Live action from the Giltrap Group 2016 KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championship meeting in Hamilton this weekend will be only the flick of a thumb or click of a computer mouse away thanks to internet broadcasting specialist i-Film and KartSport New Zealand partners Spark NZ and Mi Sedaap.
KartSport New Zealand was one of the first local sporting bodies to grasp the potential of live streaming and this weekend all the action across nine classes will be available in high definition at http://livestream.com/i-filmsport/KartSportNationalSprintChamps2016
Traditionally the cost of producing professional coverage of an event like the Giltrap Group Sprint Nationals has been out of the reach of medium-sized, competitor-based sporting bodies like KartSport New Zealand.
However, the organisation’s President, Graeme Moore, says that the advent of cost-effective high-speed broadband, and ability of providers like i-Film to take advantage of it, has been a game changer.
“We first livestreamed a Nationals event from Hamilton in 2009 and we’ve been doing it every year now since Blenheim in 2014. There’s still a significant cost involved, but the numbers we get taking advantage of the free service and significant post event views are enough for partners like Spark NZ and Mi Sedaap to promote their services and products and thus help fund it. The 2015 event has received over 14,000 views.”
“We certainly believe that the viewing model of the future is on-demand rather than traditional TV broadcast channels,” says Chris Penman, the National Service Delivery Manager of i-Film. “It gives a sport a chance to expose an event to thousands of viewers who otherwise wouldn’t be able to be there in person.
“Mobility,” Penman says, “is obviously a big part of it, but viewers are not just taking advantage of the fact that they can tune into an event on their phones or mobile devices – more and more people are using a computer or other media device to watch our live streaming in high definition on big screen TVs.”
During the broadcast viewers can interact with the commentators via the Livestream Page to nominate drivers for the “Mi Sedaap Noodle Moment of the Race” and register to win a Samsung S7 phone from Spark NZ.
Instant noodle brand Mi Sedaap has used KartSport before to help promote its products and the General Manager NZ of importer and distributor Oriental Merchant (NZ) Ltd, Chris Hutton, says it is a great way to reach families.
“We are pleased to have our recently launched Mi Sedaap Cup Noodles, “fast food for fast drivers” associated with the Livestream of the 2016 National Championships and we wish all competitors the best of luck,” she said.
There will be action at Agrisea New Zealand Raceway opposite Hamilton International Airport from today (Wednesday March 23) with Time Trials (qualifying) on Friday, and racing on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday the classes are Vortex Mini ROK, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max, 100cc Yamaha Heavy and KZ2.
On Sunday they are Cadet ROK, 125cc Rotax Max Junior, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and 100cc Yamaha Light.
Spectators are welcome, with action on the track each day between 9.00am and 4.30pm. For more information go to www.kartsporthamilton.co.nz
