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Dog shows and events for dog lovers always attract the most devoted of pet patrons. If you’re organizing a dog show, live streaming your event can help you reach even more fans than ever – and offer even more benefits! Here’s why you should launch your own dog show live stream.
Traditionally, dog shows like the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show celebrate the written standard of breeds, from companion dogs to herding dogs – and this is how most people view them.
However, dog shows provide a lot more than puppy pageants for hobbyists. Dog shows are an opportunity to show off useful skills like agility, scentwork, heelwork, and even dog diving. You can also showcase the ability of dog groomers, and promote causes like adoption. For example, the American Rescue Dog Show is devoted entirely to the support of rescue dogs.
There are several benefits to live streaming your dog show. Here are just a few reasons why you should broadcast your next event.
Who would want to watch a dog live stream? More people than you would think!
Over eight million viewers tuned in to watch Crufts just this year – which uses overlays created by designers who work at our parent company, Singular, and at overlays.uno! Streaming your dog show online makes your event more accessible to people who might have difficulty getting to your venue, live in a different country, or simply don’t have the time to attend.
A live stream also has the potential to reach hundreds of people without increasing your venue size or having to find volunteers to manage large crowds. This also allows your audience to get up close and personal with rare dog breeds and celebrity canines – without overwhelming the dogs!
There’s a lot of money spent on pampering pooches. Fans of dog shows are usually a great consumer market for products like dog shampoo, dog grooming equipment, dog collars, dog treats, and even medicated dog food.
A dog show is a great place for dog-related brands to advertise their products, which makes it easier to arrange sponsorship deals with them. A dog show live stream has the potential to reach an even larger pool of future customers. By simply adding an image loop or bug to the corner of your screen, you can reward brands for their sponsorship by making sure their logos are seen by viewers throughout the event’s runtime.
You can even allocate larger or smaller areas of the live stream screen based on sponsor tiers.
Many dog kennels, champion breeders, and animal rescue foundations have their own social media accounts, which expands their digital audience greatly. Celebrity canines often have impressive following on their Instagram, TikTok, and/or Facebook accounts.
A live stream benefits both the dog show and any partners and contestants participating in the event and earn them additional following. Fans of celeb dogs will tune in to watch your dog show, and fans of your dog show can discover new social media stars to follow.
Promote the dog show beforehand and let people know that the event will also be available to watch on live stream. Share the date, time, and what platform you’ll be streaming on. Some popular shows also add a countdown to the day’s first event to build anticipation.
You can share your live stream on your official website or choose any free streaming platform, like YouTube, or take things to the next level by multistreaming with the help of streaming software (for example, OBS or vMix). You should make sure that you have reliable internet connection to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted stream. Test everything at least a day before hand to make sure that things are working properly.
Choose a filming location that allows you to see everything clearly. You don’t have to hook a mic up to the judges for each event – even the high-budget dog shows don’t – but it might be good to spare one mic to capture ambient sound, and one mic for a live commentator to help keep viewers entertained and informed. Remember to tape all your cables down to avoid dogs and people tripping over them.
It can also be helpful to allocate a few volunteers to help operate your streaming software, cameras, and other streaming equipment.
If you want to match the polished look of large, leading dog shows, adding overlays to your live stream can help. Here at uno, we have a range of overlays that have been designed by the same team who creates graphics for major news agencies and sports casters, including NBC – and Crufts!
If you don’t want much fuss on screen, you can add a live bug that also features your event’s unique hashtag to help build buzz.
You can also add the logo of your dog show to each scene by using one of our image loops or sponsorship bugs. Of course, our sponsorship overlays are also great options to promote the brands who are supporting your event.
Streaming overlays are also a fantastic way to share information with viewers in case they miss anything during live commentary. Our lower third overlays can be used to highlight contestants, dog handlers, or even let viewers know what event they’re currently watching. Add dog names, the names of handlers, events, highlights, and even insert custom images to our overlays at any time you want, without having to rely on heavy downloads!
Dog shows are considered major sporting events in several countries, so it makes perfect sense that our sports overlays work great for dog contests. Celebrate your winners and medalists with our Olympics-inspired overlays. List your gold, silver and bronze medallists from competitions like best of breed, agility, dog diving, scentwork, heelwork performances – or any other dog event ideas you’ve made into a reality.
Uno’s Olympic Lower Thirds allows you to swap between a single competitor and your top three winners. They come with pre-set flags for countries, as well as gold, silver and bronze medal icons, or add your own icons manually. Our overlay controls are easy to use and can even be operated online from any device, including your mobile phone or iPad.
There are hundreds of graphics, live bugs, and lower thirds on overlays.uno that you can check out and try. By signing up, you can use as many overlays as you want for free. No matter the size or scale of your dog show, you can find the right animated overlays for your next dog show live stream here. And, if you’re looking to learn more tips and tricks about live streaming directly from our users, join our Discord community.
