Tata Communications brings ‘Virtual Video Assisted Referee’ solution for ‘anywhere refereering’

First deployment at SailGP, a nine-event season, giving global fans a thrilling and exciting experience

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, is enhancing the sports experience of fans with its Virtual Video Assisted Referee (V-VAR) solution. Powered by Tata Communications’ Media Cloud, this solution enables an unlimited number of umpires, referees and judges to connect remotely from anywhere across the globe to assess and declare the winner when contestants are racing to the finishing line, offering a high-tech, nail-biting experience to excited fans during a race. With this Tata Communications offers sporting events and federations the flexibility of ‘anywhere refereeing’.

SailGP, the global sailing championship, becomes the first sports organisation to deploy Tata Communications’ V-VAR for its nine-event season spanning 2021-22 with its umpires located in London, Portugal and New Zealand. SailGP Season 2 spans across Bermuda, Italy, UK, Denmark, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. For the league’s second season, Tata Communications is carrying 20+ video feeds from the broadcast centre at the event venue-site. Every signal is instantly available in Tata Communications’ Media Cloud enabling incredible processing power. Through these applications, V-VAR takes the widely popular concept of Video Assistant Referee to the next level, allowing judges from all over the world to analyse the action and officiate remotely as if they were on the ringside of the event.

Warren Jones, Chief Technology Officer, SailGP said: “We are excited to be the first sport to use Tata Communications’ Virtual Video Assisted Referee solution. We are constantly looking at ways to innovate and use technology to not only bring our global fans closer to the action, but also create digital solutions that support our Race for the Future ethos. The V-VAR not only ensures that our umpires have immediate access to all the data needed to make crucial, split-second decisions, but also – by being able to operate remotely – we reduce the carbon footprint of our umpiring operations.”

In addition to the V-VAR solution, SailGP also leverages Tata Communications’ Video Delivery Network (VDN) – a next generation low latency streaming platform for delivering a broadcast experience direct to consumer. VDN combines the best parts of traditional broadcasting and new-age OTT applications, providing high quality, low latency, synchronous viewing along with the interactivity and next generation data feeds, providing a truly unique experience. The VDN-powered SailGP app was available to the sailing fans at the Bermuda event, enhancing their event interaction while enjoying the live competition.

Dhaval Ponda, Global Head of Media & Entertainment Business at Tata Communications, commented, “We are happy to further digital innovation & help reduce carbon footprint in live sports through Virtual Video Assisted Referee solution. Also, our low latency streaming solution enables global sports federations deliver video in sync or faster than live TV. From umpires to fans, these digital solutions enable organisations to offer a thrilling and high-drama experience to the entire sports ecosystem.” He adds, “Our experience of delivering over 9,000 global live events across multiple sports disciplines, has so far reached over 2 billion sports fans with sports content delivered across various broadcast platforms. We are excited to be a part of SailGP, a one-of-its-kind global event, and are looking forward to an exciting season.”

With a dedicated and secondary TV audience of 257 million in its first year, SailGP is an annual global sailing championship that showcases world-leading sustainability, technology and entertainment to accelerate change. In SailGP Season 1, over 133,000 spectators watched the event live and cutting-edge technology helps enthusiasts get closer to the action than ever before through a close-to-shore stadium racing format, innovative broadcasting and an award-winning app. Each Sail Grand Prix includes two competition days, featuring five fleet races leading to a final winner-takes-all race to decide each event winner. The nine-event season culminates in a Grand Final in San Francisco in March 2022 where the team’s face-off in a single 15-minute race for the sport’s largest monetary prize.