At NAB Show 2025, attendees didn’t just witness broadcast innovation—they jumped into the driver’s seat. The Esports Racing Challenge, presented by AWS and NVIDIA and produced by Tagboard was one of the most talked-about activations of the week. Set in the West Hall lobby, the experience offered a full-throttle look at what’s possible when live cloud production meets high-octane esports—with premier production quality now achievable by a lean, cloud-powered team.
One of the standout aspects of this activation was how seamlessly Tagboard integrated into a broader production stack that included AWS infrastructure and trusted partners.
Simone D’Antone, Global Strategy Leader, Broadcast at AWS
The racing challenge featured four professional-grade racing simulators and a live cloud production pipeline that brought every race to life in real time. Attendees raced head-to-head while telemetry data, live video feeds, and post-race interviews were captured, produced, and streamed. The broadcasts were then delivered over ATSC 3.0 from Sinclair’s operated KSNV local Las Vegas station, showcasing the power of next-generation broadcast technology. Visitors could also watch the production unfold through a transparent control room fishbowl, where just three operators demonstrated how world-class broadcasts can now be powered by cloud-native tools—with a fraction of the traditional resources.
Tagboard’s Role: Graphics Engine + Production Partner
While the Tagboard team wore many hats—directing, commentating, and producing every aspect of the show—the platform itself served as the cloud-native graphics engine driving every on-screen moment. Tagboard powered everything from timing towers and trivia overlays to fireside chats and Shoppable moments, seamlessly integrating with AWS infrastructure and the ROSS Carbonite switcher.
Data-Driven Displays: All graphics were powered by real-time telemetry data streamed from the racing simulators into AWS cloud services, which then fed directly into Tagboard’s cloud graphics system. This enabled instant, accurate performance data to be visualized through elements like timing towers, driver comparison lower thirds, and full-screen race results.
Interactive Overlays: Full-throttle trivia, QR codes, countdown clocks, Shoppable opportunities, and social content integrations kept audiences engaged in real time.
Broadcast-Quality Graphics: Lower thirds, name fonts, full-screen infographics, and branded show elements gave the broadcast a network-caliber polish.
Analytics and Monetization: Beyond powering visuals, Tagboard captured real-time engagement data—tracking QR code scans, geo-location, timestamps, and conversion rates—highlighting how modern productions can drive and measure direct audience interaction and revenue opportunities.
“One of the standout aspects of this activation was how seamlessly Tagboard integrated into a broader production stack that included AWS infrastructure and trusted partners,” said Simone D’Antone, Global Strategy Leader, Broadcast at AWS. “Together, we showcased a future-ready workflow—blending real-time data, intuitive control, and interactive graphics for a next-gen viewer experience.”
The AWS reference architecture illustrates how Tagboard’s HTML5 graphics can be seamlessly converted to NDI and delivered over IP into any production switcher—specifically a ROSS Carbonite—proving that cloud-native tools can integrate effortlessly into professional, large-scale production environments.
The Impact
- 50+ live productions over 4 days—demonstrating the speed, scalability, and reliability of a fully cloud-based production environment.
- Premier production quality with a lean team: What once required a packed control room was achieved with, in this case, just three operators in the live cloud control room—one Tagboard graphics operator, one technical director, and one replay operator.
- A hands-on blueprint for the future: A working model for broadcasters, leagues, and tech leaders on how to engage audiences through contextual content, gamification, interactivity, and real-time insights.
As live sports and esports evolve, the Esports Racing Challenge stands as a blueprint for what’s next: a fully cloud-powered, audience-first future where content is produced faster, leaner, and smarter—anywhere, anytime, on any screen.