Rugby has a passionate following in many countries, including New Zealand. The country is a proud host of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and home to one of the world’s best rugby teams, the All Blacks. The All Blacks are again among the favorites to win the World Cup, and the resulting social media frenzy has reached a fever pitch. The “Kiwis” are joined by fans from all over the world, each supporting their own teams, and wanting to be part of the excitement.

In anticipation of the global interest surrounding the World Cup, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) wanted to provide the fans a product that would go beyond coverage of live matches to domestic fans, and attract the global fan base as well. Sarah Pritchett, Digital Media Product Manager at TVNZ, said that the “Kiwis love Rugby and having the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand is huge for us. We really wanted to be a part of the conversations and debates happening around the tournament so we could engage with our audience and make them a part of our coverage.”

Arktan collaborated with TVNZ and TEQUILA\, the agency implementing the product for TVNZ. The result was the launch of ONE Love Grandstand on TVNZ's TV ONE.

  ONE Love Grandstand was created to engage the fans whenever and with whomever they’re watching the World Cup. The fans can engage in real-time with other fans and official TVNZ content during the games. The time lags between different games can be lengthy, and one of the Grandstand’s purposes is to keep the fans engaged between the matches.

The site provides a second screen Social TV experience that is customized for tablets, such as iPad, with a design around touch screen screen controls that is friendly to an iPad look and feel. The site also provides the same Social TV experience on PCs, notebooks, and smart phones. ONE Love Grandstand is the centralized place, where fans log in using their Twitter or Facebook user name. After that they can start reading posts and comments by officials and other fans, post their own content and comments, and participate in the conversation; all in real-time.

The Rugby World Cup has only just started, but ONE Love Grandstand has already proven a success for Television New Zealand, and enjoyed by the global fans. Sarah Pritchett said that “the Arktan interface allows us to quickly respond to what's going on and it's exciting to be able to see in real time what Kiwis are thinking and feeling and to then share that back with the country."