Webcaster Narrowstep delivered live coverage of the Swedish Match Tour last weekend via the Internet.
The Webcast was the first time that the Swedish Match Tour was available live on a broadband TV channel. Sportshows Television, the production arm of Narrowstep, produced coverage of the event from St. Moritz, Switzerland, Aug 20-21.
Narrowstep’s coverage included the quarter and semi finals as well as the finals live from the water on www.swedishmatchtour.tv. The webcast was offered free of charge worldwide.
Fans of the professional match-racing series were able to watch Ben Ainslie (GBR), Ed Baird (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS) and Peter Holmberg (ISV) compete in a real-time Webcast from Lake St. Moritz.
Timing for the event was based around the race program, and an advisory was placed on the Internet TV channel to inform viewers when the next broadcast would begin. Replays of the event were made available shortly after the conclusion of racing.
Sportshows Television used two cameras mounted on each boat, and images from those cameras and two others — one off-the-water top view and the other on-the-water side view — were sent back to shore via a digital microwave unit. Sportshows Television also provided live commentary.
Narrowstep launched the broadband TV channel last year to make the event more accessible by broadcasting coverage throughout the tour. In the first seven months of 2005, viewers watched more than 350 hours of tour programming
For more information, visit www.narrowstep.com and www.swedishmatchtour.tv.
