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 […]
Category archives: Tech Innovation
Roundtable: How to Build A Fan Base
The rise in new sports formats has focused attention on the best way to combine traditional media with social and digital platforms to engage with and retain audiences. In recent years, a plethora of newly devised sports formats have launched. Formats like Sail GP, Extreme E, the Six Day Series and Roborace or major one-off […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
BT Sport Early Kick Off to be produced live from home using 4G network
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 […]
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 […]
Deltatre strengthens global commercial team with double hire
The company is continuing to bring people in despite the coronavirus troubles in sport Deltrate has brought in two new hires to its global commercial team. Former Perform executive Adam Bowley joins the company as commercial manager, and will perform account management duties for its LIVE clients in the UK. Meanwhile, Adam Bigwood has come […]
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 […]
Bowls Premier League ramps up digital coverage
Australia’s fast-action bowls tournament created live social video highlight clips to help attract a new, younger audience to bowls. The Bowls Premier League (BPL), held in Moama, New South Wales, Australia last month, used cloud-based live video production platform Grabyo to create, edit and deliver real-time social video highlights. The highlight clips were used to […]
Mediapro extends virtual advertising deal with Supponor
It will allow the company to continue using the tech in La Liga matches Virtual advertising company Supponor and sports production company Mediapro have agreed a long-term licensing deal for the former’s products. Supponor currently supplies its LED perimeter replacement, Digital Billboard Replacement (DBRLive), and virtual carpet, Natural Scene Augmentation (NSA,) systems to Mediapro. DBRLive […]
Pico reveals AI viewer interaction system for Israeli broadcaster
It is hoping to identify fans for future use Sport technology company Pico has revealed its AI fan interaction system currently in use by the Israeli Sports Channel (Sport 5) and used by KAN 11, the Israeli public channel for the 2018 World Cup games. Pico has supplied AI technology to the TV channel for […]
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 […]
The Future Group reveals Pixotope role in Super Bowl mixed reality production
It helped to create the reveal of the NFL’s 100 All Time Team The Future Group has revealed its virtual production system, Pixotope, was used in the creation of a seven-minute mixed reality production at the 2020 Super Bowl. Six installations of Pixotope were provided for the segment – about the NFL’s 100 All Time […]
Espanyol to deploy Supponor ad tech at all La Liga home matches
Tech can be used to tailor advertising to different regions and demographics La Liga side RCD Espanyol de Barcelona are to deploy Supponor tech at all home league games. Espanyol will be making use of the company’s DBRLive virtual replacement technology and NSA virtual carpet placement solution. These are used in conjunction with LED perimeter […]
LaLiga to produce 4K El Clasico with latest tech
It is looking for a high-quality viewer experience LaLiga are set to produce the latest El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona in 4K-HDR when it is played on 1 March. It is also set to make use of some of the latest camera and graphics technology to film one of the biggest games in […]
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 […]
Insight TV commissions first 8K sport documentary
It will be its first fully 8K documentary Insight TV has commissioned its first 8K UHD HDR sport documentary, Sandboarding on Dragon Hill. Premiering in June on Insight TV, the show is being produced by French production company FastFokus – who previously worked with Insight TV to produce MTB Heroes: Trailblazers. 2020 could be a […]
Brainstorm to collaborate with Spidercam for sports AR
They have already deployed joint installations to cover WWE Real time 3D graphics and virtual studios company Brainstorm is to collaborate with Spidercam to further develop augmented reality technology for sport and other events in large spaces. Cable camera and robotics manufacturer Spidercam has already worked with Brainstorm to cover the WWE season, including the […]
STADS launches with Del Piero backing to assist targeted in-stadium ads
Advertisers will be able to target advertisements towards certain markets through broadcast Advertising platform STADS has launched with the backing of legendary Italian footballer Alessandro del Piero. Founded in 2018, the company aims to make it easier for advertisers to find the relevant games and times to place their commercials on in-stadium boards for international […]
Will Carling Six Nations blog #4: Drawing the battle lines with ruck insights
Will Carling’s fourth exclusive blog for Broadcast Sport, covering the new on-screen graphics unveiled for the Six Nations tournament. This week, Carling discusses the analysis of rucks and turnovers. We’re now over the half way mark in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations Championship, and the action is really starting to heat up. While Italy took […]
Research reveals substantial live sport streaming opportunities
Although viewers demand a high-quality service Research from Verizon Media has revealed that there could be significant opportunities for sports streaming platforms in the current market. Conducted with over 5,000 fans across the US, UK, France, Germany, and Holland, 63% of the respondents said that they would be open to paying more for a sports […]
Using cloud technology to scale up business and monetise content
SPONSORED: Copa90 and Aurora Media Worldwide have leveraged cloud technology to improve their businesses The explosion of new sports content viewing platforms presents new challenges for companies in sports media, dealing with management, storage, processing and delivery of huge data sets. Two companies that have solved this problem by leveraging cloud technology to scale-up their […]
Game on: the ever-growing production values of esports events
Head of marketing & communications at live production specialists EVS, Sebastien Verlaine, gives a view into the world of esports production Across online and TV it is estimated that more than 500 million people around the world are watching other people play video games. Yet, as esports continue to grow in popularity, tournament producers are […]
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 […]
Second Spectrum/AWS to usher in sports viewing innovations
AWS tools will help bring new game-watching experiences to fans Optical tracking company Second Spectrum has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and media services provider. Second Spectrum, which provides optical tracking for both the NBA and the Premier League, says its partnership with AWS will […]
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 […]
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 […]
Tata Communications to launch 100G media backbone
Move likely to boost adoption of 4k, Esports and remote production Tata Communications is to launch a 100G media backbone to meet growing bandwidth demands in the broadcasting, sports and esports industries. Delivered in collaboration with Net Insight, the 100G backbone will help overcome the technical complexities of esports, with each event involving multiple cameras, […]
Dorna Sports and LaLiga team for anti-piracy fight
MotoGP rights holder to use LaLiga’s anti-piracy services MotoGP and the WorldSBK superbike championship rights holder Dorna Sports has struck a deal with Spanish football’s LaLiga to use its anti-piracy services. LaLiga’s content protection department will use its anti-piracy tools to monitor and eliminate illegal MotoGP and WorldSBK audiovisual content hosted on social networks, digital […]
Will Carling: How technology is changing our experience of rugby
The first in a series of six weekly blogs from rugby legend Will Carling, written exclusively for Broadcast Sport Last year, for the very first time during the 2019 Guinness Six Nations Championship, fans had access to never-before-seen insights into the great game of rugby through new on-screen dynamic stats powered by Amazon Web Services […]
Behind the scenes: Eurosport coverage of the Australian Open
Complex remote production set up has seen 300 live hours tennis produced Eurosport wraps its coverage of the Australian Open after the finals this weekend, having broadcast every match either on Eurosport live or on-demand – over 300 live hours in total. Eurosport Germany, France, Spain, Russia, Norway and UK production teams have all been […]
Arena, Dock10 live trial FA Cup remote production for BBC Sport
Production team based at a gallery in Dock10 for FA Cup fourth round OB specialist Arena Television and Dock10 studios have completed a live trial of a new virtual gallery solution with BBC Sport for the fourth round of the FA Cup. BBC Sport’s production team was based at a gallery in Dock10, meaning a […]
Top tips for producing sports in 4K and 8K UHD HDR
Insight TV executive producer Frank le Mair provides an assortment of tips for creating content in 4K and 8K UHD HDR There is significant impact to the production process when creating a 4K UHD HDR programme. First and foremost, producers must have access to, and be using the right equipment to shoot in 4K UHD […]
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 […]
ITF selects Imagen to manage content archive
Tennis governing body wants to generate more value from its assets The International Tennis Federation (ITF), the world governing body of tennis, has selected SaaS video platform Imagen to manage and distribute its content archive which dates back to the 1940s. The ITF has digitised its content catalogue of 15,000 assets, which includes Davis Cup […]
Spearheading a cloud video editing revolution
SPONSORED: Blackbird is setting its sights on global domination through its patented, ultra-fast cloud video editing and publishing platform The proposition promised by Blackbird is simple enough – to provide a workstation experience in the cloud – yet it’s an objective almost impossibly complex to achieve. It means matching the capability and functionality of a […]
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. […]
BT steps up piracy fight
Strikes partnership with ATEME to use its encryption techniques to protect satellite uplinked content BT is stepping up its efforts to combat the piracy of its subscription-based content through a new partnership with video infrastructure company ATEME. BT is using the company’s encryption techniques to protect satellite uplinked content, and BT’s Media and Broadcast unit […]
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, […]
LaLiga tests out Sceenic’s Watch Together on OTT platform
Software allows fans to react and comment on OTT platform in real-time with friends Spain’s LaLiga has partnered with shared viewing platform Sceenic to run a pilot featuring its Watch Together software solution. Sceenic’s Watch Together software solution will be integrated into LaLiga’s OTT platform for the pilot, allowing fans to stream games, and react […]
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 […]
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 […]
BT Sport and Rise team up on schools outreach programme
The Rise-Up programme aims to inspire children to consider a career in broadcast, in tech and engineering roles BT Sport has teamed up with Rise – an advocate group for gender diversity – to launch new schools outreach programme, Rise-Up. The aim of Rise-Up is to “inspire and educate children about engineering and technology opportunities […]
Vodafone survey reveals high expectations for 5G innovation in sports
5G anticipated to drive improvements in fan engagement and open up new revenue opportunities Vodafone has released research revealing sports organisations believe the rollout of 5G will drive new and innovative fan experiences. The telco questioned 250 decision-makers in the sports sector across the UK, with 76% of respondents saying they will use 5G as […]
Linius personalised sport highlight reels launched in Europe
Australian company is targeting its cloud-based video editing service at European sports organisations Linius is launching its personalised highlight reel product Sports Club Solution across Europe. It’s linking up with video platform provider Swanbay for the rollout. Linius Sports Club Solution enables sports organisations and fans to assemble and compile sports footage, and quickly create personalised […]
J.League introduces AI-created personalised highlights
Japanese soccer league is providing fans with bespoke highlight clips, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) The top-flight of Japanese soccer, J.League is using AI to create personalised highlight clips of Japanese football content. AI specialist WSC Sports is working with J.League to automatically generate and distribute tailored sports video content in near […]
Lillehammer upgrades stadium video offer for fans
Norwegian ice-hockey team purchases Ross Video kit to improve fan experience Norwegian ice-hockey team Lillehammer IK has upgraded its stadium big screen offering in a bid to improve the quality of the match-day experience for fans. The club appointed Danmon Group Norway to help upgrade the Eidsiva Arena to include video production, mixing creative content […]
La Liga shortlists 10 finalists for tech innovation competition
10 startups chosen for accelerator programme and for potential use by LaLiga in the production and/or broadcast of its content La Liga has picked the 10 companies that have made it through to the finals of its Startup Competition 2019. The content, which kicked off in March, is a partnership between La Liga and Microsoft’s […]
San Francisco Giants sign Veritone to open up archive
Baseball team uses AI technolgoy to open up media archive for fans Baseball team the San Francisco Giants has selected Veritone’s AI solution, Aiware, to open up its 60-year media archive for fans. Veritone Aiware allows rapid content search and asset sharing. As soon as content from live games, archives, interviews and press conferences has […]
Spalk extends live commentary options for Rugby World Cup 2019
The Rugby World Cup 2019 has teamed up with ‘Virtual Sportscasting Studio’ Spalk to provide rugby fans around the world with the choice of German, Spanish and Japanese live commentaries for every match. A total of 20+ commentators in 15 countries will be commentating from Spalk’s Virtual Studio across the six-week tournament. They have been […]
The European Tour launches innovation competition to “enhance golf”
New contest is aimed at start-ups and is seeking innovations that will appeal to golf fans The European Tour has launched an innovation contest for start-ups aimed at developing new creative concepts to enhance golf. The European Tour Innovation Hub competition is being run with Tata Communications and is seeking ideas that can be developed […]
ITV creates ‘window on the world’ for its Rugby World Cup studio
Broadcaster’s studio set uses mixed reality to show stylised Japanese cityscapes out of huge panoramic ‘windows’ ITV has turned to mixed reality to create a ‘window on the world’ for its Rugby World Cup 2019 studio. The studio builds on the approach it took for the men’s football World Cup studio in Russia, where augmented […]
EVS introduces AI-driven football automation system Overcam
The product automates robotic cameras covering football, with natural looking framing of the action EVS has revealed automation product Overcam, marking the sports tech giant’s first major move into AI-driven camera automation. Overcam automates key camera positions, delivering additional camera coverage at lower cost. It uses machine learning techniques to mimic traditional camera framing, providing […]
Man City, Intel launch immersive highlights
Fans can watch key moments of a match from any angle on their phone Intel and Manchester City have launched an immersive highlights experience that can be viewed on mobile phones. Intel’s True View technology allows fans to watch key moments of a match from any angle on their phone. Immersive highlights are captured with […]
Salsa Sound launches AI audio mixing for football matches
Automated system creates real-time immersive audio mixes using patented artificial intelligence (AI) Salsa Sound has launched an innovative, automated system that creates live audio mixes of football matches. It is based on Salsa Sound’s patented AI technology, which takes the audio from standard broadcast microphones at a venue and automatically creates a real-time mix. This […]
League of Legends Pro League finals unveil AR world’s first
The opening ceremony for the esports finals features a real-time AR gaming character being interviewed and joining a dance troupe on-stage Real-time facial animation and live ray tracing was used for the first time during the live broadcast of Riot Games’ League of Legends Pro League (LPL) regional finals. The broadcast saw an AR computer […]
Mobile Viewpoint reveals 4K camera for its sports automation system
Company bolsters the quality of image acquisition for its automated sports production and distribution system Mobile Viewpoint has launched the IQ X-Cam – a multi-4K camera system designed to be used by its artificial intelligence (AI) sports production and distribution automation system IQ Sports Producer. The IQ X-Cam IP camera can capture panoramic images in […]
DAZN unveils virtual production facility
First hub opens in Madrid, with Leeds broadcast centre next to be connected Sports streamer DAZN has launched its first virtual production facility. The facility, which is based on NEP’s production platform, makes a variety of production resources including live logging, editing, commentary, and graphic design accessible remotely from any location around the world, all […]
BT Sport broadcasts live 8K rugby at IBC 2019
Broadcaster behind one of the world’s first live 8K sports broadcasts BT Sport used IBC 2019 to demonstrate one of the world’s first live 8K sports broadcasts – of the Gallagher Premiership Rugby 7s tournament. The images were captured in 8K on a single Ikegami SHK-810 8K system camera with Fujinon lenses and displayed on […]
BT Sport moves to remote production for National League
Broadcaster will cover more National League live games than before and create weekly presenter-led highlights show BT Sport is using remote production to dramatically increase its live coverage of the Vanarama National League (the fifth tier of the English football league system) and turnaround highlights from all weekly matches much faster than before. This season, […]
Rugby World Cup 2019 to offer fan-controlled 3D highlights
Seven matches from the tournament, which kicks off on Friday 20 September, will have highlights created by Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System Seven Rugby World Cup 2019 matches will offer fans post-match highlights with viewpoints and angles not possible with conventional cameras. Canon’s Free Viewpoint Video System is being used to create replays the company […]
5G technology: A revolution is on the way
The arrival of 5G has the potential to completely change the way sporting events are produced and watched, says Matt Stagg Ask any sport fan about their preference for viewing the game and the answer is likely to be either in the stadium, in the pub with friends, or at home in front of the […]