Pioneering streaming and podcast solutions provider StreamGuys is helping Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) regionalize and monetize its fast-growing global streaming radio footprint. The custom SaaS-based package includes StreamGuys’ SGcontrol solution for content regionalization within Australia, and access to premium content worldwide through SGcontrol’s tokenization feature. StreamGuys is also providing server-side dynamic ad insertions to monetize live streams through pre-rolls and mid-rolls, bolstered by StreamGuys’ programmatic ad marketplace service to fill out-of-region ad inventory.
SEN is a multi-platform content and entertainment group that operates a radio broadcast network with 70 stations in Australia and New Zealand, along with several TV programs and a publishing business. As part of its radio business, SEN offers digital platforms accessible globally via the SEN App and the company’s official website. SEN’s digital platforms have experienced substantial growth in recent years, with SEN reporting 2.1 million monthly audio streams and 5.2 million monthly podcast listens in 2022.
That growth inspired Simon Chapman, SEN’s Digital Director, to seek out a new partner that could help SEN better commercialize their live streaming platforms, which required a more effective geographical structure for content delivery and consumer access. StreamGuys’ in-country partner, Agile Broadcast, brought the two companies together to help the SEN team enact its vision.
“Localized sport is very important for the communities of the different cities and states we serve,” said Chapman. “As a rights holder to the AFL (Australian Football League), NRL (National Rugby League) and other professional sports leagues, we target specific matches to the appropriate communities. In addition, Australia has seven states, each of which has different regional wagering laws which makes geographical targeting a legal requirement. We are also careful about what we provide globally both in terms of content and advertising structures since audiences outside Australia can’t act on these wagerers.”
A regional point of presence was also important to Chapman for stream reliability and redundancy, which StreamGuys provides to the ANZ region through their Oceania data centers. StreamGuys’ local CDN presence also provided a seamless and accelerated on-ramp for SEN, which were up and running with SGcontrol’s geo-targeting and geo-location services /throughout ANZ within weeks. StreamGuys later turned on SGcontrol’s tokenization feature for subscription-based access outside the ANZ region, and is now up and running with server-side dynamic ad insertions for all live streams.
“We hadn’t gone down the dynamic ad insertion path before StreamGuys,” said Chapman. “We have a very large global audience of Australians that live in Hong Kong, North America, the UAE and the UK. While they want access to the games that are meaningful to their home communities, it doesn’t make sense to serve them ads for local Australian businesses. StreamGuys allows us to tap into their programmatic inventories so that we can fill slots with ads that are meaningful to where listeners live today. That goes hand in hand with how we personalize content for each individual that subscribes using the tokenization feature. We can create a set of preferences for each listener and provide a true market-facing commercial offering based on demographic, location and more.”
SEN is now evaluating the same services for their audio podcasts. SEN is the largest producer of sports-related podcasts in ANZ, and Chapman says that Australia has experienced “70 to 80 percent year-on-year growth in sports-related podcast consumption” over the last several years.
“StreamGuys has delivered as advertised on their live stream services, but what impresses us most is how fast they onboarded us along with the level of technical support they bring to our localized live streams,” said Chapman. “They put localized servers in their data centers as we requested, which improved stream redundancies and reduced our operational costs. They have gone above and beyond that from a customer service level, and we are anticipate doing more with them in the near future.”