Internet Broadcasting Can Supply Extreme Applications For Extreme Sports

Nearly three decades ago, the only extreme sport that received any, albeit minimal, television broadcasting was professional skateboarding. In the early to mid eighties, skateboarding experienced its second boom (the first being in the seventies), and with the entrance of extremely marketable skateboarders such as Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, and Mark “Gator” Ragowski, skateboard companies and clothiers such as Vision Skatewear, Airwalk, and Jimmy’Z were experiencing a sales heyday as well, with revenues in the millions. Today, the extreme sports phenomenon is seeing exposure like never before. With the addition of the X-Games nearly a decade ago, extreme sports from bicycle motocross to snowboarding are receiving their share of television broadcast time on the major networks as well as even having their own cable network channels dedicated to extreme sports broadcasts. As viewership grows, opportunities grow for promoters to reach out to new markets and new generations by expanding their presence on the Internet. Internet broadcasting could be the new extreme sports broadcasting solution.

With the interactive applications offered by Internet broadcasting providers like Whiteblox, extreme sporting events can attract their computer-savvy viewers more than ever. Imagine watching your favorite skateboarding competition, and being allowed to, at-will, switch between a multitude of cameras, from those mounted on the halfpipe’s deck, to one mounted on a crane above, or even a tiny camera mounted within your favorite competitor’s helmet. The skater’s point of view as he or she enters the ramp from twelve to fifteen feet in the air, at their trick’s apex is one few ever get to see unless they are skilled professionals themselves. Just as the visuals could be manipulated to tailor the viewer’s tastes, audio could be fine tuned as well. Viewers could be allowed to hear the banter between competitors on deck by switching to the appropriate audio feed. This sort of interactivity allows the viewer to feel they are really a part of the action without having to travel to the events themselves. Watching an event on the Internet can allow you to get closer to the action while offering extras that could never be available to the ticket buyer viewing the event on site. How many times have you watched a live sporting event, hoping to see a particularly amazing trick again, maybe even from a different camera angle, and it isn’t shown? Never again with new live Internet broadcast abilities that are emerging. You would be able to view the trick again and again, perhaps even within a separate viewing window, while live action is still available to view.

The possibilities and applications provided by Internet broadcasting are endless, and companies like Texas’ Whiteblox are continuously striving to develop new and exciting ways to help their customers reach the global marketplace.

About the Author: Gregory Demetriades is Chief Executive Officer of Whiteblox, a leading provider of integrated broadband video solutions.