By Tom Parsons
April 5 – The English Premier League may lead the world in TV sales and as a commercially driven league, but its clubs have been slower to embrace the opportunities of new technologies to connect and communicate with fans, particularly with in-stadia experiences.
Trying to use a 3G device to connect to the Internet whilst at football games can be a difficult task, largely due to the mass concentration of mobile phones in confined stadiums overloading the network.
Liverpool are one of the first clubs to take a step into a more modern digital world becoming the first Premier League side to install a free Wi-Fi network for public use at its Anfield home. Installed by wireless network experts Xirrus, it will be available to those seated in both hospitality areas and general seating in the 12,000 seater Centenary Stand.
The Wi-Fi at the Merseyside club has been installed to “enhance supporters’ experience during the match” with food promotions, live betting and in game match stats all fed through with the service.
It will also promote the use of social networking sites throughout the game with fans able to tweet about the game or even upload their photos on to instagram.
Liverpool’s head of digital media and technology Andy Robinson said initial testing has taken place with noticeable spikes in the bandwidth occurring when major events happen within the game. The data from the usage “opens up a new way for Liverpool to gain insight and feedback from its fan base which hasn’t been possible up to now”.
Liverpool host West Ham on Sunday, with the Anfield faithful able to use the Wi Fi for the first time during the match. Robinson has said that if the trial is successful it could be rolled out to other areas of the ground.
Xirrus have experience in the field of kitting out sporting arenas, having fitted the New England Patriots’ Gillette stadium with wireless to its premium seats.
European football clubs have been slow to realise the opportunity of having a strong foothold in the digital market, but they are starting to get there. Manchester City started broadcasting supporters’ tweets on big screens during matches last season – overcoming the common 3G problem in stadiums of too much traffic and not enough bandwidth to have everyone connected. They also were the first football team in England to sign a YouTube channel deal.
Liverpool may be the first of its kind in the Premier League, but Wi-Fi at stadiums has been in place for a couple of years at other stadia.
In 2011 Real Madrid created an ‘interactive Bernabeu stadium’ by signing a deal with Cisco to build a Wi Fi system around the ground. Not to be outdone by their Spanish rivals, Barcelona signed a deal with Telefónica I+D in which the Camp Nou would be “used as the testing ground for new and innovative technologies”. Meanwhile back in the UK, League Two Wycombe Wanderers have also been offering their supporters free Wi Fi for the last season.
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