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Broadcasting an American football game to audiences outside of football powerhouses like the US or Japan might feel daunting, however, it opens up the opportunity to reach growing audiences locally and internationally. American football now has solid fanbases and organized federations – even in China, France, Germany and Egypt. Here’s how you can stream your next game with a professional American football scoreboard online.
Live streamed games give people the chance to support even if they can’t be there in person, and can encourage casual fans to get more involved in the game. More importantly, footage from live streams can be repurposed for social media campaigns to spread awareness, recruit more players, and gain sponsors
A live streamed game can also draw in viewers from teams from all over the world, creating the chance to build a stronger international network – no matter whether you’re professional, semi-pro, amateur, junior or senior teams. You might even open up opportunities for players on your team to get recognized by audiences abroad.
Any team can produce a highly-professional live stream with a reasonable budget. Here are the tools you need to get started.
You don’t need expensive, professional sports broadcasting equipment. A digital camera capable of connecting to your video mixer or computer will be fine. (Soccer cameras are great for capturing full gameplay and following players, but they might not be compatible with streaming software like OBS.)
If you want to use several cameras, consider setting up a wide shot from above, combined with a few ground-level close-ups to capture those touchdowns.
To create a truly elevated experience for your fans, you also need a number of microphones to capture audio from commentators, post-game interviews, and ambient noise from the crowd and the field. There are several options for sound mixing tools, including hardware options or the sound mixer available on streaming software like OBS Studio.
It’s always good to survey the pitch beforehand to decide where and how to set up. Position cameras, microphones and tripods where they’ll be safe from glare, wind, players, and excited fans. Set up at least two hours before kickoff so you give yourself a buffer in case things go wrong.
Athletic venues can sometimes have internet issues, and you need a stable connection to broadcast smoothly. Your closest router may be on the other side of the stadium. It might be worth investing in a mobile hotspot, or router and ethernet cable. Remember to secure cables down to avoid anyone tripping over them, and bring extra batteries.
The best platforms to live stream sports are Facebook, YouTube and Twitch although there may be good alternatives in your location. You can also live stream directly to an official website and collect subscription fees from viewers, but if you’re just starting out, Facebook Live can attract more viewers.
Use a streaming software to organize your sources and control each scene. OBS Studio is open-source, free to use, and is compatible with most computers, but there are several other paid and unpaid options available that suit your budget and technical requirements.
Overlays make your live stream look professional and create an engaging experience for football fans. Watching a stream that has a sponsor bug, lower third, or American football scoreboard online can make a high school game feel professionally-produced.
American football is a complex sport with a lot more at stake than game time – including timeouts, downs, and yards to cover, as well as other elements. Using overlays keeps your audience up to speed with key information at any point during the game.
Here are some of our favorite sports overlays that will boost your production quality and keep your audience updated on the game’s highlights.
Get your audience personally invested in the teams by introducing each starting lineup with our Champion-themed Football Lineup Lower Third.
Display each player’s names, position, player number, and include headshots (if you have them) so your audience know who to look out for. Ask your commentators to talk about the strategy behind choosing each player, their strengths and weaknesses, and set the stage before the action begins.
Use this Bold-themed Football Scorebug to update key stats in the lower third of your screen all throughout the game. Access a full panel of controls with our American football scoreboard online without having to download any files onto your computer. Keep score, start and reset the play clock, track timeouts, touchdowns, and much more.
All of our scorebugs can be edited over and over again with both teams’ colors and logos.
Keep viewers from getting bored during half-time by diving into the nitty gritty of game strategy with this fullscreen Fresh-themed Football Formations overlay. Upload player photos, edit player names and numbers, and adjust player positions in real time.
Looking for a player bio template? Dive a little deeper into the backgrounds and statistics of each star player with this Champion-themed Fullscreen Player Bio. Use our player profile template to display up to four player stats and up to five lines of fully-customizable text.
All our sports overlays are free and are designed by the same people who create scoreboards for leading global sports broadcasters, and even the NFL themselves. Just sign up for free today, and you can use them in real-time, and customize and edit without having to download. Browse our library for more options, and start streaming with a professional American football scoreboard online today.
