2024 in review: January to June
As 2024 draws to a close, SVG Europe takes a look back at some of the biggest moments of the year. Here, we look at some of the year’s sporting events and talking points from January to June.
January
The year began with some major industry news, with EMG and Gravity Media agreeing a merger to create a global production and broadcast services giant with more than 100 outside broadcast trucks and flypacks and 40 studios and production facilities across Europe, the Middle East, the US and Australia.
John Newton (left) and Shaun Gregory of EMG/Gravity Media
In the same week, a deal between Germany’s TVN and TopVision was announced, with TVN acquiring fellow outside broadcast facilities provider TopVision Telekommunikation including the company brand, HQ and management team.
And, as ever, the PDC World Darts Championship provided a bridge into the new year, with coverage of the lively event supported by EMG for Sky’s production of the event.
Meanwhile, the 2024 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship took place 10 – 28 January, with Germany, the heartland of European handball, hosting the tournament.
Host broadcast partner Infront Productions crafted the production plan with over 7 million people around the world tuning in live to watch each match.
And SVG Europe’s first event of the year took place, with Sky Sport Austria and SVG Europe welcoming delegates to a stunning venue in Salzburg where a host of subjects were explored including the art of winter sports production and an in-depth look at the challenges and innovations specific to Austrian football broadcasting.
February
February saw one of the first of a few trials in 2024 of a camera mounted to a referee during a football match, with the official in charge of the tie between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg was equipped with a Riedel-developed camera and microphone.
Then in May, in a Premier League first, referee Jarred Gillett wore a “RefCam” during Crystal Palace v Manchester United fixture. That was followed in November by the first trial of RefCam by Sky Österreich in the Austrian Football Bundesliga with referee Stefan Ebner’s perspective during the SK Rapid vs. Austria Klagenfurt match shared with viewers.
Referee Patrick Kessel with the head unit of Riedel’s RefCam ahead of the Bundesliga fixture
In February, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) launched a digital direct-to-consumer streaming platform to show free-to-air coverage of a range of Olympic sports including athletics, gymnastics, skiing, swimming, plus many other sports. EBU executive director for sport Glen Killane explained to SVG Europe why the EBU launched the service, the type of content available on the platform and its approach to distribution.
The E1 World Electric Powerboat Series took to the water for the first time at the beginning of February. The creation of the first E1 broadcast took up much of 2023 for host broadcaster, Aurora. Lawrence Duffy, founder and CEO at Aurora, explained what went on during that period: “As most producers will tell you, when global launches like this happen or when major events happen, there’s so much work that goes on in the background before teams land on site or before hiring gets done, or before plane tickets get booked, or before even equipment gets commissioned.” More from Duffy here.
The Streif racecourse in Kitzbühel, Austria, is the ultimate downhill skiing challenge. A highlight of the FIS Men’s Alpine Ski World Cup, and home to the Hahnenkamm Races, the steep and winding route provided a challenge to competitors and an opportunity for some innovative approaches to the use of drones.
SVG Europe’s Football Summit 2024, sponsored by EVS, took place in Brussels at The Egg in February, focusing on enhancing televised and online football coverage. Discussions ranged from the evolution of media rights and the impact on production, to gamification of coverage, cloud-based production and advancements in the use of data and graphics.
March
With France thumping Wales, Italy stunning Scotland and England edging past Ireland thanks to a last-minute drop goal, the penultimate weekend of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations Championship was the usual blend of action and drama setting the stage for an exciting round of final matches in mid-March. Graphic solutions provider AE Live explained how it produces the world feed graphics for the Men’s, Women’s and Under-20s Six Nations as well as the Autumn Nations and Summer Series.
Airspeeder partnered with EMG on the first live broadcast test of an Airspeeder race to 100 guests in the Australian outback. EMG Connectivity together with Aerial Camera Systems (ACS), achieved the successful live broadcast of the EXA Series Championship with Airspeeder seeking to establish itself as the ‘Formula 1 of the Sky’.
And ‘Connecting with the Community’, SVG Europe Women Scotland’s Glasgow event took place with QTV.
April
The Grand National, the world’s most watched horse race was delivered to viewers’ screens courtesy of the thoroughbred the ITV Racing team.
At Aintree, Liverpool, UK, the broadcaster produced five live races a day across the three-day festival. “It’s a massive part of our sports portfolio,” said Tony Cahalane, technical director, ITV Sport. “The Grand National is the most watched race of the year and then the rerun that we produce 20 minutes later is the second most watched race of the year. Its heritage is ingrained in British public consciousness so we are hugely honoured to cover it. With that in mind we cover the race with as much integrity, innovation and skill as we can.” More from ITV and its technical partner for the race, NEP, here.
Taking place over 17 days, and with the final a best-of 35 frames contest, the World Snooker Championship is renowned for being something of an endurance event for the 32 players taking part. And the same can be said for those tasked with producing coverage of the contest.
After Monte Carlo, Sweden, Kenya and Croatia, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) moved to Portugal on 9 May for the start of the European gravel phase. As well as being the biggest sporting event held annually in Portugal, the Rally de Portugal is ranked as one of the championship’s classic events. “Rally de Portugal is a really big broadcast for us. It’s a spectacular rally and one of our biggest in terms of on-site audience attendance,” said Florian Ruth, senior director content & communication at rights holder WRC Promoter.
And SVG hosted its annual Chairman’s Forum in Las Vegas, and NAB announced a projected registered attendance of 61,000+ people for the 2024 NAB Show, down from 65,000 in 2023 but up from 52,468 attendees 2022 when the industry was still recovering from the pandemic.
May
The UEFA Champions League Final is the zenith of professional club football in Europe and the 2024 final took place at Wembley Stadium, where Real Madrid took on Borussia Dortmund. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe’s TNT Sports was the host broadcaster and David Moss, head of football at TNT Sports, spoke to SVG Europe about the plans which included 300 people involved in the operation, 40-plus cameras including a helicopter camera, Spider Cam, Polecams, Superslo Steadi cams – a first for a Champions League final – and mini remote bench cams.
When Barcelona took on Lyon in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) Final in Bilbao on Saturday (25 May), it was a clash between two of the most successful teams in the competition’s history – and the culmination of another season of comprehensive coverage of women’s club football for DAZN. Dave Wade, DAZN head of football and multisport plus Jemma Archer, DAZN’s senior producer of women’s football explained all about the production.
In May, we also heard how Nordic-based motorsport RallyX had been given a remote production shake-up by facilities provider DMC in the form of Grass Valley AMPP.
And the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup were decided at the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) Finals Weekend in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of May. EPCR head of broadcast and media rights Carl Bengtsson explained all about the production to SVG Europe.
June
UEFA outlined its technical broadcast operations plan for Euro 2024, with all matches to be produced in a single-layer 1080p50 HDR (hybrid log-gamma, HLG) production format and, for the first time, the use of virtual board replacement for tailored ads in some countries. UEFA’s multi-feed offering provided its broadcast partners with access to a variety of live feeds, including the main match feed – the live stadium feed, available in SDI 1080p50 HDR, 1080p50 SDR and 1080i50.
And, for the first time at the Euros, broadcast partners were able to access all live feeds remotely through the Content Hub/POP (points-of-presence) service provided by UEFA’s distribution partner, Eurovision Services.
One of the stars of the Euro 2024 tournament was the BBC’s studio for its live and highlights coverage, which was helmed from two mixed reality presentation studio areas installed in a Broadcast Media Solutions temporary studio complex opposite the Brandenburg Gate. Both made use of extended reality (XR), augmented reality (AR) and LED screens.
The 2024 European Athletics Championships took place in June, with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) acting as host broadcaster for the event, with 29 additional broadcasters on site in Rome, Italy.
For the first time at the European Athletics Championships, the use of drones and monowheels as mobile cameras will be used to capture the action, with the Championships also providing – via an accelerator programme – an opportunity to test augmented reality and a cloud-based mixer.
And SVG Europe’s Create Share Engage 2024, sponsored by Appear, took place welcoming sports federations, leagues, associations, clubs and other rights owners, as well as broadcasters, agencies and producers, focussed on creating and distributing sports content, and engaging fans, across social media, streaming and other digital platforms. Pics from the event here.
Read more 2024 in review: July to December