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Tata Consultancy Services Was Recognized with the Webby People’s Voice Award for Livestreaming Feature that Advances Accessibility, Equity, and Inclusion in Professional Sports
PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK, May 16, 2023: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) announced that the app it designed and developed together with New York Road Runners (NYRR) for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon won a coveted Webby Award for livestreaming the professional men’s and women’s wheelchair and open division races for the first time in major marathon history.
The app is a trailblazing example of the benefits of using advanced communications technology to bridge the gap between mobile devices and TV. It empowered fans to watch live video of the four professional athlete races, coming away the clear winner after thousands of fans cast their votes in the 27th annual Webby Awards, the leading global award honoring excellence on the Internet.
“Every year we strive to make the TCS New York City Marathon more accessible, inclusive, and equitable through technology,” said Suresh Muthuswami, Chairman of North America, TCS. “Winning a Webby Award is further proof that the innovations we built into the marathon app resonated with participants, fans, and spectators. It demonstrates that giving all athletes an equal platform and using technology creatively to provide an immersive experience can drive up the popularity of our sport.”
“New York Road Runners’ partnership with TCS – a relationship that began in 2012 – helps make the TCS New York City Marathon the most technologically advanced marathon in the world,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO, New York Road Runners. “Live streaming the professional athlete races through the mobile app set a new standard for our sport, and winning a Webby Award, which is decided on by a public vote, showcases that the appetite for running is growing.”
People from over 150 countries tuned into the app’s Professional Runner Feed more than 319,000 times, including the family of professional women’s race winner Sharon Lokedi. From their home in a small village near Eldoret, Kenya, they watched Sharon’s every step using the app as she won her first marathon.
The Professional Runner Feed provided identical streams of the four pro races, proving equality in sports coverage is possible. The app enabled fans to watch the race of their choice and easily swipe between video feeds. Those who tuned into the thrilling wheelchair division races witnessed two course-record performances. In the U.S., app users overwhelmingly watched the women’s open division, which received 64 percent more views than the men’s.
“Livestreaming the pro races on the TCS New York City Marathon app is a win for fans and a win for athletes,” said Des Linden, a two-time Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion. “Allowing the long form stories to develop over the course of 26.2 miles gave fans the chance to learn about the contenders and appreciate nuances of racing that they’ve never seen before."
The Webby Awards were established at the dawn of the Internet in 1996 by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). The Webby People's Voice award for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon app was chosen by the online public over submissions from Apple Music, Google Trending Billboards, and the Pepsi Halftime Ultra Pass at the Super Bowl™.
TCS is the first ever premier partner of NYRR, a relationship that began in 2012. From the beginning, TCS and NYRR committed to enhancing the marathon experience for runners, spectators, and fans around the world through technology. The award-winning TCS New York City Marathon app was downloaded nearly a half-million times but primarily used for just one day.
ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India's largest multinational business group, TCS has over 613,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $25.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS' proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com
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