Live Karting Action - It's All Going Online
Who needs television? More and more events are being broadcast live over the internet. Just last weekend, the opening round of the U18 World Championship was broadcast live on the www - and anyone, anywhere in the world with a half decent connection could tune in and watch for free.
Live online action is becoming more and more popular. The Kart Racing Network (www.kartracingnetwork.com) has announced it will broadcast live streaming video of the Rotax Grand Nationals in the United States in a little over a weeks time (see press release below).
There has already been quite a number of karting events broadcast in this way, from the US, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. It's a similar scenario in other sports; event organisers can stream live video action directly from the venue. This might be from a static low-cost camera, through to a multi-camera shoot that is mixed live. If required, the broadcast can carry dedicated commentary and (for motor sports) live timing.
This is ideal for highly specialised, what I call 'participant oriented' sports such as karting that might not have a large enough fan base or commercial support to warrant a free-to-air television slot. Having said that, it's also great for spectator sports - I have watched the last couple of Grands Prix on ONE's live stream due to the digital reception of their TV channel screwing up in bad weather...
Hopefully, and importantly, these live streams should remain free. Historicaly, once people need to pay to access information on the internet, they go elsewhere. Promoters need to remember that.
(HINT FOR THE LIVE STREAMERS: let KartSportNews.com know about the events that will be broadcast and we'll publish the schedule to let the Aussie karting world know)
** The KartSportNews.com Race Calendar page will now include links to the Live Stream site for events that support this feature. Keep a regular check on this page as it's a one-stop point of reference for event information.
MW
press release
Kart Racing Network (www.kartracingnetwork.com) kicks off its premier weekend with the first-ever live streaming video broadcast of the Rotax Max Challenge United States Grand Nationals, from Miller Motorsports Park on the weekend of July 21-23, 2011.
This new website is devoted to bringing many of the world's premier karting events to a live internet audience and internationally renowned commentator Ken Walker will host the broadcast when KRN goes live on the morning of Thursday July 21st.
Kart Racing Network is an innovation from the same technical specialists who revolutionized live streaming video to the karting community. Responsible for the ground-breaking FWT Live broadcasts, KRN personnel have introduced an unmatched combination of live video, audience interactivity, video marshaling and live timing/scoring.
Garry Lobaugh of MAXSpeed Group, who promote the RMC U.S. Grand Nationals, expressed his enthusiasm for the broadcast. "This is a two fold opportunity brought to our program by the people at Kart Racing Network. First, this is a quality video product for our 200 drivers, their fans, and Rotax advocates all over the world who have never experienced a live feed of the crowning of our national champions. Furthermore, our valued sponsors will see an additional return on their investment, both during and long after the event has wrapped up."
"Second, the ability to utilize the video camera marshaling service, combined with our top notch track officials headed by Nigel Edwards, addresses the number one complaint of last year's U.S. Grands- 'better officiating is needed.' Racers, teams and families invest too much time, effort and money to see their race end at the first corner. It is our goal to attract the top competitors to events that provide the best racing and therefore we must provide the highest possible level of officiating and will continue to strive towards this goal."
Michael Wright, KRN's Technical Producer, was equally enthused. "It's a privilege to coincide the launch of Kart Racing Network with this inaugural live broadcast of the RMC U.S. Grand Nationals. In terms of diversity, this is the biggest karting event in the United States and we're thrilled to bring live coverage of all the action to anyone, anywhere in the world, with a broadband internet connection. We thank everyone at MAXSpeed Group, along with presenting sponsor Ocala Gran Prix and event sponsors DeFrancesco Racing, RDD Motorsports and Keane Racing with Homestead Karting, for their support in bringing this broadcast to fruition."
"We're introducing several new broadcast features, which include Twitter and Facebook enhancements to our existing audience interactive platform. And for the first time ever, a live streaming kart event shall be available on a wide range of mobile devices, including iPads and iPhones. We have several other innovations coming down the pipeline, and we're also announcing more event broadcasts in the very near future. Needless to say, it's a very exciting time for KRN."
Kart Racing Network (www.kartracingnetwork.com) goes live on Thursday July 21st with coverage of the RMC U.S. Grand Nationals qualifying sessions.
