LiveU Brings Spedeworth TV’s Thrilling Track Races to More Fans Than Ever
Spedeworth TV has upgraded its live streaming capabilities by integrating LiveU’s lightweight cloud production solution, enabling faster, more reliable and scalable coverage of domestic and world championship motorsport events for fans across the globe
To fuel the passion of motorsport fans worldwide, Spedeworth TV has turbocharged its live streaming capabilities by adopting LiveU’s lightweight cloud live production solution. The popular track racing VOD platform, known for its Hot Rod, Stock Car and Banger Racing content, now delivers high-octane coverage more efficiently and at a greater scale than ever before.
Following a successful test run earlier this year, Spedeworth TV, a long-time LiveU customer, upgraded from a LiveU Solo setup to a full broadcast-quality workflow. They rolled out several LiveU compact LU300S units alongside the LiveU Studio cloud-native video production service to power a mix of live and on-demand content across its own digital platforms, plus Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Firestick and other services. With races taking place almost every weekend, ranging from domestic, international and World Final competitions, including the recent National Hot Rods World Championship, this upgrade marks a new era for Spedeworth TV. What was once a handful of live streamed events is now a flexible, full-throttle production system capable of going live from any track, any time and with fewer resources.
Tom Newman, who is the Creative Director at Summer Isle Films, the production company behind Spedeworth TV said, “It would be impossible to get an OB on-site and the costs don’t add up. The LiveU solution has really accelerated what we’re able to do and made it affordable to produce and watch. It makes the production far better because our team has full control, which also means they can be more creative. LiveU opens the door to more live streams, and in tight spots, which makes going live much easier. Our audience numbers have immediately increased, bringing in more revenue and raising the interest of the sport and the profile of the channel.”
Spedeworth TV delivers all live streams using a multi-camera setup designed to capture the action from any angle. From fixed cameras covering the track to roaming operators capturing all the drama, as well as aerial shots from a drone and immersive live onboard footage, content is seamlessly brought together in real time.
Everything is mixed at Summer Isle Film’s facility in Suffolk, UK, using LiveU Studio. The crew stays fully connected via Studio’s Audio Connect tool, allowing producers to communicate directly with camera operators no matter where they are positioned around the track. Footage from the ISO system is pulled for instant replays and edited into adrenaline-packed highlights packages. The LiveU cloud solution also allows the team to insert ads and to generate new revenue opportunities. Spedeworth TV further pushed production boundaries recently by trialling mobile phones as onboard cameras, ratchet-strapped to posts inside the cars. With LiveU Studio’s Remote Capture tool, they could speak directly to drivers and bring viewers thrilling, real-time action straight from the heart of the race.
“There are several other tools that are really important,“ adds Newman. “The streams go behind our gated paywall so people are watching pay-to-play, but LiveU Studio enables us to split a section of the stream off to our Facebook or YouTube at the click of a button. This means we can show one race or half a race straight to social media channels, and then link it to the page. That’s an instant spike. The power of being able to do things very quickly, to increase sales is brilliant.
“Also prior to going live now, we can go around the pits, do interviews, pre recordings and edit all that content in LiveU Studio. This means it can be packaged up and sent out half an hour before the stream starts inviting people to subscribe to watch the race. Again, that’s an instant spike. We would never have been able to do this before and the quality is like you‘re there.”
Matthew Stringer, Sales Director UK, LiveU adds, “Spedeworth TV is a fantastic example of how sports organizations can scale their productions to reach wider audiences, boost engagement, and unlock new revenue opportunities. By increasing its live stream capability, Spedeworth TV is not only expanding its reach from the younger generation to older fans but also creating immediate value for sponsors and fans alike. There’s also real potential for additional innovations like full remote studio setups in the future.”