BT earlier produced Scottish Football Extra from home, and is now moving this onto other production
BT Sport is to produce its Early Kick Off show live from home this Saturday.
Presenter Jake Humphrey revealed on Twitter that the show will be created with one crew member with him at his house – who will stand outside a window and stay at least two metres away at all times – and the rest of the crew working remotely.
Current/former players and pundits Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, Adam Lallana, Russell Martin, and Robbie Savage will also be contibuting from home without an added crew member.
It will be broadcast over 4G, and crew members individually brought kit to the house before filming to make sure that there was no contact at any time.
So, here is how we will broadcast TV to you, despite the lockdown…not a single person leaving their home, no-one with 2 metres of me, and all using the 4G network. There are some clever people out there. 👍🏻❤️ pic.twitter.com/FoePpk3om7
— Jake Humphrey 💙 (@mrjakehumphrey) March 26, 2020
The show will include the airing of a 2016 match between Norwich and Liverpool, which was originally broadcast on BT Sport too.
With live football postponed for the foreseeable future, the broadcaster has had to innovate in order to keep its schedule busy and attract viewers.
Competitor Sky has decided to allow customers to pause sport subscriptions and isn’t collecting bills from commercial clients such as pubs. Meanwhile, BT has only told subscribers to call and discuss their plans, and some consumers on flexible deals are able to drop the sport option.
Other remote productions have been tried recently, with the coronavirus crisis forcing broadcasters to think outside the box to keep content flowing. BT has already aired Scottish Football Extra from home (listen to the podcast about this below), while the BBC has launched a televised version of the Match of the Day podcast with Gary Lineker and co. contributing from home.
I’ve done some interesting TV in my time. However, producing a 90 minute football show this Saturday, with 5 guests, none of us leaving our homes & my only crew member standing outside a window…will take some beating. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/fIaWnMKNcE
— Jake Humphrey 💙 (@mrjakehumphrey) March 26, 2020