Sports archives have been one of the rare beneficiaries of live action being paused. But their use should not be dismissed or ignored when play resumes.
With much of the world beginning to ease lockdown measures, live sport is starting to resume. The last few months have seen an unprecedented pause in the sporting schedule that has had fans clutching at any sports content they can find to relive memorable moments, reminisce at better times, or plainly, fill their time.
Nothing captured the attention quite like The Last Dance, which demonstrated the true beauty of sport for hardcore and passing fans to appreciate. Filled with engaging narratives, never-before-seen angles, historic moments and emotional connections, it was a wonderful example of the combination of archive footage and storytelling at its finest.
But the success wasn’t purely done to the live lockdown. With streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime investing heavily in sports documentaries over the last few years, it is clear that both demand and supply of archive content is here to stay and will continue beyond the resumption of the sporting calendar.
It is therefore time for sports teams, athletes and organisations to assess their archive accessibility, how to effectively repurpose and share content themselves and also how to better position themselves for future licensing deals.
Our latest infographic explores:
- The staggering success of The Last Dance
- Beyond MJ – which athletes are up next?
- The figures behind partnering with streaming platforms
- The role of social media in sharing and discussing archive
