432 Million homes on the planet are reached via cable satellite networks while, on-site, 11 TV stations, 7 international photo agencies and 50 media outlets take care of personalized broadcasts for the most important markets like the UK, Spain and Italy. The MotoGP TV Live signal reaches more than 200 countries for a grand total of 22,208 broadcasted hours. MotoGP media distributionġ50 media professionals work non-stop at every event to allow a detailed, tailor-made distribution. Graphics, telemetry, heartbeat modules and more are also taken care of by Dorna, and contribute to the stunning 14 Terabytes of content per race that’s then delivered worldwide through fiber and satellite also thanks to the support of Tata Communications. Finally, 13 RF cameras and 3 High speed cameras complete a tech park that’s able to bring to life the 66 feeds producing more than 1,266 hours of content per GP. More than 100 on board cameras are fitted to the 48 bikes.
130 microphones are also on track to capture the roaring of the engines and the unfortunate clanging of the numbing metal, while the famous Helicam flies over the track to provide the view from the sky. 28 4k HDR cameras capture the track feed, mounted on 50m scaffolds and manned by 28 operators backed by 15 technicians.
MotoGP Media ProductionĪs mentioned, more than 180 cameras operate during a race weekend to catch the action at its finest. Dorna produces and distributes over 18 hours of live programming per Grand Prix, processed through 66 live feeds and more than 180 cameras that are owned, operated and sometimes developed by Dorna personnel itself.Ī MotoGP Tech Lab and a MotoGP TV Compound can be found in the paddock at every round, making sure the various challenges of producing such a spectacle are exceeded and also making sure that the bigger broadcasters -such as Sky Italy, DAZN and BT- can carry out their work on site or off site. The Spanish company is nothing short of a proper media powerhouse, managing the top three class of motorcycle racing along a 19-round championship across 5 continents and 14 countries.
The MotoGP World Championship is a very good example of how a global sporting series is operated when it comes to building and sharing an entertainment product.ĭorna, the rights holder of the MotoGP Championship, takes care of the production and the distribution of the series throughout the whole season. It is now obvious that such ambitious plan requires a massive production and distribution strategy, setup and organization. The perfect mix was found: live sporting events, broadcasted globally and brought in every household via popular TV channels and tailor-made, high-performance digital services. Key elements like uncertainty and unpredictability made live matches, races and games enormously more appealing and valuable.
On the contrary, bigger, better screens started to appear in our living rooms and bedrooms with increasing frequency, powered by on-demand, hi-tech services like Netflix, Sky, Amazon Prime Video, DAZN and such.Įventually, and more important than that, sport marketers and entertainment professional realized that live events had an indisputable drive and importance in the general landscape. On the other hand, after the initial enthusiasm brought by the arrival of the Internet, it was however pretty clear pretty soon that the good ol’ TV set was not going anywhere. While the internet sure is a very powerful resource, it has also caused a massive cluttering issue and posed an interesting threat for properties and championships: with such varied and almost-infinite amount of possibilities for the casual viewer to choose from, how can we make sure he or she is actually tuning in on our broadcast?
I personally have fond memories of my teenage years, when our major source of information was provided by Upper Deck sport trading cards. People born before 1985 remember with a tad of nostalgia a time when you actually had to wait for specialized magazines to hit the newsagents or for late-night TV to provide some coverage. The casual reader might think that the internet has made everything easy on that front: nowadays computers, tablets and even phones allow fans to be in touch with their favorite content from everywhere, anytime. Do people watch the events on television? Does the series get the right coverage and the sufficient media exposure? Is it possible for the average household to catch the match, or the race with ease. As a motorsport marketing agency, one of the first questions we ask ourselves when we are looking at a new project is wether the sport we are discussing is popular among our target.