ICC to bring memories of ICC World Twenty20 direct to the fans
Cricket fans will be able to view full match highlights of their favourite teams in action at the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 tournament direct from the International Cricket Council website thanks to an initiative that will make archive footage available in all regions around the world.
In association with internet streaming company Vividas, the ICC is set to conduct a product trial aimed at distributing the footage direct to the sports fan. The product will be an ICC-branded, pay-per-view video portal linked to its website from which internet users can stream ICC match highlights.
The trial will be offered to the general public from 14 May to 31 July with high-definition footage from last year’s ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa being packaged and streamed through the website. A 60-minute highlights package will cost up to a maximum of US$4 and will be even cheaper in some regions – as low as US$2 for an hour of top-class cricketing action.
“This is going to be a great way for people to view their favourite players or teams whenever they like,” said ICC General Manager – Commercial, Campbell Jamieson.
“This is about making this unique and spectacular event more accessible to people, particularly those who live in regions where cricket does not receive much coverage on television. We want to get closer to the fans so that viewers in, say, Malaysia , Germany or Argentina, will be able to watch cricket whenever they like even though broadcasters in their countries might not show it very often,” said Mr Jamieson.
“The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was an exciting event. People remember Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in one over, Chris Gayle’s century in the opening match, Brett Lee’s hat-trick and the thrilling final at the Wanderers. And they want to see those moments again and again.
“Vividas was chosen because its streamed image can deliver video content via the internet in previously unachievable quality – without the need for downloads, without firewall issues and in high-definition quality,” he said.
According to Paul Neville, CEO of Vividas Group plc, the technology will help to continue the globalisation of cricket and take it to a wider audience. He said: “The business community has embraced this technology for corporate communications and it’s great to see it now being used for streaming this major sporting event.
“Because of the unlimited scalability of Vividas’s technology, the stream is unaffected by the number of viewers, contrasting with traditional streaming technologies and making it perfect for a major sports event with a virtually unlimited number of viewers.
Vividas Group plc is a developer and provider of video technologies, which enable full-screen, high-quality video via the internet or corporate networks without requiring previously installed software. Vividas proprietary technology overcomes the disadvantages of competing solutions that typically offer only partial-screen or poor quality full-screen viewing and generally require the user to install specialist player software.