Quickplay Shorts: Workflow to Create, Verticalize and Publish Shorts from Live Sports Content

Quickplay, a leading provider of OTT solutions, recently announced the next phase of its Quickplay Shorts tool ideal for creating short-form content, such as highlights and recaps, from live sports content.

Setting a new standard for enabling dynamic, immersive live shorts experiences, broadcasters will be able to more rapidly create, verticalize and publish AI-driven short-form content to audiences.

This next phase leverages cutting-edge technologies to enhance the speed, efficiency, and engagement of short-form video production, positioning telcos to compete effectively in the over-the-top (OTT) streaming marketplace.

A recent study found that roughly 70% of Super Bowl viewers engage on a second platform while watching the game. Broadcasters can leverage Quickplay Shorts to add features that give viewers fewer reasons to leave their environment for the content they’re craving. Adding further appeal, Quickplay’s CMS and orchestration layer is fully end-to-end, enabling better management of not just shorts creation, but also of total cost of ownership.

Early adopters include Cignal TV, who is relying on Quickplay’s Shorts tool for its recently launched Pilipinas Live Shorts service, available to millions of users of Pilipinas Live, an app offering sports content from the Philippines.

Key Features of Quickplay Shorts’ Next Phase

AI-Driven Content Creation:

Quickplay Shorts integrates TwelveLabs’ multimodal AI models to instantly analyze, understand, and timestamp key moments in live sports videos. This allows for rapid identification of highlight-worthy plays, such as game-changing moments, without manual intervention. The platform uses generative AI to create bite-sized, vertical-format content from live streams or video-on-demand (VOD), optimizing for mobile and social media consumption.

Seamless Workflow Integration:

Quickplay’s content management system (CMS) and orchestration layer integrate with existing audio-visual (AV) pipelines, enabling broadcasters to incorporate Shorts creation into their current workflows. This includes plug-in extensions, automated workflow triggers, and smart aspect ratio conversion for vertical formats. The system supports syndication to owned channels, third-party platforms, and social media, ensuring broad distribution.

Social-Centric User Experience:

The Shorts Frontend plug-in offers a vertical infinite scroll interface, mimicking social media platforms like TikTok, with personalized feeds driven by AI and deep learning. Features like interactivity, personalized recommendations, and robust subtitling cater to Gen Z preferences, enhancing viewer engagement. Moderation tools ensure brand consistency, while advanced features support promotion, shopping, and monetization opportunities.

Cloud and Scalability:

Built on a cloud-native architecture, Quickplay Shorts leverages AWS (including AWS Elemental Media Services and Amazon Bedrock) and Google Cloud marketplaces for scalability and performance. This ensures telcos can handle high-demand live sports events and scale to millions of viewers. The platform’s open architecture allows for custom “best-of-breed” solutions, giving telcos flexibility to tailor offerings.

Quickplay’s CMS and orchestration layer empowers broadcasters to build custom “best of breed” solutions, leveraging the scalable foundation and intelligent layer of AWS. Quickplay Shorts is available in AWS Marketplace, including Amazon’s own products like AWS Elemental Media Services and Amazon Bedrock.

Sports-Focused Enhancements:

The tool is optimized for sports, with custom models that prioritize live sports highlights, addressing the preferences of viewers (e.g., ESPN+ users who value sports recaps). This enables broadcasters to deliver context-aware highlights or “watch now” calls-to-action in real time.

Workflow for Creating, Verticalizing, and Publishing Shorts

• Creation: The Shorts Creator & Syndicator tool uses AI to identify key moments in live sports feeds, extracting clips like game-winning goals or standout plays. It automates transcoding and formatting for vertical viewing, reducing production time.
• Verticalization: Clips are converted to vertical formats optimized for mobile devices, with smart aspect ratio adjustments to ensure quality and compatibility across platforms.
• Publication: The CMS enables rapid distribution to owned apps, social media, or third-party platforms, with automated triggers ensuring timely delivery. The social-like frontend enhances user engagement through personalized, interactive feeds.

Opportunities for Telcos in the OTT Streaming Marketplace

Quickplay Shorts allows telcos to offer dynamic, short-form sports content that competes with social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube, capturing the attention of younger audiences, particularly Gen Z, who spend over three hours daily on short-form platforms compared to one hour on traditional streaming.

By providing instant highlights and immersive experiences, telcos can reduce viewer churn, as 70% of Super Bowl viewers engage with second-screen platforms during games. Shorts keeps viewers within the telco’s ecosystem.

Monetization Opportunities:

The platform supports multiple revenue models, including ad-supported (AVOD), subscription-based (SVOD), pay-per-view (TVOD), or hybrids, enabling telcos to maximize revenue through personalized ads, in-app purchases, or premium subscriptions. Features like shopping and promotion within the Shorts interface unlock new revenue streams, while analytics provide insights to refine monetization strategies.

Enhanced Fan Engagement:

Telcos can leverage Quickplay Shorts to deliver personalized, interactive experiences, such as polls, quizzes, or multi-angle views, fostering deeper connections with sports fans. This aligns with Gen Z’s demand for social-like, interactive features. The ability to “own the conversation” around live sports moments drives viewers to higher-value live game viewing, increasing engagement and loyalty.

Rapid Market Entry:

Quickplay’s cloud-native platform accelerates time-to-market, allowing telcos to deploy short-form content solutions quickly without overhauling existing infrastructure. This agility is critical in the fast-evolving OTT landscape. Partnerships with companies like GluedIn enhance interactivity, setting a new standard for viewer experiences and giving telcos a competitive edge.

Scalability and Global Reach:

The platform’s scalability supports telcos in managing complex use cases, such as regional content rights or high-traffic live events, enabling them to serve global audiences. Integration with popular platforms like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto extends reach to new devices, enhancing accessibility for telco subscribers.

Strategic Implications for Telcos

Quickplay Shorts addresses the paradigm shift toward short-form content, validated by research showing Gen Z’s preference for platforms offering interactivity and live sports highlights. By adopting this tool, telcos can:

• Challenge Social Media Giants: Compete with TikTok and YouTube by offering engaging, sports-focused shorts within their OTT apps, reducing reliance on third-party platforms.
• Future-Proof Offerings: The AI-driven, cloud-native architecture ensures telcos can adapt to evolving viewer habits and integrate future innovations, such as advanced personalization or AI-powered features.
• Strengthen Market Position: By delivering premium, scalable, and personalized sports content, telcos can differentiate themselves from traditional broadcasters and other OTT providers, capturing market share in the competitive streaming landscape.

In summary, Quickplay Shorts empowers telcos to create compelling, sports-focused OTT products that engage younger audiences, drive monetization, and position them as leaders in the streaming market. By leveraging AI, cloud scalability, and a social-centric user experience, telcos can transform live sports content into a competitive advantage, meeting the demands of today’s viewers while preparing for future trends.