Sky Sports’ Phil Marshall looks back on 12 months of lockdown’s impact on live sports and how the broadcaster has adapted to the challenges of the pandemic. Friday 13 March 2020, the unlucky date that live sport as we knew it stopped. 365 days on, that date remains etched in my memory. For someone with […]
Tag archives: lockdown
COMMENT: Enhancing fan engagement during lockdown
Ian Sharpe, CEO of Promethean TV, on the efforts being made by the sports industry and sports TV to encourage and enhance fan engagement during lockdown, and some things that haven’t worked. When we launched Promethean TV in 2016, the year 2020 seemed remote – a date with which to conjure the future. We talked […]
Behind-the-scenes: A Question of Sport returns with some Covid tweaks
A Question of Sport executive producer Gareth Edwards reveals the changes made to shoot the new series at Dock 10 studios. A Question of Sport returned to dock10 studios this month to record 10 episodes – it’s first since lockdown. Coronavirus shooting guidelines meant the show had to shoot without an audience for the first […]
BT Sport reveals Proud To Be Town football doc
The documentary charts Harrogate Town’s challenges to survive as a club during Covid-19, before securing its promotion to the Football League. BT Sport is to air the latest doc from its BT Sport Films series, Proud To Be Town, on BT Sport 1 on Saturday 3 October at 8pm. The film centres on the impact […]
LaLiga pulls in 2.8 billion viewers during 2019/20 season
The Spanish football league unveils a series of insights about fan engagement during lockdown. LaLiga has revealed a number of insights into viewing figures and fan engagement during lockdown that show significant gains. LaLiga saw a 50% increase on its international audience on its first matchday back post-lockdown, with the audience coming from 105 broadcasters […]
COMMENT: Lockdown life – Seven days at Timeline Television in June 2020
Timeline Television technical manager Adam Lowe reveals his lockdown work diary for 11-17 June. 11 June Today is my last day of Live Championship League Snooker for ITV Sport (pictured). We have had the honour/challenge of being the first UK sport back on terrestrial television. It’s been quite a challenge to plan a workflow that […]
Behind-the-scenes: Producing Match of the Day in lockdown
BBC lead executive Steve Rudge goes behind-the-scenes to find Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright putting on their own makeup.Producing Match of the Day during the pandemic has meant new ways of working to meet strict health and safety guidelines for production. “The teams at dock10 and the BBC, and the technical teams behind […]
BBC to air 12 days of classic Olympics archive material
The content replaces the cancelled 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo. BBC Sport has scheduled 12 days of dedicated Olympics programming, to replace the cancelled 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Badged Olympics Rewind, and starting on 14 July, the content naturally relies heavily on archive material, through a daily highlights show looking back at some of […]
COMMENT: How the industry can redefine itself amid the pandemic
Tata Communications global head of media and entertainment services Dhaval Ponda on the future of production post-lockdown. For the last few months, lockdown measures introduced to stem the spread of Covid-19 have had many of us grounded in our homes. As such, most of us have turned to our TV sets and digital platforms for […]
Sky Sports has reportedly secured rebate deal with Premier League
Sky Sports looks set to receive compensation from clubs to mitigate against loss of revenue during lockdown. Sky Sports has reportedly come to a rebate agreement with the Premier League to cover the cancellation of games during the Covid-19 pandemic. During lockdown, with no Premier League games to show, Sky has had to offer refunds […]
Celtic FC brings in Sunset+Vine for fan-focused matchday content
Football club creates content for season ticket holders unable to attend games. Celtic Football Club has appointed Sunset+Vine Scotland to create matchday programming as part of a ‘televised ticket offering’ to supporters. With fans unable to attend matches during the pandemic, the club is creating a range of content from each game designed to give […]
Premier League’s return – The broadcast schedule for first three rounds
Which broadcaster is showing which games, for the first three match rounds, and which games will be free-to-air. Here’s the full list of which broadcasters are showing which games for the first three rounds of the resumed 2019/20 Premier League season. Wednesday 17 June 18:00 Aston Villa v Sheffield Utd (Sky Sports) 20:15 Man City […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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’ […]
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 […]
Podcast: BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh on creating a virtual studio during lockdown
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 […]
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 […]