SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - Last Saturday, Group Editors took a huge step into new media territory when the online team grabbed their studio's television cameras and headed for a packed Outeniqua Park Stadium in George.
Group Editors Live planned the day like a military operation in order to bring the SWD Super League Rugby final action live to TV screens, laptops and mobile phones all across the globe.
Rugby, and especially club rugby, is incredibly popular in the Garden Route, Hessequa and Karoo, but none of the club games are broadcast live, leaving thousands of rugby supporters who are unable to attend the games on match day, out in the cold.
Group Editors decided to jump in to fill this need and after speaking to SWD Rugby, permission was obtained from SA Rugby to livestream the final. The first of many to come!
It was mission accomplished on 14 September as Group Editors made local media history by livestreaming the match on its Group Editors YouTube channel - and boy, what a match it turned out to be.
The players from Heidelberg and Great Brak more than lived up to expectations and Group Editors broadcast 100 minutes of non-stop action, but even with overtime, the match ended in a draw as both teams refused to bend the knee.
Group Editors live producer Cameron Squire, together with his cameramen, followed the action meticulously, always cutting to the perfect camera angle to get the best shot.
Rugby commentator Pierre Bloem delivered excellent running commentary while interviewers, Roy Sparks and Jeff Ayliffe spoke to the SWD rugby top brass before kick-off and during halftime.
Even without making a huge hoo-ha about the intended livestream before the game and just posting the Group Editors YouTube livestream link on our Facebook Pages, an impressive 35 000 people ended up watching the game on the Group Editors YouTube channel. And we are very happy to say that the viewers had words of high praise for the professional, enjoyable manner in which our first-ever Group Editors YouTube live broadcast was done.
This is but the first of many sporting and other events that we intend to livestream, so keep an eye on our social media platforms, websites and papers for news about upcoming events.
In the meantime, view our videos - news, sport, entertainment and commercial - on the Group Editors YouTube channel.
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