More Premier League games go free-to-air as the top-tier of British football returns from lockdown. Amazon Prime Video managing director, sport, Alex Green, has confirmed via twitter that the OTT platform will make all four Premier League games it is due to stream free-to-air. He said, simply: “Confirming that the four premier league matches given […]
Author archives: Jake Bickerton
Nascar first to use Facebook Venue second-screen live streaming app
App aimed at creating a better, more responsive second-screen experience. Facebook has launched a live streaming iOS and Android app called Venue, which focuses on enhancing fan engagement through the second-screen. It has been developed by Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team and aims to bring fans and expert commentators together to “experience live events in […]
Virtual advertising firm Supponor opens Barcelona office
Tech company expands in Spain to support work on virtual advertising for LaLiga and FC Barcelona. Virtual advertising tech company Supponor is opening an office in Barcelona, Spain. It follows the expansion of the company’s agreement to work with Mediapro on virtual advertising boards for live LaLiga games, and a long-term agreement with FC Barcelona […]
Michael Vaughan joins Whisper to grow cricket output
Vaughan has been brought in to build on the company’s cricket coverage. Whisper has added ex-cricketer and cricket broadcaster Michael Vaughan to its advisory board. Vaughan will focus on Whisper’s growing cricket portfolio and other broadcast and branded projects, with a focus on new business. The former England cricket great retired in 2009 and has […]
Arsenal to live stream charity event featuring the club’s legends
The event tomorrow night is being live streamed on a variety of platforms to raise funds for The Arsenal Foundation. Arsenal is live streaming an event called Arsenal Together, which it says is the largest-ever online gathering of Arsenal players, legends and supporters. The event, which kicks off at 7pm tomorrow night (Thursday 4 June), […]
Channel 4 to show 1966 World Cup final in full
Geoff Hurst joins Gabby Logan and Glenn Hoddle for charity broadcast next weekend. Football fans will be handed the rare opportunity to watch the entirety of England’s only ever World Cup final victory this Sunday afternoon on Channel 4. Footballing body Fifa has granted C4 the rights to the original 1966 footage of the nation’s […]
Sky Sports releases promo to celebrate the return of sport
60-second spot went live over the weekend. Sky has released a 60-second spot celebrating the return of live sport. It’s a continuation of its #IAmSport campaign, and was made by its in-house wing, Sky Creative Agency. The Comeback went live over the weekend and is a “rousing message from sport to its fans ahead of […]
Amazon Prime Video to stream first UK behind-closed-doors tennis tournament
Live action from the UK tennis tournament will be streamed from 23-28 June. Amazon Prime Video has picked up the exclusive rights in the UK and Ireland for the behind-closed-doors tennis tournament, The Schroders Battle of the Brits. The six-day event (23-28 June) has been co-organised by Jamie Murray as a way to raise money […]
Premier League restart : Where to watch matches
The broadcast rights for the 92 Premier League games left to play. The return of the Premier League will see games shown on the widest range of UK broadcasters to date, with Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime all screening matches. There are 92 Premier League games left to play. Sky Sports […]
Premier League to return to TV on Wednesday 17 June
Confirmation that the 2019/20 season will return to competition. The Premier League will return on Wednesday 17 June, with two fixtures – Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal – being played. These are the two games that were in hand when the country went into lockdown – the Premier League was […]
Eurosport picks up European rights for live snooker’s return on 1 June
The deal covers all territories except the UK. Eurosport has picked up the live rights to screen snooker’s Championship League, which runs 1-11 June. The deal covers all territories in Europe except the UK. The tournament is being held in Milton Keynes, with 64 world-class players competing for total prize fund of £218,000. Players including […]
LaLigaTV goes free for a month as the Spanish football season resumes
The station provides 24/7 coverage of Spanish football, and is available via an app, or on Sky and Virgin. LaLigaTV is being offered for free throughout June, as the Spanish football season resumes after lockdown. Those wanting to take up the offer can register their details at premiersports.com with the promo code BACKTOWIN. From 1 […]
BBC Alba to bring live football back to free-to-air TV from Saturday
The Scottish broadcaster is the first free-to-air channel to show live sports since lockdown. Scottish free-to-air channel BBC Alba is to air live coverage of German women’s Bundesliga. It becomes the first UK free-to-air broadcaster to show live sport since lockdown. Its exclusive live coverage of the games will start this Saturday (30 May). BBC […]
COMMENT: What we can do to enhance behind-closed-doors events for fans
Peer Seitz, head of Infront Productions, discusses some of the operational challenges and opportunities broadcasters face with behind-closed-doors events. While some fans might have found solace in sports archive footage over the last two months, the majority are keen to see a return to live sport under the right circumstances. The focus for sport event […]
LiveScore to add live football streaming to app and website
Popular scores app aims to become a major sports streaming service. Sports scores app LiveScore is working with OTT specialist StreamAMG to add live football streaming to its website and app. The platform will host live matches and on-demand content from football clubs and media outlets, and says it will become “a major new sports […]
Eurosport to air MotoAmerica Superbike Championship from this weekend
Live sport returns to the broadcaster, in the UK and France. Eurosport has picked up rights to show all 10 rounds of America’s premier motorcycle championship, the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, in the UK and France. The series, which will begin behind-closed-doors, will also be available to watch on Eurosport in 54 countries and territories in […]
SailGP launches monthly series about the sport
Each episode focuses on a different SailGP team. SailGP is launching seven-part monthly series, Winning Calls with Oracle, focused on the different teams in the sport. The series provides insight into the strategies of each national team and features SailGP athletes, coaches and data analysts rewatching SailGP’s best action to-date. SailGP presenter Ed Leigh will […]
Report predicts huge growth in sports content on mobiles, paid by DCB
Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) set to become a popular way to pay for sports content on mobile devices. A new report says revenue from Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for sports content on mobiles, such as instant highlights, streamable matches and behind-the-scenes footage, is set to grow significantly in the coming years. The report, The Future […]
DAZN owner looks to sell an equity stake in the company
The pandemic sports cancellations are having a huge impact on the sports streamer. The owner of DAZN is reportedly looking to sell a stake in the company to raise revenue. According to a report in The Financial Times, DAZN owner Len Blavatnik is “exploring ways to inject new money into the loss making business”. It […]
Bundesliga unveils ‘Average Positions’ and ‘Expected Goals’ stats
Stats created using machine learning, through a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Bundesliga has been working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create two new on-screen stats, providing new insight into games. The new ‘Bundesliga Match Facts’ stats are Average Positions and Expected Goals (xGoals). They are created from real-time analysis of data from […]
Podcast: Eurosport presenter Orla Chennaoui
Eurosport’s re-runs of London 2012 includes Mo Farah, Bradley Wiggins, Greg Rutherford and many other Team GB athletes recollecting the events over Zoom calls with presenter Orla Chennaoui. She describes how it all happened in this podcast. With TV studios on lockdown, Eurosport presenter Orla Chennaoui turned to Zoom to film interviews with a who’s […]
Otro Studios remotely produces MTV Cribs footballers series
Otro created a bespoke workflow to enable footballers to film themselves at home on iPhones while being directed live by the production team, also at home. MTV has commissioned Otro Studios to create a football-themed edition of MTV Cribs. MTV Cribs: Footballers Stay Home is being produced remotely, with Otro Studios catching up with a […]
Formula 1 agrees deal with Gfinity for production of F1 Esports Series
The deal is for a two-year extension to the relationship between the two companies that began in 2017. Formula 1 has extended its relationship with esports company Gfinity for content production and operational support around the F1 Esports Series in 2020 and 2021, and the 2022 qualifying events. The Gfinity Arena in London will be […]
Podcast: Freelance DoP Graham Howe on making the most of lockdown
With the Covid-19 pandemic triggering the cancellation of future bookings, freelance cameraman Graham Howe chose to use the time to learn useful new production skills. The latest episode of the Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series sees freelance lighting cameraman Graham Howe talking to Broadcast Sport editor Jake Bickerton about what he’s doing to keep busy […]
Graham Wallace joins Eleven Sports investor Aser Ventures as CFO
High-profile appointment for the investment platform. Aser Ventures Group, whose portfolio of companies includes Eleven Sports, has appointed Graham Wallace as chief corporate and finance officer. Wallace joins from Gfinity, while his CV includes CFO for MTV Europe and CFO for IMG Media. He has also held leadership roles in football as Manchester City COO […]
Amazon Prime unveils four-part series about Spain’s Golden Generation
The series follows the lives of iconic Spanish players living abroad. Amazon Prime Video is airing a four-part Spanish language docu-series, Living Abroad that follows the private lives of four footballers from what was dubbed the Golden Generation. The footballers – Xavi Hernández, David Villa, Javi Martínez and Juan Mata – were part of the […]
M2A Media unveils cloud-based live video platform
The service is described as a user-friendly, cost-effective alternative to satellite and fibre. Cloud-based video specialist M2A Media has launched a new live video cloud distribution platform it describes as “a flexible and cost-effective alternative to satellite and fibre.” M2A Connect enables producers to schedule and automate the global delivery of live feeds, via a […]
BT Sport gets five-fold increase in Bundersliga audience
Broadcast reveals large audience ratings for return of German football. BT Sport has revealed impressive ratings for its weekend of German football, with Saturday’s match between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke pulling in 1.4m people across its TV and digital platforms. The average viewing figures across the five Bundesliga matches on BT Sport’s three channels on […]
Podcast: Sebastian Gray, co-founder, Dugout
Episode #12 of the Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series shines the spotlight on innovative archive football content specialist Dugout. Sebastian Gray, co-founder and SVP of football content platform Dugout talks to Broadcast Sport editor Jake Bickerton about what the company does, how it does it, and the growth in demand for previously undiscovered archive football […]
OZ Sports fills empty stadiums with the sight and sounds of virtual fans
The tech filling empty stadiums with virtual fans. Sports tech company OZ Sports has launched an AR product called OZ Arena to bring fans from home into live broadcasts when football resumes. Fans will appear as personalised avatars, and will make genuine cheers from home via an app. They will even be offered their preferred […]
GolfTV to provide free live coverage of golf skins match this weekend
Charity skins match with some of world’s best golfers to be shown for free in most territories by GolfTV. Live golf is returning to GolfTV on Sunday as it broadcasts a charity skins match. The TaylorMade Driving Relief will be streamed on GolfTV everywhere outside of the US and will be made available for free. […]
Behind the scenes: Sunset+Vine reveals how it makes shows during lockdown
Production house reveals the innovative way it is embracing live remote TV production during the Covid-19 crisis. This short video, presented by Sunset+Vine executive producer Stephen Booth, explains in 2m21s exactly how the producer has made remote production with presenters and crew at home the “new normal.”
BT Sport launches Champions League goals archive show
Broadcaster brings back ‘retro’ version of the UEFA Champions League Goals Show. BT Sport has recreated what it says is one of its most popular shows by creating the UEFA Champions League Goals Show: Retro. Beginning on Sunday (17 May), James Richardson takes a look back at the most iconic Champions League games from the […]
Verizon Media and Dugout partner on ads and football content deal
The deal provides Yahoo Sports with a huge archive of football clips, and Dugout with a new revenue stream. Verizon Media and Dugout have partnered up to provide Dugout’s 60,000+ archive football-related clips to an embedded player in Yahoo Sports. It also makes it possible for Verizon Media’s advertisers to reach Dugout’s audience of 60+ […]
BT Sport to air top-tier live football again as Bundesliga returns
Live football returns to UK screens at the weekend on BT Sport. BT Sport has revealed details of its Bundesliga coverage as it returns this weekend. The broadcaster will exclusively cover the matches live in the UK, screening nine Bundesliga matches this weekend (Saturday 16 May-Monday 18 May). It will then broadcast every match for […]
COMMENT: Live streaming – Understanding the Legal Frameworks
Gregor Pryor, co-chair, entertainment and media industry group at Reed Smith LLP offers advice on navigating the legal issues around live streaming. While live streaming is not a new phenomenon, the recent lockdown has shone a spotlight on this activity, as sporting events are postponed or cancelled, and companies turn to live streaming to reach […]
Behind the scenes: Matze Knop’s Home Office (Sky Sports News Deutschland HD)
Marius Fischer, the editor on Sky Sports News Deutschland HD daily sports-focused comedy series, Matze Knop’s Home Office, explains how it’s being put together during lockdown. With top flight schedules at a standstill, sports broadcasters are working around the clock to produce content that not only fills the gaps, but offers positivity and support during […]
Tennis Channel broadcasts live tennis tournament from Florida
The three-day event went out live over the weekend. The channel’s next live tennis is scheduled for later this month. LA-based Tennis Channel has broadcast live coverage of the three-day men’s tennis event, UTR Pro Match Series, which took place over the weekend. The tournament, staged in West Palm Beach, Florida, featured two top-10 ranked […]
BT Sport kick starts first of series of esports formats in partnership with Gfinity
BT Sport FIFA Challenge is the first in a series of esports formats BT Sport hopes will continue after the pandemic. BT Sport has unveiled a celebrity-led esports series, in partnership with Gfinity. The BT Sport FIFA Challenge series includes Robbie Savage, Joe Cole and Ugo Monye captaining teams with rugby and football stars. There’s […]
LaLiga launches new series in advance of the league’s re-start
Production provides news and views as the Spanish football season prepares to resume. Movistar has launched a new weekly LaLiga series, leading up to the start of the competition after lockdown. The programme – El Partidazo #VolverEsGanar – kicked off yesterday (Sunday 10 May) at 10pm and included a live interview with LaLiga president, Javier […]
Eurosport to air week-long 2012 Olympics re-run with Team GB medallists
The eight-part series will broadcast highlights of a different sport each episode, with interviews with a large number of Team GB’s victorious athletes. Eurosport is dedicating a week of coverage to the London 2012 Olympic Games at the end of this month (24-31 May), showcasing the key moments from Team GB’s record-breaking Olympic success. The […]
BT Sport to air The Isolation eRacing Series
Broadcaster returns to esports during lockdown, with the first weekly installment TX’ing tonight. BT Sport is televising new virtual motorsports esports tournament, The Isolation eRacing Series. The 100+ pro drivers taking part include stars from Formula One (Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi), Formula E (Oliver Rowland) and other motorsports. Drivers will compete using virtual F3 […]
Eurosport to show classic stages from Giro D’Italia in new interactive show
90-minute daily live and on-demand show includes quizzes and polls. Eurosport has unveiled a 90-minute live and on-demand interactive daily show re-running the most memorable stages of Giro d’Italia from the last seven years. As part of a collaboration with Global Cycling Network (GCN), Eurosport is launching Giro d’Italia Classic Stages on Saturday 9 May […]
K League to work with Grabyo as season kicks off again
Cloud-based platform will enable remote production of live matches on social media. The season opening return of K League tomorrow (Friday, 8 May) is being produced for social media remotely using Grabyo. The match – between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Suwon Samsung Bluewings – is being broadcast on K League’s YouTube and Twitter channels at […]
Optus Sport wins K League rights for Australia
Live football in the K League begin again tomorrow. Optus Sport has picked up the Australian rights to South Korea’s top division of football, K League. It’s the second major Asian football win for Optus Sport following its acquisition of J.League rights for Australia earlier this year. The K League is one of the first […]
Jamie and Harry Redknapp get their own at-home chat show on Sky
New lockdown format will feature the Redknapps and sports and entertainment stars getting together at the Redknapps’ home. Sky One has launched new lockdown-friendly chat show/entertainment format Redknapp’s Home Fixture, featuring Jamie and Harry Redknapp. The six-part series, from Expectation Entertainment, sees the Redknapps invite sports and entertainment stars to join them (and comedian Tom […]
Matchroom Sport launches OTT platform with free-to-air archive content
The new Matchroom Live platform will provide both live streams of tournaments (to subscribers) and free archive sports content. Matchroom Sport has teamed up with sports streaming specialist StreamAMG to create new OTT platform, Matchroom Live, which provides fans worldwide access to its portfolio of events. Matchroom Live will host live streams of Matchroom Sports […]
World’s Strongest Man turns to DIY ‘Home Edition’ format for Snapchat
The strongmen will use heavy household objects, including their own cars, for the lockdown format. The World’s Strongest Man organisation has launched a Snapchat spin-off during lockdown, called the World’s Strongest Man: Home Edition. It runs on Snapchat’s Discover page every Monday for the next 11 weeks, with eight of the world’s strongmen lifting ‘imaginative’ […]
COMMENT: How to handle archives of sports content
Nick Pearce-Tomenius, sales and marketing director, Object Matrix explains how and why it pays to make archives accessible. When COVID-19 restrictions started being introduced, the cancellation of sports fixtures was greeted with respect from fans who fully understood that the health of the community was the priority. But sports broadcasting hasn’t been easy to replace. […]
SailGP reschedules 2020 season to 2021, voids 2020 Sydney race
High octane catamaran race tournament ditches 2020 season due to the pandemic. SailGP, the race series featuring supercharged F50 catamarans, has suspended this year’s season, rescheduling all races to 2021. The results from the 2020 Sydney race – the first and only completed SailGP event of the year – will be null and void. The […]
BBC Sport preps summer of presenter-led archive re-runs
Contingency plan couples magazine formats with archive classics. BBC Sport has begun prepping for when the worst of the current Covid-19 restrictions are lifted as it readies magazine formats to accompany archive classics over the summer. Head of TV sport Phillip Bernie is drawing up contingency plans for how to film formats in a semi-lockdown […]
Gfinity to operate the second ePremier League Invitational Tournament
Esports company continues its association with the tournament that sees Premier League players competing on FIFA 20. Gfinity has won the contract to operate the second instalment of the ePremier League Invitational tournament, following its involvement in the inaugural tournament last month. The latest ePremier League Invitational will see a different group of Premier League […]
AWS teams up with F1 on ‘deep learning’ autonomous race
The race tournament is based on machine-learning and those taking part include F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has teamed up with Formula 1 to create an autonomous racing tournament, the AWS DeepRacer ProAm Race. Those taking part build models in machine-learning platform Amazon SageMaker then train, test, and iterate these models using […]
Sky Sports unveils new brand promo, produced in lockdown
Ad campaign celebrates the power of sports and centres on content posted on the social accounts of sports stars. Sky’s in-house ad agency, Sky Creative Agency has created a new brand spot for Sky Sports, which focuses on the positive aspects of sport for both fans and sports stars. The spot, I Am Sport, sets […]
Sports Illustrated signs up to Dugout for archive and BTS football content
US publisher to provide football fans with exclusive video content from more than 100 football clubs. Football content platform Dugout has inked a deal with Maven, the publisher of Sports Illustrated, to provide archive and behind-the-scenes video content to US-based football fans. The content comes from 100+ football clubs, national football federations and leagues, and […]
Eurosport to screen Zwift Tour for All exhibition cycle eracing series
5-day tournament features some of the world’s best cyclists and mass-participation stages. Eurosport is broadcasting the Zwift Tour for All exhibition racing series, a pro racing tour on the Zwift virtual platform. The tour will be held over five stages on 4-8 May, and will feature teams from both the men’s and women’s World Tours. […]
Noah Media Group to rep international sales for Steven Gerrard doc
Doc producer Noah Media Group expands the range of films it represents through its distribution wing, NoahX. Sports doc maker Noah Media Group has picked up international sales rights to Lorton Entertainment’s Make Us Dream and HBO’s Bleed Out, for the company’s distribution wing, NoahX. Make Us Dream is the story of Liverpool and England […]
Sky Sports unveils schedule for inaugural The Cricket Show
Cricket-focused magazine show includes ECB’s Tom Harrison talking about the future of the highly anticipated The Hundred tournament. The first episode of Sky Sports’ The Cricket Show will TX at 2pm tomorrow (30 April). It features cricket ‘super fan’ Captain Tom Moore, who has raised more than £29m for the NHS through his garden walks. […]
Sunset + Vine furloughs almost 80% of staff
Sports indie operating with 30 employees as live events shut down. Sports indie Sunset + Vine has furloughed three-quarters of staff as production is put on pause, with senior execs taking pay cuts. Speaking to trade publication Sport Business, Jeff Foulser, who chairs the Tinopolis-owned producer, said around 100 individuals – 77% of its 130 […]
ESL tech project creates real-time replays for esports
Partnership to innovate with live data visualisation in esports completes its first project. ESL has announced the first project to be completed from its partnership with Berlin-based Bayes Esports Solutions, which began in 2019. The partnership aims to create new innovations in live data visualisations in esports, with the first project – CARP – enabling […]
Eleven Sports Portugal creates new esports motorsports format
The esports event will be televised by Eleven Sports Portugal, with Eleven Sports prizes for the winners. Eleven Sports Portugal has created a new esports motorsports format, in partnership with GTC Race Centre and the Autódromo Virtual de Lisboa. The tournament will consist of six heats and culminate in a grand final on Sunday 7 […]
Behind the scenes: PDC Home Tour darts
Broadcast Sport gets the low down on how the innovative home darts tournament has been staged and broadcast. Loop Productions, based at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol has revealed its role in getting the PDC Home Tour darts tournament on air. Speaking to Broadcast Sport, the company’s production engineer Adam Young, said: “We used […]
COMMENT: Hitting the right notes with music on sports productions
Charles Gadsdon, global director of growth EMEA, MassiveMusic on the importance of creating a sonic brand for TV sport. In football, music is arguably just as important as the club badges, colours and nicknames. Whether the chorus of fans in the Kop singing the moving You’ll Never Walk Alone to the playful I’m Forever Blowing […]
Sky Sports to broadcast ‘watch-along’ golf final with Rory McIlroy
Close fought final gets a re-run tomorrow evening, hosted by tournament winner McIlroy. Sky Sports is broadcasting a ‘watch-along’ screening of the final of the Players Championship 2019 golf tournament, featuring live insight and breakdown from tournament winner Rory McIlroy. McIlroy will join Nick Dougherty and Brandel Chamblee live from 9.35pm tomorrow (Tuesday, 28 April) […]
S4C lines up schedule of Welsh sporting classics
Welsh broadcaster goes big on Wales-focused sporting re-runs. Welsh broadcaster S4C is the latest to announce a series of archive broadcasts, to fill the slot left by live sport cancellations. Naturally, it’s focused on Wales’ sporting past, with the broadcaster commissioning a number of productions it will TX over the coming weeks. The programming includes […]
Podcast: Blast Premier CEO Robbie Douek on the growth of esports during the pandemic
Blast Premier esports CEO Robbie Douek talks to Broadcast Sport reporter Max Miller. In episode #9 of the Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series, Blast Premier esports CEO Robbie Douek talks to Broadcast Sport reporter Max Miller about the appeal of esports – what draws fans to the games, and how esports can capitalise on the […]
Industry responds to lockdown: watch virtual roundtable debate
You can stream the full BT Media & Broadcast sports industry discussion for free. BT Media & Broadcast has shared the full virtual roundtable webinar discussion it held last week to discuss the impact coronavirus is having on sports production and broadcast. The roundtable included representatives from BT Sport, Excel Esports, FACEIT and Noah Media […]
United World Wrestling brings in slomo.tv for video refereeing
The system has been undergoing testing by the wrestling governing body for the last two years. Amateur wrestling governing body United World Wrestling (UWW) has chosen Slomo.tv as its video referee for all its matches. The company’s videoReferee-SR systems will be used at 20 competitions as well as the 2021 and 2024 Olympic Games. UWW, […]
Liverpool FC to repurpose archive content for fans during lockdown
It’s using cloud-based editing and publishing platform Blackbird. Liverpool FC is using remote video editing and publishing platform Blackbird to repurpose content from its archive, to provide fans with rarely seen clips during the Covid-19 pandemic. The archive content will be published on the Liverpool FC website and social platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and […]
Alternative thrills: Why esports is like punk rock
Ross Video esports business development manager Cameron Reed on the anti-establishment appeal of esports. In the 1970s punk music offered a new home to young people looking for an alternative to the established norms; it represented a rebellion against a mainstream culture that its followers saw as conservative, traditional and saccharine. I think you can […]