LIGR: Providing live graphics solutions and a broadcast management platform benefitting Australian football 

Since 2016, Australian company LIGR have provided a range of football organisations, and the production companies that aid them, with live graphics solutions and a broadcast management platform which is simple and efficient to use.

Luke McCoy, co-founder of LIGR, explained to Soccerscene that his previous experience of owning a live production business, which broadcasted lower-tier sporting matches, inspired him to establish LIGR LIVE due to a lack of sophisticated graphics he encountered at that level.

“Previously I founded a company called Virtual Performance Analysis that turned into VPA Productions. During that process we ended up with a contract to stream the Football NSW Grand Finals,” he said. 

“The problem with any of the live broadcasts in second-tier and grassroots competitions was always how to improve match data integration into broadcast graphics. What we found was once you can achieve that, the main question and opportunity was the ability to then attach sponsors into those broadcasts, so the sports organisations who own the rights to their content could have the chance to commercialise their audience with in-game sponsorship. 

“So around four years ago we began developing the product that is now LIGR Live; an operating and broadcast management platform for live sports broadcasts. I co-founded it with my friend Adam Burke (CTO of LIGR), and we found immediate success amongst the major sports in Australia across Rugby League, Football, Aussie Rules and Cricket. 

Co-founders of LIGR – Adam Burke (left) and Luke McCoy

“The big features of that system include graphics, automation, sponsorship, fixtures, live scoring and team collaboration workflows all built around helping sports organisations produce a professional live stream that can be commercialised through in-game sponsorship display and the analytics around that.”

Since development, the company has now partnered with seven of the nine football member federations in Australia.

Most of the FFA Cup streams that happen around Australia use LIGR in some form, whether through a sports organisation account like Football NSW or a host of production companies who have a LIGR account and act independently servicing clubs directly.

LIGR play a pivotal role in a huge selection of State League, NPL and NPLW games across the country, including 550-600 games a season in Victoria, for example.

“We’re contracted to the member federations, from Football Victoria, Football NSW, Football West, Football SA etc…and it’s a combination, from their state league games up to their NPL competitions and obviously the women’s NPL as well,” McCoy said.

“LIGR Live connects external live data sources to live broadcasts including being a data supplier ourselves where external data does not exist. Most of the NPL matches have an external live data source available through Stats Perform, a global provider of live data to the sports industry, who we have a direct partnership with.

“We pull in the live data feed in real time and connect it automatically to LIGR Live and populate graphics templates that are then triggered based on real time events from the data, completely automatically removing any requirement for a graphics operator or data live scorer.”

For the NPL, LIGR have built a specific template which is only shown on broadcasts of that competition.

All of the member federations have access to this theme and the governing bodies can log in to LIGR’S cloud-based operating system and manually upload team logos, colours and ad sets, which they can flexibly incorporate at their will into their live streams.

An example of LIGR’s graphics in a Bulleen Lions match.

This aspect of commercialising the live streams through integrated advertisement placements through graphics, has helped bodies like Football NSW generate additional revenue and sponsorship opportunities.

The whole idea of streaming our competitions was to provide greater commercial opportunities for the league and our clubs,” Brian Meinrath, Head of Commercial at Football NSW, told the LIGR website.

“Using LIGR has helped us shape how we approach the market with our sponsorship offerings. To be able to work with a group that continually looks and asks how they can make their product better makes a big difference.”

Football NSW are not the only governing body to benefit commercially through the use of the LIGR service, as they, alongside Football West, Football SA, Football NT, Football Tasmania, Football Victoria and Football Queensland were the beneficiaries of a sponsorship deal with Pilot Health late last year.

Pilot Health, a male telehealth brand, purchased advertising space across all Men’s NPL live broadcasts for part of the 2020 season, in the listed state and territory federations.

“It is really exciting to be able to partner with the Australian Football Federations utilising LIGR Live’s platform to deliver this first of its kind advertising,” Pilot Health Co-Founder, Tim Doyle, said at the time of the deal.

“At Pilot we are always looking for new ways to reach our audience and the LIGR platform allows that, while also supporting the second tier of football across the country in a seamless, fast, aggregated process.”

Through the use of LIGR Live’s platform to standardise the broadcast quality, the state federations sold specific percentages of advertising time through the course of a match, including particular events such as goals, cards and team lists.

McCoy believes deals such as this showcase the true worth of his company.

“It is maybe the most encouraging sign of LIGR’s value as a company moving forward, to be able to provide a distribution network for brands to access live grassroots sports,” he said at the announcement of the deal.

“It is naturally hard for brands to do multiple small deals across multiple sports organisations. Being able to have a single, white labelled platform that aggregates those opportunities simplifies the process for brands that show a keen interest in live amateur sport, but have no way to enter the playing field effectively. 

“Pilot’s interest in the Australian football’s audience has put money directly back into the member federations which is the ultimate goal of LIGR.”

LIGR do have an eye to the future, recently partnering with Pixellot – a leader in global AI camera technologies, understanding that broadcasts at some point are going to be completely automated productions.

LIGR announced a deal with Pixellot earlier this month.

Despite this global push, McCoy is proud of the strides LIGR has already made since its creation. 

“It’s been an exciting journey so far, particularly in football, which is where we started,” he said.

“We went from one game a week, a match of the round, to 30 games a week for Football NSW, and that  spread across the member federations to help maintain quality across a large scale of content and many production suppliers.

“Now, the amount of content they are producing would almost be the most in Australia for sports organisations, in regards to their live content.

“It’s been pretty cool to see within the past few years how quickly that’s changed, so it’s definitely rewarding and exciting.”

 

Previous ArticleNext Article

AI and Tech Transforming Australian Community Sport

Community sport across Australia is undergoing rapid change, driven by artificial intelligence, digital innovation, and emerging technologies.

These innovations are changing the way community and school sports operate, connect with people, and foster more inclusive, efficient, and vibrant sporting environments nationwide.

Martin Sheppard, CEO of the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention, highlighted the magnitude of this change.

“We’re witnessing a game-changing moment where technology is not just supporting sport – it’s redefining it. From grassroots to schools, digital solutions are enabling smarter operations, deeper engagement, and more inclusive environments. At this year’s Convention, we’re bringing together the pioneers of this transformation to ensure every club, school, and community can benefit,” he said via press release.

As outlined by the ASTN, the sports technology sector in Australia is now a well-established industry worth $4.69 billion, featuring over 765 active businesses.

This development shows a strong national push to utilise innovation to solve problems, boost efficiency, and grow opportunities across community sport.

At the forefront of this transformation is the AI, Digital & Sports Tech stream at the 2025 National Sports & Physical Activity Convention (NSC), set for June 25-26 in Melbourne.

Highlighting innovations from AI-driven analytics to mobile apps and immersive virtual tools, this stream will explore how technology is reshaping community sport.

Griffith University researchers in Queensland, collaborating with VALD from Brisbane, developed a rapid test that identifies high ACL injury risk in athletes within 10 minutes, supporting coaches to implement personalised prevention.

NSC’s AI, Digital & Sports Tech stream will highlight visionary ideas and key figures shaping sport’s future.

The Impact Keynote session, ‘Embracing Technology to Impact Sport’, will feature Dawid Naude, CEO of Pathfindr.ai, and Andrew Walton, Managing Director of Sports Tech World Series, discussing how AI and machine learning empower clubs to optimise their operations and enrich member engagement.

Afterwards, the ‘Embracing AI to Be More Inclusive’ panel will consider how commercial technologies from around the world are being applied to grassroots levels, featuring insights from Martin Schlegel (ASTN), Yasmin London (Qoria), and Brent Richardson (Enrichd Group).

To learn more about the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention and the AI, Digital & Sports Tech stream, click here.

Piing: Revolutionising Fan Engagement at Live Sports and Events

Piing: Revolutionising Fan Engagement at Live Sports and Events

Piing is changing the way fans experience live events, offering powerful tools for sports clubs and organisations to turn passive spectators into active participants through large-scale, mobile-powered games.

Piing is a UK-based tech company that’s transforming fan engagement at live events by using smartphones to power huge, interactive games that bring crowds together in real-time.

The company was founded back in 2020 in Manchester, England.

Piing creates fun, interactive experiences that let crowds—from 30 to over 100,000 people—join in and play together using just their mobile phones, with no app downloads needed.

Their collection of easy-to-play, arcade-style games is built for big audiences and designed to spark energy and excitement.

These games are shown on giant screens at stadiums, festivals, and corporate events, turning fans into active participants in real-time competitions.

Some of Piing’s standout games include Pen-Kick and Quiiz.

Pen-Kick is a virtual penalty shootout that’s been played by fans in stadiums around the world.

Pen-kick was used in front of 53,000 fans at Ajax’s iconic Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam where more than 4,000 fans joined in the virtual penalty shootout during halftime at the Ajax vs NEC match in 2023.

Quiiz is Piing’s massive multiplayer quiz game, which has even set Guinness World Records.

Piing also offers an innovative way to advertise at sports and live events around the world, connecting with fans through fun, memorable moments that stick with them long after the event is over.

One major milestone was becoming the Official Crowd Games Supplier for Manchester City, giving fans at both the Etihad and Joie Stadiums the chance to take part in interactive games before kick-off and during half-time.

Beyond the big screen, supporters can also enjoy Piing games in fan zones, hospitality suites, and even as part of the club’s Blue Carpet experience.

Back in December 2020, Everton FC teamed up with Piing for the first time to boost matchday engagement at Goodison Park where they used games and quizzes to encourage fans to stay in their seats and get involved during the action.

This activation ran across two Premier League matches and a Carabao Cup quarter-final.

These two collaborations highlight Piing’s role in transforming traditional fan experiences into interactive, community-driven events.

So how can Piing benefit Australian football clubs and organisations?

To start with, it’s a great way to boost fan engagement on match day.

Clubs in the A-League and across Australian football are always looking for new ways to connect with supporters beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch.

Piing brings the crowd together with fun, interactive games that happen live in the stadium—before the match, during half-time, or even after full-time.

For example, at a Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC game, fans could join in a virtual penalty shootout shown on the big screen, playing along in real-time using their phones and sharing the excitement with everyone in the stadium.

Another big advantage is that fans don’t need to download any apps to join in, making the whole experience super easy and hassle-free.

Piing works entirely through a web browser—fans just scan a QR code and they’re in instantly.

With so many people tired of downloading apps, and not everyone having the latest phones, this simple, no-fuss approach is perfect for the wide range of Australian sports fans.

One more reason Piing is especially valuable for organisations is the sponsorship potential it offers.

Australian clubs are always on the lookout for fresh ways to give sponsors new opportunities to connect with fans and Piing delivers this with branded in-game spaces and real-time data on how fans are engaging.

That makes it a powerful tool for local and national sponsors who want more than just passive ads—they want to actively reach and engage their audience.

In short, Piing offers Australian football clubs a fun, easy-to-use way to boost fan engagement, create new sponsorship opportunities, and enhance the overall matchday experience.

As live sports continue to evolve, Piing stands out as a smart, scalable solution that brings fans closer to the action, offering clubs and organisations a powerful way to modernise matchdays and build deeper connections with their audiences.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend