Fox Sports studies India’s mobile-first production

Mike Davies says broadcasters can learn from India’s streaming and centralised workflows.

India’s sports broadcasting sector is increasingly becoming a reference point for global media companies as broadcasters search for more scalable live production systems, mobile-first viewing formats, and interactive fan experiences.

Speaking during an interview at the SVG India Summit in Mumbai, Mike Davies, Executive Vice President of Technical and Field Operations for FOX Sports, said India’s ability to combine mobile-first viewership, vertical video formats, and centralised production workflows is attracting attention from international broadcasters.

“I think one of the things that India has right, and some of the things that we get to learn from while we're here, is your mobile-first viewership and the technology behind it,” Davies said.

The discussion highlighted how India’s broadcasting structure differs from the U.S. television market, where programming schedules still revolve around tentpole championship events such as postseason baseball, the Indy 500, and college finals.

“Fox Sports in the United States is built around championships,” Davies said. “But in order for those events to mean something, you need to be able to fill out the schedule with supporting events.”

According to Davies, one of the biggest operational shifts in sports broadcasting is the widespread adoption of centralised and distributed production systems. He said remote workflows are now embedded across almost every live sports production environment at Fox Sports.

He outlined several production structures now used across live sports broadcasting. “Home run production” centralises producers and directors in one facility whilst receiving venue feeds remotely. “Production anywhere” allows certain production functions to operate off site or from individual homes. Hybrid models also combine central studios with additional venue cameras connected remotely.

Davies said broadcasters are no longer adopting these systems mainly to reduce costs. Instead, centralised operations help manage multilingual streams, graphics layers, and customised audience experiences at scale.

He also pointed to India’s experimentation with 9:16 vertical feeds and integrated mobile interactivity as areas global broadcasters are studying closely.

“The fact that you can order food without leaving an application,” Davies said, “I think that kind of seamless experience is something we can very much learn from.”

The discussion underscored how India’s sports streaming systems are shaping how broadcasters approach audience engagement, mobile viewing, and large-scale live production.