Kayo Sports unveils updated apps for mobile, tablet

Sport on mobile is very different to sport on TV so these new features are a direct reflection of that, says Foxtel Group executive director of product Tom Blaxland.

Foxtel Group chief executive Patrick Delany and NRL360 host Braith Anasta.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback.

You can now listen to The Australian's articles.

Kayo has engineered a dramatic overhaul of its popular streaming platform to reflect the evolving viewing habits of sports fans.

Its new mobile and tablet app, to be released this month, includes a suite of new features including the introduction of sophisticated vertical video content and ball-tracking technology, as well as a scrollable feed of game highlights.

In response to customer demand there will also be more “bite-sized” sports packages, including off-field “moments” .

Underpinning the overall upgrade of the Foxtel-owned app was a focus on easier navigation, according to the company’s executive director of product, Tom Blaxland.

“People consume content differently now than when they did when Kayo first launched in 2018. And we felt like it was the appropriate time for us to move with some of those things that are happening around us,” he said. “Sport on mobile is very different to sport on TV so these new features are a direct reflection of that.

Foxtel executive director of product Tom Blaxland.

“On a TV, you might be watching a game for four hours, whereas on a mobile, maybe you wake up in the morning and you’re wanting a recap of something you missed last night.

“We just thought we could make a new version of Kayo that is more in tune with how fans experience their sport.

“And live sport is just one part of the viewing experience, with fans also eager to consume stats, analysis, highlights, recaps and key moments. This is not just an app update, but a complete re-­imagining of how fans connect with the sports and shows they love.”

The upgrade follows comments about the future of Kayo made by Foxtel Group’s chief executive officer Patrick Delany at the APOS media summit in Bali last month.

“I think our next move is really focusing more and more on your thumb, and on your mobile,” Mr Delany said.

“Initially the thought behind Kayo was to be the Netflix (of sport) and get it to TV – 75 per cent of all sport is viewed on a TV.

“But that engagement in between the weeks is with your thumbs.

“We’ve got an extraordinary library with extraordinary metadata. And now with the nimbleness that we can go to market with DAZN – in our market and I think across others – there’s huge opportunity inside mobile.”

DAZN, a global sports streaming company, completed its acquisition of Foxtel in April.

News Corp, publisher of The Australian, has a six per cent stake in DAZN.

Foxtel’s director of product Jardian Ormsby said subscribers’ appetite for “vertical content” had soared in recent years.

“The tolerance for consuming fast moving content inside that vertical window has opened up quite a lot, so we’re going to do a better job of leveraging vertical video. We specifically built some of the things in here to be mobile native, to make it feel like a mobile experience.

“Our unwritten rule is that if you’re using Kayo on mobile, it must feel like a mobile experience. We don’t want it to feel like a television experience that’s being condensed down to a mobile resolution. Part of the journey here is actually building bespoke to the device that people are using and not being apologetic about that.”

Mr Blaxland said when the time came to “re-do” Kayo for television, the upgrade would – like the changes to the mobile and tablet app – be specific to the device.

“Again, if that means that some of the features are going to be slightly different, then that’s what we’ll do,” he said. “The best experience that you can give people is the one that honours where they are in the moment that they’re using the product.”

A subscription to Kayo Sports starts at $30 per month.