When Every Second Counts: Live Coverage of the IRONMAN with LiveU
We are excited to share with you the story of another strong partner in the field of competitive sports: Team Talented relies on our streaming solutions to report live from IRONMAN events all over Europe. The prestigious triathlon competition demands a maximum level of resilience both from the people and the technical equipment involved.
Not only do the athletes need to prove exemplary physical fitness, but also does the video and streaming technology have to meet extraordinary demands – for instance, while the sportsmen swim against the floods in the water, ride their bicycles at the highest speed, and finally, after multiple hours of nonstop action, reach the finish line of the marathon route, the. During the ongoing IRONMAN season, the video producers of Team Talented were able to assure themselves that LiveU products – just like the athletes – deliver an impressive performance even under the most challenging conditions.
At IRONMAN 70.3 in St. Pölten, Austria, Team Talented was given the opportunity to test our streaming products in a real competition for the very first time. For their live coverage from the sports event, the team members had decided to employ a LiveU Solo unit. The mobile hardware encoder enabled the production crew to go live at the push of a button.
In the forefront, the team had contemplated different broadcasting options: “Skype, Facetime and Wowza Streaming over 3G were too unreliable, TV broadcasts way too expensive” Claudio Schütz from Team Talented explained. LiveU Solo, in contrast, allowed his team to send out a solid live stream by using a cost-efficient device with combined cellular signals. Thrilled by the quality of the live broadcasts, the team ordered a second unit right away. Thus they were able to live stream the subsequent IRONMAN competitions in Klagenfurt and Zurich with two LiveU Solos.
They now plan to get another LiveU unit for the commentator so he can be included in the live stream not only by voice but also by pictures. According to Claudio Schütz, the future of live broadcasts belongs to the Internet. He believes that big sports events like the IRONMAN are less and less frequently watched at home on a regular TV: „More than 60% of users view our productions on mobile devices. We see that the show is consumed on the go. People don’t sit down on a couch with popcorn and beer anymore and watch 8 hours of sports coverage.“
The experienced sports journalist estimates that live streams on the web reach approximately four times as many viewers as comparable TV broadcasts. This is why his team distributes the IRONMAN live videos over the website www.ironman.com and the official Facebook and YouTube channels. Using these popular web platforms, Team Talented offers their online audiences a comprehensive insight into the sports spectacle.
Besides exclusive videos from the IRONMAN competitions, they live stream press conferences, interviews with athletes, side events like IRONKIDS and of course the winner celebrations at the end of a long IRONMAN day. Check out the most important chapters of Team Talented’s success story. Here are some clips from of this year’s IRONMAN live broadcasts:
Photo credits: Team Talented / Flashface.com