RCS LaunchPad powers Premier League match analysis for YouTube series

The Kick Off with Coral recently launched on YouTube Live to more than 500K views, with digitally enhanced football match analysis powered by Reality Check Systems’ LaunchPad touchscreen sports graphics solution. Produced by Formidable Productions and sponsored by betting powerhouse Ladbrokes Coral, the new show provides pre, post and live Premier League match commentary from hosts TrueGeordie and Laurence McKenna, and guests such as Dave O’Brien and Mr. DT, in a casual format.

A core part of the series concept, LaunchPad is tapped throughout each episode. TrueGeordie and McKenna often use LaunchPad to deliver analysis on everything from formations to player performance, as well as their potential impacts on match and betting outcomes.

LaunchPad is installed on a small desktop touchscreen that the hosts control from the comfort of their sofa. Using its intuitive controls, they can easily switch between a live feed of their show, full screen graphics and a full screen graphic with a lower video box featuring their live show feed. The system was integrated as part of a season-long deal, and will continue to play a key role in the show’s evolution.

“LaunchPad has allowed us to deliver stats-based professional quality punditry, which is normally reserved for Sky and Match of the Day, to the True Geordie YouTube audience and they love it,” said Pete Gibbons, Creative Director of Formidable. “It integrates seamlessly into our Blackmagic vision mixing hardware, and the Opta stats look great because of the design work RCS’ team have done for us. The functionality allows Dave and Laurence to showcase their knowledge and back up their opinions.”

“Using RCS LaunchPad on ‘#TheKickOff with Coral’ has raised the bar for all football shows on YouTube. We’ve not only got software that’s on par with Sky Sports and Match of The Day, but we are also able to analyse during the game, said Ladbrokes Coral Group Head of Social Media Elliot Hackney.

LaunchPad is a real-time touchscreen sports graphics and analysis solution powered by RCS’ cloud data service, Foundation, which automatically culls Opta’s football match data, sorts and organises the information and makes it accessible as dynamic visualisations via a touchscreen. Available in any language and a portable form factor, LaunchPad helps networks and leagues, such as BBC Sport, Univision Deportes, beIN Sports, SBS Discovery, Eurosport and MBC Sports, as well as OTT programmes like The Kick Off with Coral, connect fans more closely to football.