34th America’s Cup and YouTube announce Media Partnership

by ACM on 12 Aug 2011 America's Cup organisers have announced a new media partnership with YouTube.

Focused on pushing the boundaries of fan interactivity, event organizers of the 34th America’s Cup and YouTube have announced a global partnership to elevate sports content consumption.

Combining the world-class content developed by the in-house America’s Cup Television (ACTV) and Technology teams with YouTube’s powerful media platform and livestreaming capabilities, the online partnership will deliver into people’s homes like never before. America’s Cup racing will now offer online viewers the choice of different video and audio streams – instead of one just view - thanks to the YouTube multi-screen experience.

'The new America’s Cup is all about transforming the way people see the sport of sailing and with YouTube, we can put the viewer in the driver’s seat of their experience, ' said Stan Honey, Director of Technology, America’s Cup Event Authority. 'With YouTube’s reach across vast, multi-generational audiences, we’re hugely excited about the potential of this partnership to reach broader audiences than ever before.'



With the player, viewers can choose from live footage onboard with a team, a graphical overview or an eagle’s eye view as part of the daily livestreaming from race events. In addition, viewers can select different audio tracks, either expert sailing or standard sports commentary. This feature will be available on both the America’s Cup YouTube channel and the America’s Cup website, and will compliment the live and highlights coverage offered by traditional broadcasters.

The bedrock of the experience is content more dynamic than America’s Cup has seen before. Event organizers have made a significant investment in the production of next-generation broadcast images and production to put the viewer at the heart of the action, onboard with America’s Cup teams.

'Our goal for YouTube Sports is to create a user experience unlike anything available today, so it's great to have compelling content produced in a very innovative way. The new America’s Cup livestream is exactly that, and will be even more dynamic as we build in new technology,' said Claude Ruibal, Global Head of Sports Content for YouTube. 'We believe that our partnership with the 34th America’s Cup will be a game-changer for viewers, providing global communities easy access to engaging content whenever and where ever they want it.'

The new AC45 wing-sailed catamarans provide a platform that is exceedingly quick, highly maneuverable and relentlessly demanding. The best sailors in the world will need both mental and physical strength to push the limits of the boats and themselves to gain the edge they need – without falling over it. And all of this action will be captured by onboard cameras and microphones that will be livestreamed through the multi-screen player.

The next phase of the partnership is focused on product development, where the library of America’s Cup content will be leveraged across a growing platform of YouTube features that will consistently increase fan connectivity over the next two years.

'Our partnership with YouTube will not just break new ground in sailing, but in international sport,' said Honey. 'And the revolution is just beginning as we work together to enhance the viewing experience with more special features from YouTube as we march to the America’s Cup events in 2013.'