Pent-up demand for Grand Slam of Curling action fuels explosive international growth
(May 5, 2021, Toronto, ON and San Diego, CA) Online ticket revenues from international territories watching two 2021 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events — the Humpty’s Champions Cup and Princess Auto Players’ Championship — skyrocketed over 600% above the last events held in 2019. The Humpty’s Champions Cup and Princess Auto Players’ Championship were cancelled in 2020 and the start of this season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. International fans were more than ready for action to resume subscribing to the service in record numbers.
Throughout the month of April, over 10,000 fans generated approximately 45,000 sessions on the international service. Visitors from 82 countries accessed the site, with the vast majority of sessions originating in the U.S., Japan, U.K., Switzerland and Sweden.
California-based Visaic, operators of the GSOC service, streamed over 70 hours of live curling action throughout the competitions to the international audience. Signal acquisition and video processing was handled by Visaic’s Canadian office. Broadcast coverage was produced by Sportsnet with online streaming available in Canada on the network’s service, SN NOW. The International service debuted a new interactive feature called GSOC Rocks that enabled fans to participate in curling trivia games and predict event outcomes.
“The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling International Service has consistently delivered double digit year-over-year growth,” stated Visaic CEO Kanaan Jemili, “and this huge increase in consumer uptake exemplifies how quality video production, user-friendly fan interfaces and demand for specialty sports can quickly attract new fans throughout new territories.”
Kristi Petrushchak, Senior Manager, Grand Slam of Curling at Sportsnet added, “It’s great to see these events expanding beyond our Canadian borders. We know how important it is for diehard curling fans around the world to be able to see so many world class curlers competing in one place. We’re incredibly grateful to be back in action and delighted to see that so many fans world-wide have tuned in to this April’s Grand Slam events.”
About Visaic
Visaic provides solutions to address changing content distribution models in sports, broadcasting and entertainment. The company focuses on helping organizations implement market strategies that generate new over-the-top (OTT) digital revenues and help grow their audience and brand. Clients range from amateur sports teams and associations to major broadcasters, professional leagues, and marquee entertainment properties. The company website is www.visaic.com
Contact:
Jason Nicol, VP Marketing
p: +1 (619) 800-5297
e: info@visaic.com