SailGP: The New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, Christchurch, March 2024
The next round of SailGP gets underway this weekend (23-24 November), with the 2025 season of the sailing series billed as the “most expansive yet”, with more teams, races and a host of production innovations.
The nation-versus-nation sailing league, in which an identical fleet of F50 catamarans reach speeds approaching 100 km/h (60 mph), takes place over a 12-month period (starting and finishing in the United Arab Emirates), with the season opener in Dubai this weekend.
“The production of sailing events has always been at the forefront of new ways of covering sport…and Sail GP as an entity is really, really pushing the boundaries.”
Over the course of the season there will be 14 events, including new locations such as Rio de Janeiro and Geneva. Plus, racing returns to the UK with SailGP’s first event in Portsmouth, next July.
The fleet of teams is also expanding; by the second event (Auckland), there will be 12 boats on the start line, which is double the number when SailGP’s first events took place back in 2019.
More teams and events will of course result in more video feeds, more content and more output for the London-based remote production team to manage and distribute.
There will also be more broadcasters showing live races and highlights, with new deals in place with the likes of ZDF in Germany.
There will also be several new production features, including the introduction of a second gallery to support additional broadcaster requirements, a new studio that will allow umpires to appear on screen, an expansion to the LiveLine augmented graphics offering to keep viewers within SailGPs AR environment, plus plans for AI-enabled autonomous cameras placed in the water around the course.
These will build on the various additions made during the 2024 season, when SailGP introduced a roaming RF camera and reporter out on the water that could get alongside the racing yachts in their own boat to do in-person interviews.
“We got great feedback on that,” says SailGP executive producer Chris Carpenter. “It was good to be able to talk to the sailors face-to-face and not via an onboard camera; it brought a lot more character and raw reaction into our shows.”
Along with camera supply and operation partner, Amis Productions, SailGP also introduced an on-water, gyro-stabilised, super slow-motion camera, which added a whole new element to our production, says Carpenter.
“The F50 catamarans fly at close to 100km/h, and it was incredible to see footage of them at 250fps. This incredible new footage not only raised the production value for the live broadcast but was also used in countless promos, sizzles, TVCs, and more.”
Watch Interview with SailGP’s Melissa Lawton: Content and tech innovation at SailGP
Arguably the biggest change last season was bringing the design and operation of the whole of SailGP’s graphics systems in-house, which led to a completely new graphics redesign – both the augmented LiveLine graphics with a matching 2D pack.
New titles, stings, wipes and music were added, which gave the broadcast a totally new look, says Carpenter.
“The production of sailing events has always been at the forefront of new ways of covering sport because it’s so difficult to cover. It can be a challenge to tell the story of what’s happening, so we have always had to be technologically advanced and try things out to help make sense of the action for viewers. Also, it’s not a mainstream sport, and so we have to make it look interesting for people. And Sail GP as an entity is really, really pushing the boundaries.”
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