INDYCAR Brings Real-Time Automated Highlights to Fans through WSC Sports Partnership
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022) – INDYCAR, the sanctioning body for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and WSC Sports, the global leader in AI sports video technology, today announced they will partner for the 2022 INDYCAR season to bring AI-powered video highlights direct to fans.
WSC Sports’ platform identifies key moments in each race and automatically publishes highlights and content to NTT INDYCAR SERIES digital properties, along with driver and team social channels.
This is the first time AI-fueled technology will deliver real-time content directly to NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans, ultimately providing more access and personalized content to consumers across the racing season.
As the title sponsor and technology partner of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NTT collaborated with INDYCAR to architect a multi-year digital transformation roadmap to drive enhanced fan interaction and engagement, operational excellence and deliver SMART Racing and SMART venue innovations. To support execution, NTT not only lent its Smart Sports, Media and Entertainment business solutions, services and expertise, but those within its partner ecosystem which includes WSC Sports, an NTT-invested company, which NTT introduced to enable and enhance INDYCAR’s content creation and distribution capabilities.
INDYCAR initially started working with WSC Sports at the beginning of the 2021 season and based on the success of recent collaborations, the series is expanding to a fully automated highlights solution for the 2022 season that begins Sunday, Feb. 27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on NBC. In addition, the WSC Sports platform will help fuel exciting new fan experiences such as ingesting streams from all race cars with In Car Cameras (ICCs), providing fans with automatically generated real-time highlights from an unprecedented and unique point of view of the race from their favorite driver.
“It’s a thrill for us to be able to capture the excitement of INDYCAR racing and be able to share all the action with fans in real-time,” said Joe DaCosta, North America business development, WSC Sports. “Motorsports are a new focus for us in the U.S., and we are excited to be able to partner with a first-class organization like INDYCAR.”
“The fierce physical challenges and unrelenting pressure of driving in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will now be conveyed to millions of digital consumers in real time thanks to this partnership with WSC Sports,” said SJ Luedtke, INDYCAR vice president of marketing. “In partnership with NTT, we’re in the midst of an aggressive and dynamic transformation that will extend the reach of our sport and convey our bold and unique narrative in increasingly relevant ways.”
Using machine learning technology, the WSC Sports platform auto-detects, indexes and tags each moment from a race in real-time so that highlights can then be distributed to digital properties automatically and at scale. This helps INDYCAR engage with fans and expand their reach, grow their brand and explore new monetization opportunities for their racing content. This partnership adds to WSC Sports’ growing number of motorsports clients which already includes Extreme E and NASCAR.
About INDYCAR
INDYCAR is the Indianapolis-based governing body for North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and its developmental series, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES features an international field of the world’s most versatile drivers – including reigning series champion Alex Palou, six-time series champion Scott Dixon, two-time series champion Josef Newgarden and four-time and defending Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves – who compete on superspeedways, short ovals, street circuits and permanent road courses. The 2022 season consists of 17 races in the United States and Canada and is highlighted by the historic Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Indy Lights, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions are owned by Penske Corporation, a global transportation, automotive and motorsports leader. For more information on INDYCAR and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, please visit www.indycar.com. For more information on Indy Lights, please visit www.indylights.com.
About WSC Sports
WSC Sports’ proprietary AI technology platform, automates the creation and distribution of highlights for over 200 leagues and broadcast partners across the globe, including – NBA, NHL, ESPN, YouTubeTV, NASCAR, Extreme E and Tencent.
Utilizing advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies, the WSC Sports platform analyzes live sports broadcasts, identifies each and every event that occurs in a game, and in real-time creates and publishes customized short-form videos. This enables sports media rights owners to maximize the use of their content, creating new revenue streams and a personalized fan experience on every platform for every type of fan.
Sources: Dave Furst/INDYCAR PR