USA TODAY Sports Media Group is a preeminent force in the sports media landscape with more than 80 publications covering major professional leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, as well as collegiate sports, Olympics, and international competitions.
To capture sports fans with different interests and preferences, they have a comprehensive video engagement strategy, producing a variety of content formats, including highlights, analysis, interviews, and feature stories. The videos complement their written articles and provide a multimedia experience for their audience.
To increase video engagement and revenue, USA Today Sports leaned on AI-powered rich metadata extraction to deliver personalized video and ad experiences at scale.
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Challenge and Objectives
USA Today Sports Media Group responded to consumers’ increasing appetite for video content, enhancing their experiences by developing a comprehensive video library. However, an extensive content library did not directly translate into increased video engagement and revenue, and as their content library grew discoverability challenges arose. Recognizing the strategic significance of video, but being constrained by their video technology partner, they needed an end-to-end video solution that could efficiently organize and distribute their content and provide content recommendations and optimization insights.
With video content emerging as a pivotal component for audience engagement and revenue generation, USA Today Sports Group’s primary objective was to capitalize on its content’s full potential across its extensive network of 80+ sites.
USA Today Sports partnered with AnyClip, utilizing the full suite of AI-powered products to streamline operations, increase video engagement, and drive incremental revenue.
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Solution and Impact
USA Today Sports Group achieved remarkable user engagement and revenue growth advancements by leveraging AnyClip’s cutting-edge solution. Harnessing the power of AnyClip’s advanced AI technology, Visual Intelligence™, the entirety of their video library underwent meticulous analysis, extracting rich metadata. This metadata is the backbone for delivering highly personalized video and ad experiences at scale, which drove a +150%^ YoY increase in incremental revenue.
William Clark, Business Development & Content Operations at USA TODAY Sports Media Group, lauds the transformative impact of AI in the media landscape, stating, “The results we’ve seen underscore the usefulness of AI in the media industry. Using AnyClip’s Intelligent VideoPlayer, we’ve streamlined our operations to an extent where it’s almost a ‘set and forget’ system.”
A crucial aspect of their strategy was leveraging AnyClip’s AI capabilities to drive contextual and personalized video experiences aligned with article content. The Intelligent Video Player seamlessly integrates with article content, dynamically curating video experiences tailored to each page. The outcome was a +94% increase in video plays, soaring from 32 million to 62 million^^, and a notable +52% surge in RPM*.
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^ YoY 2023-2024
^^ YoY 2022 – 2023
* YoY 2022- 2023; (revenue / player load)*1000
A Scalable Video Solution for Publishers
Features tailored-made for publishing needs put USA Today Sports Group in the game.
| Automate |
Activate |
Optimize** |
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Metadata Tagging – (IAB Vertical and sub-vertical, Brand recognition, Brand safety flags, Facial recognition, OCR) |
Contextual Playlist Publishing | Intelligent Video Players – (Editorial Player, Recommended Player, Stories Player, Watch Player) |
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Centralized Content Storage and Organization |
Cross Platform Distribution (owned and operated and social) |
Intelligent Ad Server & Proprietary Marketplace |
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Playlist Creation |
Article Clip Video Matching |
Content and Revenue Insights |
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MRSS Feeds |
Diversified Revenue Streams (display, video, AI-driven optimizations) | |
| WordPress API plug-in | ||
| Targeted Advertising |
**Across all screens and devices – desktop, mobile, web, AMP, in-app SDK
Conclusion
USA Today Sports Media Group embraced the growing demand for video content in sports entertainment. With the increase in content production came the natural need for a streamlined recommendation and publishing workflow, that their incumbent online video player could not tackle. AnyClip’s Visual Intelligence™ was the scalable platform USA Today Sports Group needed to automate workflows across their vast video libraries, activate additional revenue opportunities, and optimize content and ad experiences based on user engagement.
