PlatformsStrategic PartnershipJune 23, 2026

Ease Live brings live data overlays to WRC's Rally.TV

Ease Live has deployed its interactive graphics overlay platform on Rally.TV, the official streaming service of the FIA World Rally Championship, to provide live vehicle tracking, split times, and head-to-head driver comparisons. The feature launched on iOS and Android during the Vodafone Rally de Portugal and is expanding to web and Smart TV platforms for the remaining 2026 WRC season. The integration aims to increase fan engagement and create new sponsorship inventory for the rights holder.

Key Takeaways

Interactive overlay features include live vehicle tracking, driver split times, head-to-head comparisons, and live classifications across all WRC categories
Mobile launch during Vodafone Rally de Portugal (May 7–10, 2026); web expansion timed to EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (June 25–28)
Feature will cover the remaining 8 rounds of the 2026 WRC season, with Smart TV rollout planned as the next phase
WRC Promoter's Philipp Maenner frames the integration as a way to create new sponsorship inventory and build direct audience relationships

Why It Matters

Rally.TV's deployment adds another rights holder to Ease Live's client roster, which already includes ATP Media, LaLiga, and YES Network. The integration is a concrete example of how niche sports streaming services are using interactive overlays to convert live data complexity — rally's multi-stage, simultaneous action — into an engagement layer that also opens new sponsorship inventory. Watch whether the planned Smart TV rollout delivers the viewing-duration lift Ease Live has measured elsewhere: YES Network reported a 26% increase in time spent per streamer after adding overlays to its MLB and NBA broadcasts.

Additional Context

Ease Live, an Evertz company, has been building momentum in the interactive overlay space throughout 2026. In May 2026, the company was granted US Patent No. 12,556,777 for graphical overlay technology that synchronizes interactive data with video streams across devices, regardless of whether viewers are watching live, on delay, or pausing and resuming (per Sports Video Group, May 2026). In January 2026, Ease Live added VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) support, enabling publishers to trigger contextual overlay ads around key sports moments — goals, home runs, substitutions — without extending ad breaks (per Sports Video Group, January 2026).

The Rally.TV deployment adds to Ease Live's existing client base, which includes ATP Media (multi-year exclusive partnership announced September 2024), LaLiga, YES Network, ServusTV, and Red Bull TV (per Ease Live company site and Sports Video Group, August 2025). YES Network reported a 38% increase in average unique streams per game and a 26% increase in time spent per streamer after integrating Ease Live's YES Edge overlay for MLB and NBA broadcasts. Ease Live cites internal data showing that fans who engage with interactive content watch up to 5x longer than passive viewers.

The broader market is moving toward overlay-based monetization. An Omnicom Media Intelligence and Genius Sports study surveying 3,600+ NBA fans found that branded in-game graphics drove 5x higher brand favorability and 3x higher purchase intent compared to video advertising alone (per Omnicom, June 2026). Meanwhile, the IAB's Ad Format Hero initiative is working to standardize overlay, squeezeback, and side-by-side ad formats across CTV and OTT, which would reduce integration friction for rights holders looking to package interactive inventory programmatically.

Read full article at sportsvideo.org