SailGP to focus on better broadcast

If the past two America’s Cup events taught us anything, it’s hard to closely watch a race while live spectating when the boats go 30+ knots and are miles from your seat, but it is possible to create broadcast tools that make the sport understandable and watchable.

As owner of the America’s Cup defense for those two editions, Larry Ellison invested heavily in the broadcast technology to deliver the racing to sofas across the planet, and will continue to do so for the newly launched SailGP league which gets underway February 2019 in Sydney, Australia.

SailGP signed a three-year deal with Whisper Films to be the new global league’s broadcast and production partner, bringing high-performance sailboat racing to more fans than ever before via patented, leading-edge immersive media technologies.

SailGP has set out to make sailing entertaining and accessible for sports fans all over the world, and given the difficulty in seeing the nuance of competition, the broadcast is the most vital component in sharing competition between the six national teams racing identical F50 catamarans capable of 50 knots.

Whisper Films’ bespoke branded content portfolio includes work with sports rights holders such as the NFL, Premier League, Formula One and Formula-E. In the summer of 2018, Whisper added contracts with the FA for BBC, US Open tennis for Amazon, Paralympics for Britain’s Channel 4, and magazine programs for the International Hockey Federation and UEFA.

“SailGP aims to put exceptional athletes center-stage, and put fans in control,” said SailGP CEO Russell Coutts. “Whisper Films will help translate SailGP’s dramatic live spectacle into a broadcast product that out-performs for both seasoned sailing aficionados and new fans around the world.”

A core component of the SailGP broadcast will be proprietary LiveLineFx ‘increased reality graphics’ technology that will revolutionize the way fans watch sail racing.

LiveLineFx will enhance the viewing experience by integrating information and graphics with the live action feed, and enable an interactive second-screen experience utilizing real-time athlete performance data and race information.

Combined with the use of drones and cutting-edge 360° cameras, SailGP and Whisper Films seeks to make racing more vivid and easier for new fans to understand.

SailGP will distribute Whisper Films’ programming to broadcasters around the world, with a focus on comprehensive live coverage complemented by centrally produced highlight programs.

ABOUT SAILGP:
Established in 2018 and headquartered in London and San Francisco, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric, inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe and culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race. Rival national teams from Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Japan and the United States battle it out in identical wing-powered, foiling F50 catamarans, engineered to exceed 50 knots. Details: https://sailgp.com/

2019 Schedule
Sydney, Australia (February 15-16)
San Francisco, USA (May 4-5)
New York, USA (June 21-22)
Cowes, UK (August 10-11)
Marseille, France (September 20-22).