SailGP focuses on social media audiences during inaugural season finale with Grabyo By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, October 7, 2019 - 17:08
Print This Story
The Australian SailGP Team F50 skippered by Tom Slingsby AUS races across Sydney Harbour
Global sailing league SailGP is strategically using its digital media output to bring new viewers into the sailing fan base, as the fast-maturing competition seeks to give the sport a makeover in order to increase its popularity.
Tim Godfrey, SailGP chief marketing officer, told SVG Europe: I absolutely see this as a racing product, not just a sailing product. The F50, which is the class of boat we use, is currently the fastest course racing sailboat in the world. It's extreme.
This is a super-charged version of the sport. This is competitive inshore racing; this is not the Ocean Race a year-long race around the world - this is fast racing on the water that leaves you wanting more.
Delivering highlights to social
SailGP captured vast social audiences during its 2019 finale by delivering real-time highlights to social media using Grabyo.
Godfrey commented: We wanted to supercharge our final two events of the season by thinking about how we could attract new audiences. We obviously have our live, linear product distributed over many broadcasters globally, but we wanted to think about how to add to our owned and operated channels.
We chose Grabyo to enable our near-live clipping, clipping big incidents throughout the racing, he said.
Godfrey said that previously, SailGP was clipping and sharing itself in a labour-intensive process. Before, we were essentially clipping the moment' and manually posting it out to our channels, whereas with Grabyo it's a seamless, one-click, which enables us to post to multiple channels at one time.
Sail GP in New York
Pushing the limits
The nature of SailGP is to push the limits of the sport. As such, Grabyo's browser-based video tools allowed the digital team to create and share social videos that explained and explored the technology of SailGP's fleet of six F50 catamarans.
As the dramatic events of the final race unfolded, Grabyo's cloud video platform enabled SailGP to clip, edit and deliver social videos and highlights to Facebook and Twitter in real-time. Fans across the world were able to access live video updates from the waters in Marseille as they happened.
The most thrilling moment of the race, when the Australian and Japanese boats nearly touched during a daring manoeuvre, was shared to social media moments after it happened, creating a live buzz across social media.
Godfrey added: We've enjoyed a phenomenal first season, which was capped off by a thrilling last day of racing. It was vital to us to be able to share the drama and excitement of SailGP with people all over the world, and Grabyo enabled us to do so live, allowing fans to feel like they were there.
Aaron Duckmanton, Grabyo head of marketing, commented: The final race day of SailGP's brilliant first season is a perfect example of why sporting leagues need to ensure they can easily deliver content to fans worldwide in real-time. Sport is unpredictable, and nobody wants to miss a moment of the action; social platforms still represent the best platform for sports like SailGP to grow and educate audiences.
Next season plans
Established in 2018, the organisation's first year of operation included the inaugural season of SailGP, which visited three continents across five events, 29 races and a spectacular championship finale between the year's top-two national teams.
Godfrey said of SailGP's first year of existence and the technologically advanced approach it has taken to broadcasting that SailGP has pushed technology to the limits this year. We're quite a mature broadcaster after only five events. I sometimes have to remind myself it's only been five events! he added.
In terms of next season, we want to enhance the app and grow the sport, taking it outside of our core sailing fans, continued Godfrey. We see digital and broadcasting working in tandem. Being able to drive the [new] fan [to broadcasts] via near-live clips [is key]. If you are a fan or if aren't an avid fan, and you come across a near-live clip that links to a broadcaster, you can click on that.
He added: We'll certainly have a period of consultation with our partners on what has worked and what didn't work as well, and we'll talk to our global broadcasters before we make any decisions for next year. More analysis is going to be key, demystifying sailing terminology, making it more understandable for fans for years to come will be important.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
SailGP focuses on social media audiences during inaugural season finale with Grabyo By Heather McLean, Editor 
