When planning events, words like logistics, safety, traffic, livestream or broadcast, and engagement, get thrown around often when thinking about creating a memorable spectator experience. This could mean spectators having access to the course or restricting their experience due concerns at previous events. This past weekend at IRONMAN California BCC Live was able to provide a unique solution to help abet these issues. With enough time and planning, we can make anything happen. We were able to broadcast the swim finish, bike turn around, and finish line for spectators onsite and at home to see.
Here’s how the Broadcast went down – it didn’t… Or at least not at the beginning.
Let’s go back to Saturday, the day before race day. Our team tested everything to make sure our activation would be smooth as glass on race day, and… It worked flawlessly! No issues, no concerns, smooth sailing.
Then along came race day and we went down in a blaze of glory before we could even get our cameras powered up.
Sunday Morning – Our LiveU backpack specific decoder wouldn’t fire up, causing all the redundancies built into our systems to be useless. Luckily, we have backups, right? Right… Except we weren’t expecting to use our backup decoder and we only had one broadcasting backpack on site in California. Fatal flaw, if you ask us.
So how DO you solve a problem like Maria?
Here’s how you solve it… With a knowledgeable team whose ready to take on the challenge. Before introducing the LiveU broadcasting ecosystem into our repertoire earlier this year, we used the Teradek ecosystem exclusively and were able to use their services to create a solution – kind of…
We used Teradek’s mobile App Airmix Solo to essentially turn a cell phone into a broadcasting backpack, sending the stream to the Teradek Core, bypassing our hardware in the studio, before its transmission to YouTube. Great solution to a time sensitive issue – except that the stream had issues.
What we learned that day with Airmix Solo is that burner phones are necessary. Apparently, cell phones are unable to support streaming and phone calls! Who knew!? Every time we received a phone call on our Airmix Solo phone the stream dropped, and we got more calls… A lot more calls —mostly telling us that the stream dropped.
Now what? Our back up failed…
On to the next backup, which was using LiveU Studio—a cloud-based service—to, once again, bypass our studio hardware and get the broadcast LIVE again. This was another solution for Maria, but wouldn’t be our first, second, or even third choice moving forward.
Cloud based services are great in a pinch and extremely versatile which comes with a hefty price tag. Did it work? Yes. Was it expensive? Yes. Did we find another solution? Also, yes.
Once we were reliably up and running, our team was able to rise from the ashes and get our backup decoder online, which enagled us to resume our broadcasting as “normal”.
Why would we go through all this trouble for static camera broadcasts at one event instead of throwing in the towel and trying again next time?
Let’s look at what these broadcasts added to the event:
1. Accessibility –
Traveling to see a loved one race and compete is not always feasible in today’s world. Work, finances, prior obligations, etc. all contribute to the stress that comes with traveling. With that being said, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to watch and cheer on our loved ones, friends, and family from wherever we are. Broadcasting parts of the event allow people to engage and participate from anywhere and grow the reach of the event to many more people than if it was only the onsite spectators that were able to cheer on their athletes.
2. Safety –
It’s just part of the industry. Sometimes it is not feasible to have large groups of people in certain areas during an event. Specifically at IRONMAN California, it was not feasible to have spectators at most of the racecourse. The finish line was available for spectators to cheer on their athletes during their final push, but the encouragement throughout the day was lackluster. Broadcasting allows spectators to continue tuning into the race.
3. Enjoyment –
While the spectators were not able to cheer their athletes on course, they were able to watch the race with other people cheering on their athletes. This creates a sense of community for the support crews of the athletes, continuing to grow the overall community of the sport. Participants are only one part of the sport. They would not be able to make it to the start line alone. Their support systems are there through their training, day in and day out. Growing the community of fans, family, and supporters will strengthen the community as a whole and maybe even spark interest in future athletes.
Here at BCC we had a group of people race in IRONMAN Coeur d’Alene and, now, we have new group racing in IRONMAN 70.3 Florida Haines City!
Broadcast for Any Size Event
Broadcasting might be a scary word that feels like it should only be used to describe LARGE events that are watched ACROSS the globe, like IRONMAN races, but broadcasting can be made to fit any sized event. Broadcasting adds value for the spectators, and provides accessibility to more people encouraging higher levels of engagement. Regardless of the type or size of event, everyone can benefit from increased reach and visibility.
If you have questions about broadcasting or are wondering if broadcasting is right for you and your event, reach out! We are always happy to explore how our services can help you!
In the end, the fault is all on our operations. We can’t depend on any one thing – we must always have a backup, an option b, and plans in place for anything.
Live, learn, care, and grow. Until next time. We Care So You Don’t Have Toooooooo.