How The Pits TV powers its motorsport OTT platform with Castr
By moving from separate tools to Castr, The Pits TV runs live race broadcasts, paid viewing, on-demand replays, and content protection through one connected workflow.
For The Pits TV, the broadcast is the business
Based in Invercargill, The Pits TV is one of New Zealand’s largest private live streaming operators for motorsport.
Rather than posting coverage on third-party platforms, the company runs its own paid OTT service. Fans follow live races, watch replays, and stream premium programming directly under The Pits TV brand.
Running its own platform gives The Pits TV control over how it delivers and monetizes its content. But it also means the team is responsible for everything behind the viewing experience, from getting a reliable feed out of the racetrack to making sure paying viewers can access the content they’ve purchased.
A live race cannot wait for separate systems to catch up
Streaming motorsport comes with a particular set of challenges. Races happen at different venues, internet connections aren’t always predictable, and there’s no opportunity to pause a live event because something in the streaming workflow isn’t working.
Before Castr, the team used separate systems for different parts of its video operation. Getting the live feed online was one job. Preparing replays was another. Managing access to paid content and keeping streams protected added more work.
What The Pits TV needed was fairly straightforward: fewer systems to manage, more reliable live delivery, and a way to handle everything from the incoming feed to the final replay.
The team’s priorities were:
- Reduce the number of tools behind the platform
- Stream live races reliably, including from remote venues
- Deliver live races inside a branded, paid OTT experience
- Make replays available quickly after events
- Protect paid content from unauthorized sharing
- Get technical support when events are actually happening
One platform instead of several disconnected tools
The Pits TV wasn’t looking for another tool to add to its streaming setup. It wanted to simplify the one it already had.
Castr brought together the services the team needed to run its OTT platform: live streaming, video hosting, replay publishing, and content protection. It also supported SRT ingest and regional ingest options, which mattered for getting live feeds from racetracks into the platform.
But the technology was only part of the decision. Unlike a typical video hosting workflow, live motorsport has fixed broadcast windows. If something goes wrong during an event, waiting until the next business day isn’t an option. Castr’s dedicated technical support gave The Pits TV a team it could work with during setup, testing, live broadcasts, and post-event operations.
That combination of streaming infrastructure and hands-on support made Castr a fit for the way The Pits TV operates.
From the racetrack to the replay library, all in Castr
The Pits TV moved its streaming workflow to Castr, bringing live contribution, OTT delivery, video hosting, replays, and content protection into one platform.
Instead of managing separate systems for each stage, the team can now handle the event from the moment a feed leaves the racetrack to the point where fans watch the replay.
SRT contribution and regional ingest
Live delivery through The Pits TV’s OTT service
Live-to-VOD replay publishing
Premium viewer access
HLS protection and viewer watermarking
Technical support aligned with live events
Reliable streams from remote racetracks
Not every racetrack has a dedicated fiber connection or a predictable network. Depending on the venue, The Pits TV might have to work with local internet, mobile networks, bonded connections, or satellite. These are normal challenges in remote sports production, but they can make delivering a consistent live stream difficult.
To keep the feed steady, The Pits TV sends its camera feeds to Castr using SRT, a protocol built to handle packet loss over unstable connections, paired with regional ingest servers close to New Zealand venues. From there, Castr handles live transcoding and delivery straight into The Pits TV’s OTT platform, so fans get a smooth broadcast on any device.
For The Pits TV, this provides a more reliable way to get live feeds from the venue into its OTT platform.
Instant Live-to-VOD publishing
For motorsport fans, an event does not end with the live broadcast. Viewers expect to watch replays immediately after a race ends.
For The Pits TV, replays are an important part of its streaming service, not just an archive of old broadcasts.
Previously, handling the transition from a live event to on-demand content meant working across separate systems.
With Castr’s Live-to-VOD workflow, the team can manage this transition within the same platform.
Once a live event finishes, its recording can be made available through the video library without a separate hosting workflow.
That means fewer manual steps, faster replay publishing, and a growing library of motorsport coverage that fans can return to after the live event.
It also means the team doesn’t have to manage two completely different workflows for live and on-demand video.
Stream protection and watermarking
The Pits TV makes money by selling access to its motorsport coverage. So when someone copies a stream or shares access without permission, it affects the value of the content the company produces.
The team needed ways to protect its premium broadcasts without making things complicated for legitimate viewers.
Castr provides HLS stream protection, access-based playback controls, and viewer-identifiable watermarking.
The watermarking is particularly useful for paid events. It allows viewer-identifying information to be associated with playback, helping the team trace the source of unauthorized sharing.
Dedicated live event support
Live sports doesn’t run on a typical support schedule. Events can happen on weekends, outside office hours, and at venues where unexpected technical problems are part of the job.
For The Pits TV, having access to people who understand its streaming setup is an important part of keeping broadcasts running.
Castr works directly with the team on event configuration, OTT setup, SRT ingest, replay publishing, content protection, and viewer access issues.
The advantage is continuity. Rather than explaining its entire streaming setup to a different support team each time, The Pits TV can work with people who already understand how its service operates.
That helps the team troubleshoot issues and make changes without losing time during a live event.
A simpler way to manage the full lifecycle of an event
With Castr, The Pits TV has brought the main parts of its streaming operation together.
Live feeds from racetracks, premium OTT delivery, replay publishing, and content protection now operate within the same platform.
For the team, the biggest change is how much less coordination is needed between different systems.
A finished race can move into the replay library without switching to a separate hosting service. Paid content can be protected through the same streaming environment. And when the team needs technical help, Castr’s support team already understands its setup.
What has changed for The Pits TV:
Fewer tools to manage: Live streaming, video hosting, OTT delivery, and content protection are handled in one place.
More reliable live delivery: SRT and regional ingest options help the team deliver streams from remote racetracks.
Faster replays: Live-to-VOD reduces the manual work needed to publish recorded races.
Better content protection: HLS protection and viewer watermarking help safeguard premium broadcasts.
Support during events: The team can work directly with Castr on technical issues during live production.
Castr handles the harder parts of live motorsport for us: reliable streams from remote tracks, replays online right after the race, and watermarking to protect our premium events. Having all of that in one platform, with a team on the line during live events, makes a real difference.
What sets Castr apart for us is the dedicated support. When you're broadcasting live from a track, you can't wait until Monday, and the Castr team has been there with us through setup, live events, and everything in between.
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