New Broadcast Reality for 35th America’s Cup

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt
I will admit it… the 2013 America’s Cup did some things right. Not everything right, but certainly the broadcast was undeniably epic.

And this was a good thing, because as badly as they wanted you to think that the 34th edition on San Francisco Bay would be this wonderful spectator event, it wasn’t. You couldn’t see the whole course from most places on land, and if you could, the boats were too far away at some point to view.

But thankfully the broadcast was epic, and when the boats were out of sight, the broadcast filled the void. For the live spectators, heads would turn toward jumbotrons. And for everyone else, televisions and tablets delivered the action.

And before the network broadcast began in 2013, the live YouTube experience was pretty damn good too. Commercial free and professionally produced, using all the trickery that had been developed, this was unprecedented.

However, let’s be honest … this show wasn’t really for us. It was certainly a very nice gift, but its intent was an expensive and strategic gamble by the America’s Cup Event Authority.

You see, it is hard to sell a sports product to the networks when you don’t have a sports product to show to the networks. So we were all the beneficiaries of this sales pitch, and while not too many networks bit too hard during the 34th America’s Cup, they seem to be biting now.

What this means, quite likely, is the good times are over. As the America’s Cup World Series gets started this weekend in Portsmouth, the new reality is starting to set in. While not too many networks on the planet are picking up the live feed, for most of us the viewing experience will be via the America’s Cup app.

Now, the app is free and provides event information, but if you want to watch the racing live, you’ll need to pony up for the paid service – US$7.99 for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth – that adds live streaming video (subject to territorial restrictions) and access to enhanced features.

So it is up to you how you feel about this. You can either be thankful for what you had, or you can be pissed off that it has been taken away from you.

If there is good news for the pissed off contingent, I’m not certain the America’s Cup Event Authority knows how the broadcast will be provided for future events. This is all an experiment, and while they are busting butt to sell the broadcast, the show still needs an audience. They have promised exposure to sponsors, and if the UK event doesn’t get it, the plan may change.

So hang tight, and if you are not willing to open your wallet this time, don’t worry, as the Extreme Sailing Series is also racing this weekend, and has a free, live, YouTube broadcast of their event on July 23-26 in Germany.

And even better, their show is being broadcast on the Scuttlebutt website… which helps give exposure to our sponsors. Peace out…