Live Broadcasting--The Feeling of Presence and Social Interaction

This paper describes user-related aspects in the deployment of a live broadcasting service. Four user studies were conducted, addressing different user groups and different research questions. Participating user groups were the production team that generated content for live broadcasts and the viewers of the broadcasts. The aim of the studies was to investigate to which extent quality affects the experience and which functionality is needed to convey a feeling of presence. Technology and functionality needs were studied regarding the production team. The results showed the importance of a production environment that is easy to use, and providing the opportunity for producers to use the technology in their own creative way. The results related to the viewers supported the assumption that it was important to create a feeling of presence for those watching the matches via the service. Finally, the user groups also had several suggestions for functionalities that could increase the social interaction and feeling of presence.