Louis Vuitton America’s Cup: audience records expected

The first races between the six crews on the AC75 monohulls took place on 22 August. With the second phase of the Round Robin underway on Tuesday, 3 September, Italy, England, the United States and France are currently leading the standings to qualify for the semi-finals and potentially face the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, in the Grand Final.

The America's Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy (1851) and one of the most difficult to win. As an iconic sailing event, it embodies excellence, innovation and passion for sailing and represents a unique maritime heritage. The competition has shattered speed records thanks to technological advances such as wing sails and revolutionary foils, with boats sailing at up to 53.31 knots, or nearly 99 km/h.

But despite its 174-year history, the America's Cup, which is taking place this year around Barcelona's Port Vell, still has a great deal of work to do in educating the general public about sailing. For this 37th edition, with the continuing aim of making sailing accessible to all, numerous resources are being deployed to optimise the competition's worldwide coverage. Available for broadcast in more than 200 territories, as well as on americascup.com, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, the America's Cup aims to increase its audience by more than 50% compared to the sailing audience records set in Auckland in 2021. In the previous edition, the event reached a total worldwide audience of 941 million viewers and streamers and a dedicated audience of 68.2 million.

This time, it has joined forces with more than 30 rights holders worldwide, providing coverage on all five continents. It is targeting a cumulative audience of over 1.4 billion viewers.

Production innovations include technologies for image quality, precision on course conditions and real-time location of boats; yachts, helicopters and chase boats equipped with up to 12 cameras; and finally, a system for predicting routes and analysing the tactics and strategy employed by the teams.

'Innovation and technology are built into the America's Cup at every level, so while the race teams are constantly striving to increase speed, we are looking for new ways to improve television coverage and innovate in every area, wherever possible,' said Grant Dalton, CEO of the America's Cup Event.

Numerous players forming a production consortium were involved in this media optimisation, namely Timeline Television, Animation Research Ltd/Virtual Eye, Grup Mediapro, Capgemini, Ridel, Amis Productions, Bolt 6, Eurovision Services and LittleDot.

'We're lucky to have such a dynamic and innovative production consortium, and I'm excited about what we have in store for viewers,' said Mark Sheffield, Director of Broadcasting.

In addition, an official documentary of this 37th edition will be broadcast in 2025 to offer a glimpse into the competitors' lives and quest for victory. The America's Cup Final will take place from 12 October 2024, when the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, will face the winner of the Challenger Selection Series in a 13-race head-to-head match.