BT Sport has decentralised production to enable presenters and crew to create, produce and broadcast live shows from their homes. Episode 8 of the Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series sees BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh talking with Broadcast Sport editor Jake Bickerton about how the broadcaster has responded to lockdown. Working to a very tight […]
Author archives: Jake Bickerton
The tech that could breathe life into an unattended game
Rosh Singh, managing director at ‘innovation production studio’ Unit9 (pictured below) reveals the tech innovations that could breathe life and energy into the broadcast of an unattended game. VR is a terrible medium for watching sports. Even ignoring the fact that the distribution of headsets is too far too low for it to be meaningful, […]
Eleven Sports to televise Digital Swiss cycling esports event
The esports competition uses real video footage of the roads in the Tour de Suisse. Eleven Sports is to broadcast The Digital Swiss 5 cycling series live in Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Italy and Myanmar. The race, which takes place 22-26 April, features some of the world’s best cyclists, with 16 of the 19 World […]
Live darts returns to television
The Professional Darts Corporation’s home-staged tournament, Home Tour darts, is being televised each night from 7:30pm. One of the few examples of live sports still on our screens is the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Home Tour darts tournament, which began on Friday. The competition runs for 32 consecutive nights, broadcasting live and on-demand for free […]
Podcast: Ronnie O’Sullivan & Eurosport’s Jamie Steward
O’Sullivan talks about what he’s been up to during lockdown, including recording a series of 30-minute vodcasts for Eurosport, while Steward reveals Eurosport’s sports strategy to fill the live sport void during the pandemic. The latest episode of Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series sees Ronnie O’Sullivan join Eurosport UK senior director of production and broadcast […]
Arsenal launches TikTok account with exclusive content and mini-series
The football club will use the platform to target a younger audience. Arsenal has launched an official account on social media platform TikTok. The club aims to use TikTok to target a new audience and younger demographic with “exclusive access to first-team stars, behind-the-scenes content, current trends, challenges and exclusive mini-series.” Arsenal has 70+ million […]
Real Estelí FC adds English commentary to YouTube matches
English commentary will help expand the global audience for the club. Nicaraguan club Real Estelí FC has teamed up with virtual commentary studio Spalk to make its matches available in English. The games will be streamed in English through the club’s YouTube channel in an attempt to expand its fan base. Spalk will be providing […]
LaLiga unveils three new programme formats during lockdown
Spanish football league is rolling out new programming to its domestic and international audience. LaLiga is creating three new programmes to enable fans to get closer to LaLiga stars. The shows – LaLiga StayAtHome, LaLiga Clubs and LaLiga Nations – will air on LaLiga’s national and international broadcasters, including LaLigaTV. LaLiga StayAtHome is a 30-minute […]
Dugout to provide exclusive football clips to Chinese platform PP Sports
The football video archive, owned by some of the world’s biggest clubs, is providing a range of content for Chinese football fans. Dugout has announced a new video content partnership with Chinese digital platform, PP Sports, to help meet the increasing demand for football content from fans in China. Dugout, which is co-owned by 10 […]
Viewpoint: The appeal and thrill of esports
Amanda Lawson, global head of content at esports company Gfinity on the thrill of the game. Having spent 20 years working in sport, from football through combat sports and more recently in esports, I thought I had seen everything. I am sitting in our broadcast gallery in Fulham, sitting in a different room to my […]
Former ESPN CEO joins board of interactive streamer Maestro
The company adds Steve Bornstein to its advisory board during a period of growth. Live interactive streaming platform Maestro has added Steve Bornstein, the former CEO of ESPN and former CEO of NFL Network to its advisory board. He will help guide Maestro as it aims to grow from its heartland of esports to traditional […]
Eurosport reveals snooker content to replace World Snooker Championship
The broadcaster, which calls itself the Home of Snooker, has created new content with snooker legends, as well as new formats that enable fans to delve into its extensive snooker archive. Eurosport has unveiled its snooker programming over the next two weeks to replace the postponed World Snooker Championship season finale. The broadcaster has created […]
COPA90 tackles mental health in latest episode of The Groundbreakers
New episode of popular COPA90 series sees Michael Keane discussing his own mental health. The latest episode of COPA90 series The Groundbreakers sees Everton and England player Michael Keane talking about his struggles with mental health. The production was made in association with mental health charity Calm, and focuses on how Keane reacted to an […]
Sports channel Unbeaten launches on OTT platform TVPlayer
It will host daily sports news and a range of original sports programming. A new subscription sports channel, Unbeaten, has launched on OTT platform TVPlayer to cover sports news and broadcast original programming featuring “high-profile” sports stars. The channel will host a range of daily news shows – Life’s a Pitch, Sport Confidential, The Football […]
BT Sport removes WrestleMania from PPV for free screening this weekend
BT Sport is replaying WrestleMania in its entirety this weekend, and is removing the pay-per-view requirement, making it available for all subscribers at no additional cost. The WrestleMania action will be broadcast on Saturday and Sunday night, alongside a range of other WWE content to be screened across the bank holiday weekend (see box […]
Eleven Sports goes free in Italy and Portugal
The OTT broadcaster removes subscription costs for the rest of April, and – in Portugal – all of May too. Eleven Sports has frozen all subscriptions in Italy until 3 May and in Portugal until 31 May. The full archive of content on the platform will be made available for free during this time. Eleven […]
FA launches FIFA 20 esports tournament with England players
The esports tournament is part of The FA’s #FootballsStayingHome campaign. The FA is launching a FIFA 20 tournament featuring 16 England players from the men’s, women’s and MU21 squads. The tournament will run as part of The FA’s #FootballsStayingHome initiative and is being run to raise awareness for the National Emergencies Trust and their efforts […]
Sky Sports updates schedules with archive, docs and a series of new shows
Archive material, new shows and documentaries to be unveiled by Sky Sports over the coming weeks and months. Sky Sports is launching a weekday mid-morning football show and adding a range of content across its 11 channels, digital and social platforms in an attempt to “give viewers their sporting fix during these times of national […]
Sports industry experts join webinar to discuss the impact of the pandemic
Sign up now to hear experts from BT Sport, Noah Media, Excel Sports and FACEIT at 4pm on 14 April. BT Media & Broadcast is running a virtual roundtable webinar, The changing content landscape, at 4pm on Tuesday 14 April. The event will discuss the way the sports industry is evolving in its response to […]
Otro receives investment from Eleven Sports backer Aser Ventures
The investment comes as the sports content creator transitions away from a subscriptions model Aser Ventures has made an equity investment in the sports-focused content studio Otro. The investment company’s portfolio already includes a number of sports businesses such as Eleven Sports and Leeds United. The investment in Otro is a ‘strategic partnership’ between Aser […]
Sports viewing falls by 91% as coronavirus hits Europe
A streaming report from Conviva shows the impact of the pandemic on sports viewing. Sports viewing is down 91% across Europe, according to research by streaming intelligence company Conviva. Sports usually accounts for around 30% of viewing, but since the coronavirus pandemic has halted all live sports, sports viewing has plummeted dramatically. There’s been a […]
BT Sport launches live show to re-run last year’s Champions League
Archive material to be aired by BT Sport in a new live show format, preceded by highlights from classic European finals BT Sport is re-running key UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League moments for British clubs through two new productions. The first new series – Throwbacks, on BT Sport 2 – is focused on […]
Rakuten TV unveils feature-length Sadio Mané doc Made in Senegal
The 72-minute documentary will be streamed free-to-air on Rakuten TV. Rakuten TV is debuting a 72-minute documentary about Liverpool FC’s Sadio Mané, called Made In Senegal. The film goes live tomorrow (8 April) as part of the OTT service’s free ad-supported Rakuten Stories doc strand. Made in Senegal documents Manés’ origins from humble beginnings in […]
COVID-19’s effect on football: Spotlight on the Women’s Game
Rebecca Smith, global director of the women’s game, Copa90 gives her opinion on how the coronavirus crisis could impact the growth of women’s football. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt across the globe and the consequences for football and in particular women’s football are multifaceted and complex. The recent announcements that the […]
BT Sport unveils schedule of original sports docs for April
Broadcaster to screen one original sports doc a week. BT Sport is to showcase one original sports documentary a week during the coronavirus crisis. Its schedule of BT Sport Films covers sports stories across a wide range of sports, including football, rugby, boxing and MotoGP. The first of the weekly series was broadcast yesterday with […]
Almost 5m tune in to the Virtual Grand National
The virtual version of the real thing pulls in around half the audience of last year’s real race. ITV’s Virtual Grand National reached a peak audience of 4.8m, with an average of 4.3m (a 28% audience share) tuning in to the broadcast. The computer simulation of the annual horse race – which ran at the […]
DAZN picks up WWE for Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Sports streamer adds live and on-demand WWE content to its sports content across these territories. WWE has agreed a multi-year deal with DAZN for live and on demand programming of weekly WWE content for DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Beginning this week, WWE Raw and SmackDown shows will go out with the original US […]
Arsenal FC chooses Blackbird for quick-turnaround social content
Cloud video editor to be used by the club for editing and distributing live and archive content on social platforms. Arsenal Football Club has announced it’s to use cloud video platform Blackbird for the speedy editing and publishing of content to fans. The club, which has a combined following of 70+ million fans across its […]
Eleven Sports wins rights to DTM racing in Poland and Belgium
Iconic touring-car series joins Eleven Sports’ racing content in these markets. Eleven Sports has picked up the rights to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing series in Poland and Belgium. DTM bills itself as the most popular touring-car series in Europe, featuring spectacular races and cutting-edge coupe cars. The series of 10 race days is […]
BBC fills sports void with wealth of sports archive content
The broadcaster is replacing live sports events with classic sporting moments. With coronavirus putting a stop to all live sport, BBC Sport is the latest sport broadcaster to turn its attentions to archive sports footage. It’s scheduling a whole calendar of archive sporting events, including the London 2012 Olympic Games. BBC1 will show both The […]
Wimbledon 2020 cancelled, Women’s Euro 2021 postponed
Two more huge sporting events affected by the coronavirus pandemic In somewhat inevitable news, the All England Club (AELTC) announced earlier today that Wimbledon 2020 wouldn’t go ahead – the first time the iconic tennis competition has been cancelled since World War II. A decision has also been made to move the Women’s European Championship […]
Blast esports tournaments to move from stadiums to online
Esports tournament promises “an immersive live broadcast unlike anything done before”. Global esports network Blast is adapting its forthcoming Premier Spring Showdown and Spring Final events to be played remotely, in response to the coronavirus crisis. The events, which are both scheduled for June, were previously due to be held live in stadiums in front […]
Tech Talks podcast: BBC’s Gavin Ramjaun on reporting during the pandemic
Episode #4 of the Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series is with BBC sports and news presenter Gavin Ramjaun Up until a month or so ago, being a sports presenter was a fairly predictable role, reporting on the day’s live sports. Like everything else in life right now, coronavirus has turned the role of sports presenter […]
Tech Talks podcast: Duncan Alexander on the power of football stats during the pandemic
Episode #3 of the new Broadcast Tech Talks podcast is with Stats Perform/OptaJoe football statistician, broadcaster and author Duncan Alexander In this eight-minute interview – the third in the new Broadcast Tech Talks podcast series – Stats Perform chief data editor Duncan Alexander provides some fascinating insight into how historic football data consistently unearths new […]
Will Carling blog #6: The odds of placekicking
Will Carling continues his exclusive blog series for Broadcast Sport during a Six Nations tournament now abruptly halted by coronavirus. This week he looks at the insight provided by the new kick predictor on-screen graphics. To say the Guinness Six Nations Championship has been a little unusual this year is an understatement. While the last […]
UEFA creates committee to discuss revised European football calendar
Committee aims to remake the calendar to ensure completion of European football leagues in 2020. LaLiga, the Premier League, European Club Association, UEFA and European Leagues have all confirmed they will take part in a UEFA-created committee to discuss the revised European football calendar for 2020. LaLiga president Javier Tebas will represent the league’s interests, […]
Will Carling blog #5: Power Game
Will Carling’s fifth exclusive blog for Broadcast Sport, covering the new on-screen graphics unveiled for the Six Nations tournament. This week, Carling discusses the power game, showing where a team is dominant, where a team is lacking, and potentially where the match is being won or lost. The Guinness Six Nations Championship always delivers an […]
BT Sport shows UK’s first public live 8K HDR sports broadcast
BT Sport tests live 8K HDR and says it will roll it out to BT Sport Ultimate this year BT Sport last night screened the UK’s first public live 8K HDR sports broadcast, showing the second leg UEFA Europa League clash between Arsenal v Olympiacos on a Samsung 82” QLED 8K TV at the Emirates […]
Title sequence for Saudi Cup unveiled
Visually striking creative work was helmed by renowned sports director Daryl Goodrich HBA Media has revealed the title sequence and graphics for its coverage of the inaugural Saudi Cup, which takes place on 29 February in Riyadh. The 30-second creative for what’s being described as “the world’s richest race” was directed by award-winning sports film […]
Eleven Sports Portugal creates Champions League WhatsApp service
Messaging app used to get live clips and match updates direct to fans Eleven Sports has launched a WhatsApp service to provide fans with speedy access to the latest sports clips. The service kicked off this week, during Eleven Sports Portugal’s coverage of the Champions League. It was used to share match updates and goal […]
Premier League exec director on why not to go D2C
Any move by the Premier League to go direct-to-consumer (D2C) will present significant challenges, reveals exec director William Bush Premier League executive director William Bush has revealed some of the barriers to entry to launching its own global D2C service. It follows the Premier League announcing plans to make its first moves into OTT, with […]
Will Carling Six Nations blog #3: Big hits, big Insights
Will Carling’s third exclusive blog for Broadcast Sport, covering the new on-screen graphics unveiled for the Six Nations tournament. This week Carling discusses the analysis of dominant tackles. The second weekend of matches was certainly one to remember, set against the backdrop of dramatic gale force winds and heavy rain caused by Storm Ciara. Scotland […]
BT Sport unveils enhanced video player for UFC fans
BT Sport has integrated its enhanced video player into its coverage of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) BT Sport has enhanced the way UFC content can be viewed via the BT Sport website and BT Sport app, through the introduction of its enhanced video player. Viewers of UFC will now be able to access full […]
Will Carling blog: Six Nations graphics (Visits to 22) explained
Will Carling explains how the Visits to 22 graphic provided added insight during England’s opening game of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations The 2020 Guinness Six Nations has arrived. The opening weekend offered up three huge clashes among the finest teams that Northern Hemisphere rugby has to offer. The pick of the fixtures for me […]
BT Sport to bolster women’s and disability football coverage
Plans revealed to increase content around women’s football and disability football and encourage more women to take up production roles BT Sport will increase its coverage of women’s football, put more focus on disability football, and provide more broadcast training to girls. The developments were announced during the launch of BT’s 4-3-3 strategy, which sees […]
BBC launches pop-up FA Cup channel on iPlayer
The channel will show two full days of FA Cup content, including all live games this weekend The BBC has created a pop-up FA Cup channel on BBC iPlayer centred around this weekend’s fourth round action, as well as showing archived FA Cup content. The VoD channel will show two full days of FA Cup […]
Six Nations adds in-depth tactical analysis to TV coverage
Five new stats will provide fans with a deeper level of insight into team tactics and performance A series of new insights have been created for The Guinness Six Nations Championship that attempt to reveal the subtle plans, plays, attacks, and defence of each team. The five new stats supplement seven stats added for the […]
Lauded mountaineer Kilian Jornet gets Rakuten TV doc
Rakuten TV unveils free-to-air doc about record breaking mountaineer, ultramarathon and extreme sports star Rakuten TV is launching a documentary – Inside Kilian Jornet – that follows mountaineer and extreme sports athlete Kilian Jornet on his 2019 international tour. The documentary was shot throughout last year across 10 cities in Europe, Asia and the United States. It […]
StarTimes wins Formula E rights for Africa
Formula E races will be screened in 37 countries across the continent StarTimes has picked up the TV rights to the rest of the Formula E Championship season. It will screen races live across its linear and digital channels in Africa. The new broadcast partnership brings Formula E to viewers in 37 countries, including South […]
BT Sport to show two live NHL games a week
Broadcaster is to sub-licence the matches from Premier Sports BT Sport has picked up the rights to the National Hockey League (NHL) and will now show two live games each week. The broadcaster says it will air a game most weekends during ‘UK primetime hours’. It will also broadcast Stanley Cup finals and the All-Star […]
Eurosport goes behind-the-scenes with Serena Williams coach
30-minute doc on tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou is part of the broadcaster’s Australian Open coverage Eurosport is serving up a 30-minute doc that goes behind-the-scenes with super-coach Patrick Mouratoglou (pictured above) throughout the 2019 tennis season. The Insider: Patrick Mouratoglou documentary kicks off the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2020 Australian Open tournament and follows the coach of […]
Bundesliga to use AI/ML to enhance live game stats and analysis
Machine learning will enable the German football league to provide a plethora of new live game predictions Germany’s football league Bundesliga is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide more in-depth insight in the stats and analysis displayed on-screen during live games. It plans to bring in real-time stats that will […]
Sky Sports and Comcast launch sports tech accelerator
Initiative aims to train, mentor, develop and fund 10 sports tech startups Sky Sports and Comcast NBCUniversal are launching ‘SportsTech’, a global accelerator programme to mentor, develop and fund sports tech startups on both sides of the Atlantic. NBCSports, Gold Channel, NASCAR, US Ski and Snowboard and USA Swimming are also involved in the launch. […]
Ascot hires HBA Media to handle global media rights
Five year deal for international rights takes effect this month Ascot Racecourse has appointed international horseracing media rights agency HBA Media to market its global media rights. HBA Media will be responsible for the distribution of Ascot’s non-betting international media rights portfolio, including Royal Ascot, as well as all Flat and National Hunt Racing, excluding […]
SquashTV to stream entire British Junior Open for free
Full free-to-access live coverage of the five day tournament begins today SquashTV is televising the entire Dunlop British Junior Open squash tournament for free via its SquashTV platform. Coverage is currently live and free-to-access to registered users of the site. The tournament is considered the most prestigious on the junior circuit and features more than […]
SailGP set to unveil its first global marketing campaign
The fast-paced sailing championship has teamed up with GBH and Knucklehead SailGP is kicking off its first global marketing campaign later this month with a spot called It’s Not What You Think, which aims to highlight that “SailGP isn’t sailing in the traditional sense”. The campaign (pictured below), which launches a month in advance of SailGP’s […]
Copa90 investigates darker side of women’s football
Facebook Watch doc examines sexual abuse scandal in the Afghan national women’s team Copa90 is investigating the darker side of women’s football in its Facebook Watch show The Other Half. Host Caspar Lee examines the sexual abuse scandal that engulfed the Afghanistan national women’s team – and the wider issues it raises for the women’s […]
EDGEsport expands distribution to 50 countries
Action sports channel strikes broadcast deals around the world EDGEsport, the 24/7 action sports TV channel owned and operated by IMG, has secured a number of new broadcast and distribution agreements. New deals include Xumo and Stirr in the US, Samsung TV+ in the US and the UK, Youku in China and the launch of […]
Discovery acquires Golf Channel Latin America
Broadcaster adds to golf portfolio with pay-TV acquisition Discovery has bolstered its golf media business in Latin America with the acquisition of pay-service Golf Channel Latin America. The channel was bought from Simple Networks LLC and Fornaluz Productions, S.A., an affiliate of Inversiones Bahia. The acquisition adds to Discovery’s global portfolio that includes digital platform GOLFTV, […]
VIDEO: Virtual Studios and sports graphics
A detailed discussion with practical examples of top-end virtual studio setups from the Broadcast Sport Tech Innovation Forum 2019 The virtual studios and sports graphics panel discussion from the Broadcast Sport Tech Innovation Forum 2019 held at BT Sport studio on 14 November 2019. To find out more about the annual event, head over to http://broadcasttech.co.uk/sports-tech-innovation/ […]
Broadcast Sport launches Content Summit
New event focuses on best practice for creating sports content across live sports, documentaries and studio-based shows Broadcast Sport is running a full day Content Creation Summit at Dock 10 studios at MediaCityUK on Thursday, 5 March 2020. The event focuses on different areas of sports production, providing a platform for sports content producers […]
Eleven Sports creates VIP Watch Together experience for El Clasico
Fans can watch live reactions from Johan Walem, Walter Basseggio and actor Erico Salamone Eleven Sports is adding a VIP feature to its Watch Together function for tomorrow’s El Clasico game (Wednesday 18 December), to enable fans to join an online ‘room’ to watch live reactions to the game of Belgium U21 manager Johan Walem, […]
LaLigaTV channel to launch on Sky TV
Premier Sports and LaLiga bring dedicated 24/7 LaLigaTV channel to Sky EPG LaLiga is bringing its new dedicated TV channel to the Sky platform in the New Year, showing all live matches from Spain’s top-flight league in full HD. The LaLigaTV channel launches on Sky from Monday 13 January and costs £5.99 a month. To […]
Amazon Prime to show live tennis from the first ATP Cup
Matches from the new tennis tournament will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video will show all live tennis from the first ATP Cup, taking place Friday 3 January – Sunday 12 January. The new tournament comes as part of an five-year existing deal Amazon Prime has in place with the ATP […]
VIDEO: State of the Nation (Broadcast Sport Tech Innovation Forum 2019)
The full 35-minute opening speaker panel session The opening panel discussion from the Broadcast Sport Tech Innovation Forum 2019 held at BT Sport studio on 14 November 2019. To find out more about the annual event, head over to http://broadcasttech.co.uk/sports-tech-innovation/ Chaired by sports presenter Gavin Ramjaun, the speaker panel is: Jamie Hindhaugh, COO, BT Sport Gordon […]
LaLiga reveals series of tech innovations at Madrid event
The tech advancements are based on business intelligence, analytics and machine learning LaLiga has unveiled a series of tech innovations at its Technology, the secret behind LaLiga event, held at its offices in Madrid. The sports federation used the event to reveal details of new and emerging projects that have been developed by LaLiga in recent […]
Eleven Sports to give fans ‘seconds after live’ social media clips
Broadcaster partners with cloud editing platform Blackbird to speed up content delivery to sports fans Eleven Sports has agreed a two-year contract with cloud video editing platform Blackbird for the rapid editing and publishing of sports content online. The broadcaster’s OTT platform delivers thousands of hours of sports content to its global subscriber base. It […]
Festive spot centres on BMX supercross rider Kye Whyte British Cycling has produced its first Christmas film, centred on Tokyo 2020 Olympic hopeful Kye Whyte. The film follows Whyte as a child in Peckham, from getting his first bike for Christmas to becoming a world-renowned BMX supercross rider. British Cycling says it’s hoping to reach […]
EVS AI-driven offside line wins FIFA seal of approval
The tech in VAR product Xeebra uses machine learning to create an offside line overlay EVS’s AI-driven offside line tech has received certification from FIFA for meeting its standards for dealing with the complexities of precisely determining the offside line The offside tech – which is integrated into EVS’s Xeebra VAR system – uses machine […]
All Formula E races to go free-to-air on the BBC
Fans in the UK can watch live Formula E races on different BBC platforms as well as Eurosport and Quest The BBC is to televise all of this season’s Formula E races live, on free-to-air TV and online. The Marrakesh e-prix in Morocco on 29 February and Rome e-prix on 4 April will go out […]