In the vast landscape of Indian sports, where passion knows no bounds, a quiet revolution has been taking place – the digital revolution. With limited resources and financial constraints, Indian sports associations at the domestic, grassroots level have never been very keen to adapt to newer technologies. However, over a period of time, especially post pandemic, this reluctance has been gradually transforming. There’s been an enthusiastic adoption of technology with increasing demand for advanced broadcasting features, data-tracking and data analysis solutions, marking a significant evolution in the domestic sports ecosystem. Here’s how the sports ecosystem revolutionised its approach towards sports-technology and what it means for the future of sports in India -
In the not-so-distant past, Indian sports associations especially at the lower tiers were hesitant to step into the digital realm. Financial constraints and lack of awareness about the potential benefits of technology hindered their progress. The idea of live streaming matches and digitally maintaining player data seemed like a distant dream. Initially sports associations, clubs , and the sports community looked at live-streaming and digitising the game as merely a tool to get some views and add another facet to their functioning. Thus, even the thought of spending any amount of their limited resources on this live streaming didn’t occur to anyone. Additionally, the traditionally available tools and resources for broadcasting games have always been expensive. So, technological advancement never got an opportunity to create an impact on the domestic sports ecosystem.
The turning point came when the internet wave came with easy access to the internet and smartphones across India. The access to the internet opened up limitless avenues for sports associations from nooks and corners of the country to video capture and share their sports events, tournaments to the people on the world web. However, these avenues lacked a dedicated approach towards sports. While the generic platforms and easy streaming led to more viewership and more awareness amongst the local communities about the local sports happenings, the nature of sports at the highest level had advanced to another stage with added emphasis on player data, player highlights and performance analysis. The generic platforms used by local sports entities to simply record and upload or even live stream their games started becoming inadequate to match with these changing requirements from the sports authorities at the higher level.
That is when SportVot stepped in, creating a single platform for live streaming and broadcasting games in an extremely affordable and accessible manner, while providing premium features that align with the developing demands of the sports industry in the upcoming years. The SportVot Cloud Studio simplified sports broadcasting for the lowest common denominator with a vision to democratise premium level sports broadcasting and sports production. Introducing easier ways to maintain, track and analyse player data and player performance with easy to use detail scoring facility to automated digital player profiling and player highlights generation tools.
Today, local sports associations, clubs and organisations across India right from Assam, Ladakh to remote parts of Raigad in Maharashtra, Kurukshetra in Haryana to metro cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi are digitising their tournaments, live streaming their games to the world, tracking and analysing player performances using SportVot Cloud Studios, not just adapting but embracing modern technology and taking sports in India forward.
This transformative journey of the domestic, grassroots sports ecosystem in India; from reluctance to embracing advanced sports technology is nothing short of inspirational. The digital revolution is not only determining the way we experience sports but is also opening up doors of opportunity for budding athletes to achieve their dream. As we stand on the cusp of a new era for Indian sports, one thing is clear – the digital revolution is here to stay, promising a future where every local match can be a global spectacle!