HOW RED BULL TV BRINGS A LIVE SURF COMPETITION TO THE WORLD

Bringing a live surf competition like the Volcom Pipe Pro to the masses is easier said than done. The biggest hurdle? Surf competitions have waiting periods of two weeks or more, during which the competition could go off at any time — all depending on the waves.

For this year’s Pipe Pro, the call was made each morning at 7:00 a.m. Everyone — commentators, hosts, a full camera crew, drone pilots, in-water camera men, the entire production booth — had to be ready to go live at the drop of a hat. That equates to upwards of 50 people coordinating and executing a livestream on the somewhat remote North Shore of Oahu. It’s a spectacle, to say the least.