Quick Summary:
Live Recap turns a match into a living narrative that publishes at halftime and full time so fans always have instant context.

Editors supervise AI that assembles moments with captions rights metadata and portrait framing which cuts time to publish and lifts completion revenue and sponsor inventory.

Sports fans don't wait anymore. They check scores on the train, catch up during halftime and expect context the moment they open an app. Yet most OTT platforms still operate on the old rhythm: produce excellent long-form coverage, then scramble to cut a recap after the final whistle. By then, the most valuable window has closed. Social accounts have already posted highlights. Casual fans have moved on.

Live Recap changes that equation. Instead of building recaps from scratch after the match ends, editors curate a living narrative while play unfolds. The system assembles moments in real time, packages them with clean graphics and localized captions, then publishes at halftime and full time when fan attention peaks.

The Challenge

Consider the typical match day operation. Two editors cover all the work: app rails, social posts and an after-match highlights show. They produce quality content, but the workflow bottlenecks at the editing desk. Fans wanting quick context during play get nothing from the app while social feeds fill with clips from other sources.

Producers can cut a recap, but only after the match. Rights restrictions vary by territory and sponsor category, tracked in spreadsheets that slow distribution. Graphics designed for horizontal TV layouts collide with phone interfaces. Sales teams struggle to offer predictable inventory around peak moments because nothing publishes on a reliable schedule.

What Live Recap Does Differently

Live Recap listens to the live feed and builds a timeline of moments as they happen. Each moment carries structured data: event type, participants, score state, duration and rights metadata. The system packages a running card with score, clock, headline and an attached clip where rights allow.

Editors supervise rather than construct. A queue shows suggested inclusions with confidence scores. They approve or tweak copy, and captions localize by market automatically. At halftime, the recap publishes to the live tab with a condensed reel of the story so far. At full time, the recap updates and the app promotes a replay rail. The entire flow respects mobile viewing with vertical outputs and subject tracking that keeps the ball and key players centered in portrait.

The Four-Week Rollout

Week One: Align ingest paths and graphics so captions respect safe areas on phones. Editors run Live Recap in shadow mode during two match rounds, comparing system suggestions with their manual picks.

Week Two: Move to supervised publishing. The halftime card goes live with editor approval. Full-time recaps publish automatically if checks pass.

Week Three: Add vertical-first discipline. Every recap clip frames the action for portrait viewing, meeting fans where they actually watch.

Week Four: Push rights fields into the asset so territory and sponsor rules travel with each moment, reducing last-minute escalations.

What Changed Operationally

Editors stopped building recaps from scratch after the whistle. Instead, they curate a living narrative while the match evolves:

• The queue replaced timeline scrubbing, turning a manual hunt into a review process.

• Copy templates kept tone consistent across fixtures without rethinking headlines every time.

• Localization no longer required separate projects, helping smaller language teams ship faster.

• The app's live tab stopped feeling static since the recap refreshed at predictable moments.

The Result

Median time to halftime recap dropped from eleven minutes to under ninety seconds. The first full-time update landed in less than three minutes for top fixtures. Mobile completion on recap cards improved because portrait framing and concise captions matched the way fans actually watch.

The share of posts inside high-intent windows grew as scheduling aligned with patterns by day and region. OTT session starts from recap CTAs rose because the module placed viewers one tap from a replay. Sponsorable positions became repeatable. Packages like "Halftime Recap Presented By" or "First 90 Minutes After Full-Time" sold cleanly because they were predictable and brand safe.

Why It Worked

Live Recap treated every play as structured data, so machines handled assembly while editors focused on the story. Rights rules lived in the asset, keeping the publish step fast without risk. Designing for portrait at source respected the mobile reality of in-game behavior, which lifted completion. A consistent cadence at halftime and full time matched habits fans already have around matches.

What This Means for OTT and FAST

OTT wins when the app offers a low-friction path into context while live play continues. A reliable recap keeps casual viewers connected, then hands them to replays or extended highlights on demand. FAST wins when a near-live shelf cycles timely context packs between fixtures. The same structured moments feed both with minimal additional effort. Dynamic ad insertion performs better when content lands on schedule and carries clear segment boundaries.

Implementation Notes

Start with portrait framing at source so subject tracking has clean targets. Keep headlines short to fit smaller devices and avoid UI collisions. Use confidence tiers to route moments: approve very high-confidence plays immediately, hold marginal ones for quick review, store the rest for deeper edits. Refresh timing curves weekly and write outcomes back to the system so it learns which angles and copy lift completion by team and region.

Where This Leads

The next gains will come from pairing Live Recap with smart timing and personalized reels. Start with one league and two channels. Measure time to halftime recap, time to first full-time update and completion by cohort across three match rounds. As the cadence settles, expand to a FAST context shelf that carries sponsor frames without interrupting viewing. Live Recap gives small teams a dependable way to keep fans engaged while opening inventory that matches how audiences watch today.