Uniguest screens to stories delivering compelling fan experience

Article posted by Coliseum, October 1^st, 2026

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Tim Hoddy works for IPTV digital signage systems with Uniguest – a global provider of secure digital signage, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and interactive guest engagement technology – and has to his credit of being involved in the delivery of Tripleplay IPTV and digital signage for over a decade in the United Kingdom and Europe. The technology specialist also has vast experience of working with small, medium and large world-class venues.

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In a full-of-verve talk with ‘Coliseum’, Tim Hoddy, VP, Sales Europe, Uniguest, UK, asserts that if one “gets the emotional engagement of the fans right it will generate revenue.” He also talks about the Uniguest idea of – from screens to stories – and how the screens can be used to tell a story – “How can we make sure that when the people are leaving the venue they had that memorable experience. You have to live with that moment of exclusivity and hence that journey generate revenue.”

Uniguest

Nashville (US)-based Uniguest is a world leader in providing secure engagement technologies giving its customers the opportunity to connect with their audience via modern and effective digital channels.

Tim Hoddy began the talk with a few lines on Uniguest – “We are the market leader in IPTV and digital signage in the global sports market. It is installed in about 300 venues. The IPTVs and signage is shaping the venues. Most importantly, we love to talk to our customers and engage in a good conversation so that ultimately it benefits our business.”

Screens to Stories

Talking about screens to stories, Hoddy explains that the screen is the tool and “if you are going to go down the journey you have to consider all these kinds of things – the big screens or the small screens, the concourse, VIP, retail, food and beverage (F&B), lots of different considerations.”

He stated that one should also know about low latency and screen synchronization and how to integrate those into signage.

Screens tell Story

Hoddy further explained how the screens can be used to tell a story and the couple of challenges one has to consider when it comes to screen deployment.

“The screens need to have a purpose. How can we use the screens to make emotion the ultimate metric. The IPTV and the signages can’t help set the tone of the events and amplify the energy. We can’t engineer the fan moments with the right application of technology. So, why am I talking about emotion so much. Well, it’s all about getting down to business. Venues lead to fans, fans in the venue will generate emotion and emotion can lead to revenue.”

Brand

Covering the brand aspect, he stated, “Your brand is literally in the palm of people’s hands, it’s on social channels all the time. How does one encapsulate that and make sure that what people have seen in the palm of their hands they are experiencing in the venue.”

L-Wrap

He narrated how they could use the idea of this L-Wrap (a specialized screen layout format used in enterprise IPTV and digital signage) to sell sponsorship, how they could do full screen takeovers and put a rate card against that.

“How can we cross-sell more beer, more merchandise. The idea of this moment of exclusivity, can we use this technology to anchor a moment of euphoria and how amazing does that sound.”

A Tale of Two Clubs

Hoddy presented two use cases of deployment they undertook in 2025.

“So, I am going to give two use case stories of how these two clubs (Chesterfield F.C. and Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.) have deployed our technology.”

Chesterfield F.C.

The Chesterfield F.C. is a professional association football club based in the town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England (UK). It competes in the English Football League (EFL) League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The 10,292-seat SMH Group Stadium in Chesterfield serves as their home ground.

He informed that the Uniguest technology was used before, during and after the games of Chesterfield F.C. A goal celebration is a moment of exclusivity while they have attributed that to selling not to a sponsor.

A Countdown Kickoff

“The fans now have got plenty of time to go to the club to shop, to buy another beer, to buy hotdog. But that can be monetized if one sees the sponsorships in the international wind screens. The idea of an L-Wrap with delivering fan content, live march, put it on an L-Wrap where you can sell-out words, give a rate card, upcoming fixtures, and all these kinds of stuff operational at the Chesterfield F.C. home venue.”

The Stories

Hoddy explained how the Chesterfield F.C. realized these two sides of their club. When the club invested in Uniguest technology they were in the fifth tier of English football and “there is a lot which happens on the pitch which you can’t control and there is a lot happens off it which you can’t control. And they found that by improving everything in the stadium, not just the screens but the F&B, the hangout spaces, all played a big part in the amazing feedback that came from the fans.”

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

The Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The 32,176-seat American Express Stadium in Brighton and Hove serves as their residence.

The Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. originally deployed the Uniguest systems in 2013.

“This new phase of development is how they have extended what was initially put in. They are really big screens and what is interesting about this is the live band on the screen is on the complete opposite end of the American Express Stadium and so no matter where you are you feel connected.”

Hoddy stated that the point he wanted to make is that this isn’t “just technology for technology’s sake and it is not just screens for screen’s sake. The point is it will build anticipation, it will make people more excited, it will ultimately sell merchandise.”

Experience Matters

He pointed out that the story behind Brighton is experience matters.

“They installed the system in 2013 and like I said this wasn’t screen for screen’s sake, they knew, they deployed these and hence the gameday generated revenue.”

Wrap-up

Tim Hoddy concluded his talk by stating that the takeaway is that “The design approach is very important and the venues should make sure their screens have purpose, content strategy and if we get the emotional engagement right it will generate revenue.”

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