Verizon Revs Up Mobile Video Demo at Indy 500

Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay may have won his first Indianapolis 500, but Verizon did its own victory lap after the race.

Verizon used the high-profile event, which this year attracted an estimated 250,000 spectators, to showcase its mobile video technology.

The wireless carrier set up demonstrations in the Pagoda, a prominent nine-tiered viewing tower positioned at the start-finish line of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as in the Verizon Technology Pit. The IndyCar teams even received devices to check out the technology from the pits.

Verizon wirelessly delivered ABC’s live race broadcast, along with video from cameras positioned inside the cars and around the track, to portable devices. Viewers could select from among the various video feeds displayed within the app.

Wireless carriers, including Verizon, see mobile video as fueling the next phase of growth, as consumers increasingly turn to their portable devices to watch Internet video as well as movies and TV shows.

Rival AT&T cited the the growing importance of mobile entertainment as one of the reasons for its $48.5 billion offer to acquire satellite TV provider DirecTV.

Verizon initially demonstrated its multicast technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which allows it to deliver video efficiently over wireless networks. It selected the most visible U.S. sporting event, the Super Bowl, to showcase its live video capability.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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