CASE STUDY

How The Pits TV Powers Its Motorsports OTT Platform with Castr

Live streaming, Live-to-VOD, stream protection, and regional ingest — the whole motorsport streaming lifecycle consolidated from many tools into one OTT platform.

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THE CLIENT

One of New Zealand's largest motorsport streaming operators

The Pits TV is an Invercargill-based motorsports media company and one of New Zealand's largest private live streaming operators for motorsport, delivering live and on-demand racing coverage to passionate fans.

From live race events to replay access, The Pits TV uses video as the foundation of its digital business. Viewers rely on the platform to watch events live, catch up after races, and access premium motorsport coverage across devices.

For The Pits TV, streaming isn't a marketing channel; it's the core of the business.

THE CHALLENGE

Juggling separate tools for every part of the workflow

Live motorsport is a demanding streaming environment. Races are time-sensitive, unpredictable, and often produced from venues where network conditions vary. Once the broadcast begins, there's very little room for failure.

The Pits TV needed to support the full lifecycle of a motorsports streaming business: live delivery, viewer access, replay publishing, and content protection.

Before moving fully to Castr's OTT platform, The Pits TV was running each part of that lifecycle on a different system. As the business grew, stitching those tools together created real operational drag. The team needed one solution that could:

Deliver reliable live motorsport streams

Host on-demand motorsports content

Support paid access to premium events

Protect premium streams from unauthorized sharing

Manage viewer access from one platform

Support contribution workflows from live venues

Publish replays quickly after live broadcasts

Provide responsive support during event windows

Reduce the number of tools needed to run the platform

THE SOLUTION

The entire streaming lifecycle in one platform

The Pits TV selected Castr's OTT platform to bring its full streaming workflow into one connected platform, from live delivery and viewer access to replay publishing and content protection.

Castr supports The Pits TV with:

✓Live streaming

✓Live-to-VOD workflows

✓OTT video delivery

✓SRT streaming workflows

✓Premium content access

✓Regional ingest support

✓Video hosting

✓HLS stream protection

✓Viewer watermarking

✓Dedicated technical support

Instead of relying on separate tools for different parts of the video workflow, The Pits TV now uses Castr as the core platform behind its motorsports streaming business.

Built for Live Motorsport

Motorsport streaming is uniquely challenging. Events are often produced from remote tracks and temporary broadcast setups. The production team may be working with a mix of venue internet, mobile networks, bonded connections, or satellite-based connectivity to get the live feed online.

The Pits TV needed a streaming workflow that could support these real-world production conditions while keeping the viewer experience consistent.

Castr worked closely with The Pits TV to support live contribution workflows, including SRT streaming and regional ingest options for New Zealand-based productions.

This helped the team improve reliability during live events while reducing the operational pressure of managing multiple systems at once.

Turning Live Events into Replays

For motorsports fans, the value of an event does not end when the live broadcast finishes. They want to rewatch races, catch up on missed events, or access coverage after the live stream has ended.

Castr's Live-to-VOD workflow allows The Pits TV to turn live broadcasts into on-demand content more efficiently. This helps the team:

Make replays available faster
Extend the value of each live event
Provide access for viewers who missed the live broadcast
Build an on-demand motorsports library
Reduce manual post-event processing
Manage live and replay content from the same platform

By combining live streaming and VOD in one workflow, Castr helps The Pits TV deliver a more complete OTT experience for motorsport fans.

Protecting Premium Content

As a premium motorsports streaming platform, content protection is an important part of The Pits TV's business.

Paid live events can be vulnerable to unauthorized sharing, screen recording, stream copying, and restreaming. The Pits TV needed stronger protection around its premium content without making the viewer experience more complicated for legitimate customers.

Castr worked with The Pits TV to add additional protection around its HLS streams and playback workflows. This included:

HLS-level stream protection
Access-based playback controls
Additional restrictions around stream access
Viewer-identifiable watermarking
Security improvements designed to discourage unauthorized redistribution

Viewer watermarking became an important part of the protection strategy. By displaying viewer-identifiable information during playback, The Pits TV can discourage unauthorized copying and make it easier to trace leaked streams back to the source account.

Dedicated Support During Live Events

Live events require fast, hands-on support. When an issue happens during a race, waiting until the next business day is not an option. The Pits TV needed a partner that could support real event workflows, not just provide a software dashboard.

Castr worked closely with The Pits TV during setup, testing, live events, and post-event workflows. The support included:

Live event configuration
OTT platform setup
SRT ingest support
Replay workflow support
Stream protection updates
Viewer access troubleshooting
Event-specific technical support

This hands-on partnership helped The Pits TV move faster, improve reliability, and continue refining the viewer experience across events.

THE RESULTS

A simpler, more reliable operation

Since adopting Castr's OTT platform, The Pits TV has been able to simplify and strengthen its motorsports streaming operation.

The team can now manage live delivery, replay publishing, video hosting, premium access, and stream protection from a single platform.

With Castr, The Pits TV has been able to:

✓Consolidate its motorsports streaming workflow into one OTT platform

✓Deliver live racing events to premium viewers

✓Deliver a more consistent viewing experience for motorsport fans

✓Publish replays quickly using Live-to-VOD

✓Strengthen stream protection with HLS security and watermarking

✓Manage live and on-demand content from one place

✓Improve operational confidence during live event windows

✓Support SRT-based contribution workflows

✓Reduce complexity across its streaming business

Castr now serves as a core part of The Pits TV's digital motorsports platform, supporting both live event delivery and on-demand replay access.

WHY CASTR

A partner that understands live sports

The Pits TV needed more than a video player. They needed an OTT partner that understood the reality of live event streaming: remote venues, unpredictable networks, demanding viewers, premium content protection, and the pressure of live sports delivery.

Castr was that partner. It combined reliable streaming technology with hands-on support during live events, giving The Pits TV one dependable platform to build its motorsport business on, and the reassurance that someone is on the line when a race is at stake.

“

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.

Jason Gutteridge

The Pits TV

Looking Ahead

The Pits TV continues to use Castr to power its motorsports OTT platform, deliver live racing events, publish replays, and protect premium content.

As the platform grows, Castr remains closely involved in helping The Pits TV improve reliability, security, and viewer experience across future seasons.

For live sports businesses that depend on premium video delivery, The Pits TV shows what becomes possible when the entire streaming workflow comes together in one platform.

Ready to scale your live event distribution?

Run reliable live streams, publish replays, protect premium content, and deliver a branded OTT experience — all from one platform, just like The Pits TV.

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