Curling Stars In The Spotlight As World Governing Body Joins Sports Video Platform Recast With Live Coverage Of European Championships
17 November 2021
World Curling Federation joins UK-based sports Over-The-Top (OTT) platform Recast
Live coverage of the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2021, from 20-27 November, will be shown on Recast
Governing body joins as the build-up to World and Winter Olympics events intensifies
Curling's top names will be in the spotlight later this week as they compete at the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2021 - and fans will be able to follow all the action live, thanks to the sport's world governing body teaming up with ground-breaking sports video platform Recast.
The World Curling Federation is the latest rights holder that has chosen to stream exclusive content via the Over-The-Top (OTT) platform and eight days of fierce competition from Lillehammer in Norway will kick off a partnership that will bring fans on the road to next year's Winter Olympics.
With the Beijing showpiece only months away, and the men's and women's World Curling Championships not far behind, it is a crucial time in the curling calendar and spectators will be keen to see the athletes' form on the European stage.
With men and women's teams from the likes of Italy, Czech Republic and Scotland competing for honours as well as a place at the World events, the Championships will be divided into A, B and C divisions. Teams in the A-Division can qualify for the Worlds, while the two highest ranked teams behind them, as well as the winners and runners-up in the B-Division, will earn a spot at the World Qualification Event.
Due to existing broadcast restrictions, some games from the schedule may be internationally geo-blocked.
The World Curling Federation joins other governing bodies, including British Curling and British Fencing, on Recast, as well as English football giants Manchester City and global golf platform Secret Golf.
Their Recast channel will allow fans to generate money for the sport they love as they watch through the platform's unique micropayments system, and all funds generated through the channel will be reinvested into the development of curling.
Colin Grahamslaw, Secretary General of the World Curling Federation said: “We are pleased to partner with Recast for the Le Gruyère AOP European Championships. This is one of our largest and most prestigious events, and gives our elite European teams the opportunity to showcase our sport to the world ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
“Recast’s micropayment system gives us the unique opportunity to immediately share our broadcast revenue with our Member Associations and their elite teams. We are hopeful that with the success of this trial we will be able to make the broadcast production of international curling sustainable and ultimately allow us to increase our curling coverage.”
Andy Meikle, Founder and CEO of Recast, said: “We are delighted to welcome the World Curling Federation to Recast, and are looking forward to bringing what I am sure will be a week of unmissable competition at the European Championships to the sport's passionate fans.
"Recast is already successfully working with many other sporting bodies, and we are pleased to add the World Curling Federation to the growing list of rights owners revolutionising their digital strategy to monetise their content by going direct to consumer on Recast."
New content will be available immediately to curling fans on Recast, which helps sports and athletes to maximise their earning potential. This sees rights holders going direct-to-consumer and connecting fans to exclusive content via a subscription-free app, providing a new way to watch it all in one place.
See the action on the World Curling Federation's Recast channel, here
