Watch the football match wherever you are

 This content shows that how the Manchester United FC builds and manages the good relationship with global and local fans. Sustaining and making sport fans are very important to sport organisation because fans consume their favourite teams’ products and services. 72.5 million people ‘like’ Manchester united FC team official site on Facebook and Manchester united FC team has 10.2 million followers in Twitter and 16 million followers in Instagram in 2017. The number of smartphone users in these days is increased fast. Therefore, finding new fan and managing existed fan through the smartphone application are a really significant part. Therefore, Manchester united team uploads various recent information that fans want to see on the social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

The Manchester united has their club app. The name of the app is MUTV. The App provides various information to the fan. Scores of on-going match, highlights video, news, gossips and history. However, many football teams already have similar app for their fans to provide those kinds of information.

  

 However, the Manchester united FC launched new app (MUTV) for all fans who live not in the UK. The Manchester united FC launched MUTV app for worldwide fans. The fans who live not in the UK are able to watch the matches of Manchester united as live streaming 24 hours in a day by MUTV app. Also, fans who use this app could watch the matches through television by using Chromecast and AirPlay. Fan could buy the app through the App store and Google paly. The fan who use the app could get information about Manchester United game in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and European competitions from radio service. Furthermore, the app contains the highlights of the match, full match replays, interviewing videos, classic matches, and live preseason games. However, the fans who use this app need to pay monthly subscription packages. The cost is set from $1.99 to $7.99. over 160 countries are available to use the app. The Manchester united vice chairman mention the transformation of digital technology make various opportunities for many things. Also, through this app, the Manchester united expects to measure their fans’ behaviours and make data base to design the optimized marketing for their fan.

Figure : feature of the app

source: Apple (2017)

 The Manchester united official website offer 7 languages as Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, Arabic and English. Also, the team manages social media by considering their fans’ needs that fans want to know about their favourite teams’ information. Furthermore, the Manchester united launched MUTV app for increasing the accessibility. Moreover, the marketing target of this app is heading to global fans. This shows that the Manchester united build better relationship with not only regional fan but also worldwide fans.

Justification

 Fans are very important to the sport organisations' profit as the sport fan tends to consume their favourite teams; goods such as jersey with a team's logo (Yoshida, Gordon, Nakazawa & Biscaia, 2014). Also, the development of mobile phone applications might be good for the sport organisations who have their own smartphone application. 
Uncertainly of the sport event outcome is one of the considerable facts that sport fans watch live sport event (Beech & Chadwick, 2007). Also, the Manchester United FC can increase the need of their fans who live in different countries. Because the MUTV can meet their fans' demand to watch live streaming football matches through the application. Also, as the Manchester United FC. 

Reference

Apple. (2017) MUTV - Manchester United TV. [online] Available: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mutv-manchester-united-tv/id1169885165?mt=8. [Last accessed 15th Feb 2017].

Yoshida, M., Gordon, B., Nakazawa, M., & Biscaia, R. (2014) Conceptualization and measurement of fan engagement: Empirical evidence from a professional sport context. Journal of Sport Management. 28, (4), pp 399-417.

Beech, J., & Chadwick, S, (2007) The Marketing of sport. Harlow, England: Prentice-Hall

Manchester United FC. (2017) Manchester united launches MUTV app. [online] Available: http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Club-News/2017/Feb/Manchester-United-launches-MUTV-subscription-based-app-in-165-countries.aspx. [Last accessed 17th Feb 2017].

Flanagan, A. (2017) Manchester United to launch worldwide MUTV app for supporters - but it will not be available in the UK. [online] Available: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/manchester-united-launch-worldwide-mutv-9786358. [Last accessed 16th Feb 2017].

Leung, D. (2017) Manchester united launches MUTV app for fans outside of U.K to watch live streaming. Available: http://www.sporttechie.com/2017/02/15/sports/soccer/manchester-united-launches-mutv-app-for-fans-outside-of-uk-to-watch-live-streaming/. [Last accessed 16th Feb 2017].