Wellington-Based Chukker.TV To Expand Its Reach

Story and Photos by Julie Unger

Michael Ferreira was working on his own Internet streaming service when he received a call three years ago from Melissa Ganzi of the Grand Champions Polo Club.

Ganzi wanted to merge the world of polo with the world of Internet broadcasting, and the two met to discuss how Ferreira’s startup could fit into the world of polo.

“We experienced the sport, and we instantly got hooked,” Ferreira said.

Ferreira, president and executive producer of Chukker.TV, worked with his team to create instant replay technology for polo umpires. A tech guy, and not an equestrian, Ferreira had to first learn about the sport. Originally, the new venture was called PoloNow.

“Then I came up with Chukker.TV. Anyone who knows polo knows chukker, because it’s the periods. Everyone knows TV. You either know right away what it is, or you’re going to ask,” he said.

After the branding was set, everything started moving quickly. They started small, with a few cameras, and kept growing.

“2015 was a really big year for us. We had the entire high-goal season at IPC [the International Polo Club Palm Beach], and we had Grand Champions’ spring, fall and winter seasons,” Ferreira said.

Ouside Wellington, the team traveled to Aspen to cover events at Ganzi’s Aspen Valley Polo Club and did tours with the United States Polo Association. They covered polo events at Saratoga in New York and the Greenwich Polo Club’s East Coast Open. “That really put us on the map,” Ferreira said.

After a year of strong growth, he has big plans for Chukker.TV in 2016.

“We’re a young company, really driven to give our viewers the best experience possible,” he said.

Ferreira’s team is made up of talented individuals, many of whom are not from the polo world, which makes them uniquely suited to create a way to engage both polo enthusiasts and polo newcomers.

Though this approach, they’ve engaged those who wouldn’t have otherwise known polo is such a popular sport with an international demand.

“Every broadcast, not only are we broadcasting live, but we’re live-tweeting,” he noted.

Ferreira is a technology enthusiast, utilizing state-of-the-art cameras and the newest drones available for capturing live aerial video of the games. The company designs and employs its own servers with the best technology available. They even broadcast in 4K.

“We did the U.S. Open in 4K,” Ferreira said. “No one’s doing that. Football’s not doing that; you can’t find 4K football.”

His goal to keep Chukker.TV on that cutting edge. “We’ve very much a tech company, as much as a broadcast company, which is important,” he said.

Ferreira recently chaired Flavors of Wellington and Winterfest 2014, both organized by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s important to keep reminding the community that there’s more besides a shopping mall. A lot of people don’t realize that this is right here. I think that is my little mission for this year. To really promote that we have something awesome — not just polo at Grand Champions, but equine in general. We have such an awesome [equestrian] community,” he said. “Everyone should embrace it.”

Building upon its tech footprint, and becoming even more accessible, is on the 2016 agenda for Chukker.TV. They’re working with the USPA to gain access to even more clubs, venues and tournaments, to present more games to viewers.

“My only goal with Chukker.TV is to give my viewers a great experience. The more polo I can give them, from more places, not only here in the U.S., but around the world, the happier I get,” Ferreira said.

Right now, Chukker.TV can be found on Roku and Chromecast, and has an Android app. They’re working on getting into the Apple store, and there are many more innovations to be unveiled throughout the year. Through Roku, polo games can be seen on whatever size television is available.

Polo players have provided positive feedback from their families and friends, who may be in other countries and are now able to watch them play.

“The fact that you can share someone’s great success, an awesome game, something they really put their heart into, and they can cheer you on as it’s happening, that’s exciting to be able to give that to the players and their families,” Ferreira said.

Chukker.TV has brought the game from the field to portable technology and to the living room.

“We’re trying to put polo on the map. We have some cool new tech that we’re going to play with this year,” he said. “We’re going to keep pushing the ultra-HD envelope.”

Through the Chukker.TV app, users can access content and interact with Chukker.TV during the games. Fill out a simple form on the program and the announcers will receive it during the game and be able to answer questions and provide insight.

“We’re going to be on SmartTV soon,” Ferreira said. “We’re ready to expand to all of the outlets that go to the living room. This year, we’re going to saturate the market.”

Beyond polo, Chukker.TV’s technology lends itself to other sports, including show jumping and dressage, which is another avenue of future expansion.

To learn more about Chukker.TV, visit www.chukkertv.com.

 

 

Group photo:

Erik Ross, Arianna Delin, Michael Ferreira, Austin Sarmiento, Allyson Abrams and David Aedo.

 

Drone pictures:

Austin Sarmiento flies one of the Chukker.TV drones.