World Rally contract revs up Virtual Spectator

By CHRIS BARTON IT editor

Auckland-based Virtual Spectator has signed a 10-year revenue-sharing deal worth "tens of millions of dollars" to provide live internet coverage of the World Rally Championship.

The contract with International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), which owns the rally's TV and commercial rights, will also involve Virtual Spectator adding 3D animated graphics to TV coverage of the event.

Virtual Spectator staff have begun driving and mapping the rally course terrain of the 14 countries, including New Zealand, where the event is staged.

Using data from car-mounted global positioning systems (GPS) and video cameras, the company then creates "3D flyovers" of each course.

Rally fans got their first glimpse of course overview graphics on the delayed TV coverage of Rally Argentina at the beginning of May.

The graphics will be progressively enhanced to a full 3D flyover in time for the Network Q Rally of Great Britain in November. Live 3D animated internet coverage is due to start in January 2002.

By then, rally cars will be equipped with an ICS-developed black box which transmits not only real-time GPS data, but also data from the car such as speed, revs and when the driver brakes or accelerates.

Internet users, who will buy a "season ticket" to subscribe to various levels of service, will also get streaming audio commentary and, eventually, the option of in-car audio and video.

Virtual Spectator executive vice-president, technology, Craig Meek says the deal will showcase the rally to a global audience, as it happens, in a range of extreme weather and rugged terrain. But the internet provides other benefits.

"Viewers will be able to see all rally cars and their positions superimposed together on the virtual course - something they can't get on traditional TV coverage with cars on timed starts one after the other."

Mr Meek says the deal will transform motorsport viewing, just as Virtual Spectator did with its TV graphics and internet coverage of sailing in the America's Cup, The Race and the Vendee Globe. The last two events attracted 55,000 subscribers each paying $US9.95.

Chairman Lindsay Fergusson said the worldwide cumulative audience of about 495 million rally fans was a huge opportunity involving a multimillion-dollar investment by the company.

As well as subscriptions, other revenue would come from internet advertising and online sales of motorsport merchandise.

He said contract talks began with ISC last July but gained momentum when chairman David Richards saw Virtual Spectator's TV graphics of several stages of the Propecia Rally of New Zealand. The company's ability to provide both TV and internet graphics and animations was a key advantage. ISC's role will be to market the internet service, which will include advertising, direct marketing and a free cover-mounted Virtual Spectator CD-Rom on the World Rally magazine which has a print run of 400,000.