Volvo Ocean Race, in every sense fathomable, indeed, stands as the impossible media mission overseas.
During this quest, designated onboard reporters have the duties to chronicle each step of this nine-month adventure, be it through capturing video, photos, and written text. These efforts are paramount to ensure the exposure of its sport while informing the latest news to fans on land.
“As a sport on the fringes, sailing really benefits from finding innovative ways of reaching a new audience,” says Amory Ross, Team Alvimedica’s Onboard Reporter.
Volvo Ocean Race, accordingly, has embraced Periscope as an early adopter of this platform, where they can provide an inside perspective on their death-defying feats to fans, including the possibility to directly interact with the sailors, themselves.
While much of the initial hoopla surrounding Periscope’s usage in sports spurred from the Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather bout, this organization didn’t wavered in deploying it shortly thereafter–in spite of it being viewed by some as a pirating tool. They debuted live Periscope streams via its @volvooceanrace Twitter handle on May 16, right from the racecourse. Dongfeng Race Team and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing joined Team Alvimedica in disseminating streaming coverage through their own accounts of @VO65_DONGFENG, @ADORlog, and @TeamAlvimedica, respectively.
Considering the close nature of the In-Port Series, this hour-long segment of the race definitely promised to be an ideal time to show off Periscope, with the bevy of action, stunts, and energy encapsulating the proceedings.
Jonno Turner, Digital Project Manager of Volvo Ocean Race, tells SportTechie that Periscope is a great app, an exciting one, at that. Although it wasn’t originally designed with live sports in mind, even in the short time that it’s been around, Periscope has grown organically. Volvo Ocean Race has seen in the media its growing popularity and the effect that it’s having on several industries; in large part that’s due to it being so easy to use and low maintenance. While it’s still fairly new, but as the user base grows and features improve, Turner believes it will be adopted by more brands and events as a key platform.
The happenings pertinent to the infamous Pacquiao-Mayweather fight notwithstanding, Volvo Ocean Race’s Periscope efforts intend to be entirely inclusive and positive. Their use of this medium is fully endorsed by the organizers, sailors, and the teams, allowing spectators who might otherwise be watching the boats from a distance to get right into the heart of the action. And fans across the world can see what it’s like in a Volvo Ocean Race stopover.
Moreover, Periscope presents a notable way to attract new fans, who might not be familiar with the race, but are interested in learning more, or just have stumbled across it while browsing Periscope streams. Racing through the toughest conditions on the planet, Volvo Ocean Race’s innovative spirit behooves them to rely heavily on technology in order to tell their story; it’s only beneficial for them to be at the forefront of new technologies, like Periscope.
Basically, anything that give those on dry land a better look at what these sailors go through on a daily basis has to be good for engagement, from Volvo Ocean Race’s standpoint.
Volvo Ocean Race recognized a niche for up-close and personal coverage from the field of play.
“I believe that running the stream makes us the first major sporting event to fully embrace Periscope and stream live from the field of play. In terms of recommendations, I did spend time researching and testing the technology from the racecourse before the event; and I think it was important in order to manage expectations,” says Turner.
Volvo Ocean Race was fortunate insofar as the Newport bay had a pretty solid 4G connection, which was installed a few years ago. This arrangement helped them set up a reliable stream. They elected to go with several shorter streams rather than one lone one, which worked fine for their purposes. Also, they received great support from Twitter team to follow-through with this activation. Turner thinks it’s important to just have fun with Periscope–it isn’t supposed to be a polished, professional output, more of a raw, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a world-class sporting event.
Prior to Periscope, though, Volvo Ocean Race has continually been a strong proponent and in favor for live streaming, with YouTube as the outlet of choice; the former presents an additive experience, not a replacement of other broadcasting services.
“I don’t think it’s mutually exclusive. The Volvo Ocean Race has, and still does, broadcast live streaming of arrivals, departures, and In-Port race via YouTube, with great success,” Turner states.
“We’ve embraced Periscope as a platform, but that’s no reflection on what we’ve done previously, simply an additional bonus. Certainly, the ability to get up-close and personal, potentially even engage and chat live with world-class athletes on the field of play and in race mode, is something very different and unique to what other sports can offer,” continued Turner.
Concurrently, Volvo Ocean Race’s first Periscope live stream in Newport proved to be a worthwhile endeavor. They were the top global stream on Periscope, receiving thousands of positive comments from viewers and attracted close to 3,500 views on the app. What’s more, viewers awarded them 20,000 hearts (by tapping the screen in appreciation), so that’s proof of kudos, in it by itself.
Down the line, Turner mentions the possibility of having multiple live streams onboard a boat, or even a sailor cam, to propel Periscope usage forward.
Given that the Volvo Ocean Race happens every three years, none of the ongoing technological breakthroughs that occur in between or during this event are off limits to share its story to the masses.