Built for speed: Greenlight on how the King of the Roads Live streaming platform is bringing indie motorsport brands to global audiences By Heather McLean
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 - 09:40
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Greenlight Productions has been producing the Northwest 200 for live broadcast for nearly 20 years since 2007
Isle of Man-based production company, Greenlight, is the host broadcaster of a huge range of annual motorsport events throughout the UK and beyond, from the Isle of Man TT through to the Armoy Road Races in Northern Ireland and the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix.
For over a decade it has bought all the independent races together under a single brand - King of the Roads - through which it has sought distribution deals with broadcasters around the world.
The King of the Roads series ranks riders competing in the title Superbike race from each of the televised road racing events from each season, with riders gaining points based on their performances.
Read more Isle of Man TT: Inside Greenlight Productions' plan for ever-more cameras in this spectacle of a Manx racing event
From the narrow country lanes of Cookstown and Tandragee, via the Isle of Man's Southern 100, to the International North West 200 and Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix, these heroic competitors put their life on the line at speeds approaching 200mph in pursuit of the prestigious crown.
Going live
This year, King of the Roads as an overarching brand has been expanded to create King of the Roads Live, an over the top (OTT) platform that live streams several of the events each year.
In 2025 on King of the Roads Live, Southern 100 Road Races [9 and 10 July], the Aberdare Park Road Races [12 and 13 July], and Oliver's Mount Gold Cup [13 and 14 September] have and will be shown live on the platform for the first time.
Some of the Greenlight Productions crew working at the 2025 Northwest 200 for BBC Sport
Quayle explains why King of the Roads was initially created: Lots of these road racing events have been running for 75 to 100 years. They all run under different rules and they're all run by their own clubs, and as a consequence, they can't be altogether as a championship. They're very much run as separate events.
But that made it very hard to get international TV distribution for them because you're trying to sell one event to every broadcaster, he continues. So our solution to that was to list them all under the King of the Roads as a series. Basically, by virtue of us filming the event, you became part of the King of the Roads, so there was no commercial transaction, and the riders themselves didn't have to enter or anything like that; if they took part in a race and that race was our feature race of the King of the Roads for points, then they got points, he says. Those points gained in the King of the Roads races add up across motorcycle disciplines to make one person at the end of the year the King of the Roads.
The events in the series are by virtue of the fact that we've filmed them, and we find the commercial revenues to fund that. At the moment it's not sponsored.
The King of the Roads award is given annually at the Irish Motorbike Awards to the top performer. The award recognises outstanding achievements in the sport throughout the year, encompassing various races and championships.
Adds Quayle: We pick two races from each event and we award points on a similar basis to perhaps the [ATP rankings], where all the players play in all the events, but the events are separate. It is a very similar sort of idea to that.
Logical step
Over the last 10 years or so, Greenlight has produced highlights of the various races under the King of the Roads banner, which have then been sold onto broadcasters. This year it decided to use the technology it uses to produce the Isle of Man TT live to make the Southern 100 live for the first time also. 2022 was the first time Greenlight Productions went live with the Isle of Man TT, with that coverage going out to the organiser's own over the top (OTT) platform, TT Live Pass.
Although the TT is not part of the King of the Roads series, Greenlight operates from the Isle of Man and owns much of its own kit, so it seemed logical to take the Southern 100 live using the same set up.
Comments Quayle: This year for the first time we decided after our ability to do the TT live, we thought we'd have a go at doing the Southern 100 live.
Read more The triangle: Bringing the International Northwest 200 motorcycle race to BBC Sport viewers with Greenlight Productions
Continuing on why Greenlight decided to go live on King of the Roads with the Southern 100, Quayle says: The technology's there and it's a proven technology because we've been able to deliver the Isle Man TT [live] for the last three years. We've got good relationships on the Isle of Man with the various authorities the CAA for doing drones. So from a technical point of view, it was an easier one for us to do because we're literally driving 10 miles down the road with all our kit rather than having to jump on planes and all that kind of stuff.
And the ability to monetise it is now a lot easier than it was 10 years ago, he continues. So we're doing it very cost effectively with JW Player as the service provider behind the website to make it work and so far it seems to be ticking along quite nicely.
The production of the Southern 100, along with the other King of the Roads races, are entirely funded by Greenlight, which then finds outside funding through distribution deals. Additional profits over and above the cost of the production are then split with the race organisers.
Growing in 2026
As well as the three events listed on the King of the Roads website as being live on the platform this year, Greenlight is also hoping to be
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Built for speed: Greenlight on how the King of the Roads Live streaming platform is bringing indie motorsport brands to global audiences By Heather McLean 
