MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – NBC Sports Next is launching SportsEngine Play, a subscription streaming service for youth and amateur sporting events.
On top of the streaming service, the service offers video editing tools, so teams can capture game moments and athletes can create their own highlight reels. SportsEngine Play is also building a comprehensive collection of player development and training content, including exclusive instructional videos from more than a dozen world-class athletes, including Michael Phelps, Larry Fitzgerald, Shaun White, Maria Sharapova, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and Justin Jefferson. In addition, the service will continue to build its selection of amateur sports competitions with more content being added to the platform every day.
According to The National Council for Youth Sports, more than 60 million participants are registered in organized youth sports programs in the U.S., and a recent study from the Aspen Institute reveals a post-pandemic rebound in participation of more than 20 percent from 2021 to 2022.
“We’re thrilled to introduce SportsEngine Play to the more than 30,000 youth sports organizations and the millions of players and families we serve through our NBC Sports Next technology platforms and applications,” says Brett MacKinnon, senior vice president and general manager of youth and recreational sports with NBC Sports Next. “Given our sports and media DNA, we’re uniquely positioned to deliver this product to the sports community–a preeminent streaming platform for all youth and amateur sports, with personalized video content, the best instructional and player development videos, and much more to come as we continue to grow.”
NBC Sports Next also plans to launch a TV streaming app in 2024, providing athletes and their families with an additional way to view content at home.
How it works
Video streaming through SportsEngine Play can originate from a variety of camera sources, ranging from a personal phone with video capabilities to autonomous cameras professionally installed at sporting venues. To date, more than 90 cameras have been installed at more than 85 sporting venues–numbers that will continue to grow as more organizations join the platform. Hundreds of hours of live and on-demand streaming content have been captured already, representing sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, cheer and dance, figure skating, gymnastics, and martial arts. SportsEngine Play customers range from national governing bodies of sports to major club programs to individual teams.
NBC Sports Next is also building client-branded platforms for its partner organizations. For its recently established relationship with Frisco Independent School District, one of the largest districts in Texas, NBC Sports Next launched a Frisco Sports Live web portal, which will stream approximately 4,000 sporting events for the district’s 12 high schools and 18 middle schools during the school year.
