Wellington-Based Chukker.TV Plans To Expand Its Reach In 2016 Story and Photos by Julie Unger
Michael Ferreira was working on his own Internet streaming service when he received a call three years ago from Melissa Ganzi of the Grand Champions Polo Club. Ganzi wanted to merge the world of polo with the world of Internet broadcasting, and the two met to discuss how Ferreira’s startup could fit into the world of polo. “We experienced the sport, and we instantly got hooked,” Ferreira said. Ferreira, president and executive
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producer of Chukker.TV, worked with his team to create instant replay technology for polo umpires. A tech guy, and not an equestrian, Ferreira had to first learn about the sport. Originally, the new venture was called PoloNow. “Then I came up with Chukker.TV. Anyone who knows polo knows chuk-
ker, because it’s the periods. Everyone knows TV. You either know right away what it is, or you’re going to ask,” he said. After the branding was set, everything started moving quickly. They started small, with a few cameras, and kept growing. “2015 was a really big year for us. We had the entire high-goal season at IPC [the International Polo Club Palm Beach], and we had Grand Champions’