From May 28 to June 11, 2022, the otherwise quiet scenic countryside of the Isle of Man will be home to some of the most thrilling racing action in the world as the famed Tourist Trophy makes a comeback. The Isle of Man TT, following a hiatus due to COVID-19, is slated to return this year, with both new and seasoned racers entering the ranks. For the first time ever, too, the IOMTT will be broadcasted live for people all over the world to see.
Our friends over in The Land Down Under at MCNews.Au were able to speak to the Isle of Man TT Business Development Manager Paul Phillips regarding what we can expect from the most modern, and quite possibly the most exciting season of the legendary tourist trophy. Given the fact that more than 40 hours of racing action will be made available for subscribers of its proprietary online streaming platform called OTT, developed in partnership with video streaming service Vimeo.
Phillips states that he’s very optimistic about the upcoming Isle of Man TT, especially since it’ll be more accessible to people all over the world than ever before. Prior to this year’s season, you’d have to make do with replays and independent reports if you wanted to follow the racing action in real time, but couldn’t be physically present at the Isle of Man. This year, that’s all about to change, especially if the coverage is done extremely well, as it could have more people than ever before interested in the racing series.
In the exclusive interview with MCNews.Au, Phillips stated,
“I think done well, live coverage of sport does not turn fans away from it, quite the opposite, it brings fans to the event, all successful sports worldwide are broadcast live, the attraction is that if it’s done very well, that experience is great, for a device or box in the corner of your living room, but the best thing is to be there and experience it yourself.”
Unsurprisingly, coming up with the whole broadcast strategy for the Isle of Man TT isn’t just all about setting cameras up all over the place, and sending the footage straight to the internet. In order to create content that captivates audiences, IOMTT management had to think of ways of bridging the gaps present within its audience. Generational gaps, folks with varying degrees of enthusiasm, as well as folks who are seeing the Isle of Man TT for the first time—all these things were taken into consideration when coming up with the broadcasting strategy.
MCNews.Au highlighted a key element in making this year’s racing even more engaging—something that can be difficult to capture if you’re watching it live, but can be done so through broadcast: emotion. The Isle of Man TT is by far one of the most treacherous and grueling events in motorsport, and being able to effectively capture and convey the smorgasbord of emotions in the heat of racing will surely make for something compelling to watch. Think F1’s docuseries Drive to Survive—a successful Netflix series likened to in MCNews.Au’s interview.
All that being said, we can expect to get a whole new perspective in this year’s IOMTT. While watching the racing live and at-venue still offers an unparalleled experience, getting a taste of the action via livestream also opens doors to seeing a whole different aspect of racing—a glimpse into the teams, individual racers, and colorful personalities that make up the Isle of Man TT.
