SYDNEY 19th January, 2023 – Over the next two seasons, New Zealand-based sports broadcaster CelloSport plans to ramp up use of LIGR’s sports production software to broadcast more than 1,500 live matches a year across multiple sports. This follows a successful trial of LIGR’s new features last October. CelloSport used the cloud-based platform to broadcast 50 games directly to YouTube over a single weekend from New Zealand’s Lotto National U19 Football Championship and generate fully automated highlights.

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Backed by telecoms company Cello, CelloSport uses Pixellot’s AI-powered automated camera technology to bring the best of New Zealand’s community sports to a wider audience.

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Chris Sambrooke, General Manager said, “LIGR Live is fully integrated with the Pixellot platform, so it was the natural choice for us, and it was effortless to integrate into our production setup. LIGR’s production tools have helped us take community sport to the next level in New Zealand.”

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The CelloSport team used the LIGR LiveScore app to score the games. The app allows broadcasters of community and junior sports events that sports data providers do not cover to benefit from LIGR’s powerful automation features, such as automated highlights and integrated advertising. The Pixellot camera feed is uploaded directly to the LIGR platform, and then, based on simple scoring inputs from the LiveScore app, match clips are trimmed and compiled in realtime. Based on preconfigured settings, LIGR Live users can decide which in-game events, such as kick-off, shots on target, or red and yellow cards, are included in highlights reels and add pre- and post-roll graphics with sponsors.

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Clips can be automatically posted to social channels with auto-generated captions or, as in CelloSport’s case, manually posted by social media teams immediately following the final whistle. This ensures that grassroots fans get to see the action as soon as the game is over and allows CelloSport to maximize audience engagement.

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LIGR Live allows CelloSport to easily integrate its sponsors’ ad campaigns across entire tournaments with just a few clicks. Instead of crowding the screen with sponsor logos like most community broadcasts, professional ad campaigns can be displayed during breaks in play and at halftime. LIGR users can also track displays and generate detailed advertiser reports, which can help grassroots broadcasters to attract higher-level sponsors.

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“CelloSport is right at the forefront of what’s possible with automated sports broadcasting,” said LIGR CEO Luke McCoy. “With automated camerawork and production, they can broadcast grassroots sports at scale with a very lean team – all with TV-quality production levels.”