is used by several hundred thousand people around the world.

"We are constantly looking at various streaming platforms in order to learn from the world's best. For instance, we've been watching how YouTube is developing its premium memberships option, where one can watch live matches for a subscription fee We've been using Google’s One Box functionality for over a year now and have managed to increase the reach of our content. . The NBA TV platform, which is a strategically well-structured project , is an important benchmark for us. We would also like our platform to become, as the Spanish LaLiga SportsTV, a platform that shows content from various leagues and sports, including lower league classes and youth competitions", comments Marcin Animucki, the President of the Management Board of Ekstraklasa SA.

"We also constantly analyse solutions used by other competitive leagues, such as the Match Centre service of the Scottish SPFL or OTT platforms launched by clubs, such as Benfica Play. Of course, we also constantly follow the development of other players in this industry such as DAZN and Viaplay. The solutions they have implemented show that we can reach a higher level with our Ekstraklasa.TV platform. This is a very important, future-oriented project for us and we want to develop it further, the more so as our experience with OTT is not only based on our league project, but also on video-streaming portals like Dailymotion, which has been showing our matches outside Poland since the 2015/16 season", adds Animucki.

The process of market research and the RFP process around Ekstraklasa.TV is managed by the production arm of Ekstraklasa – Ekstraklasa Live Park company. This company, in 100% owned by Ekstraklasa SA, is responsible for the production of all league matches and their distribution to BT Tower and international licensees. The selection of a cooperation partner for the OTT Ekstraklasa.TV league service is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.