Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports
Although workflows are still maturing, immersive audio is now well established in top- and lower-tier sports, while broadcasters and federations are also increasingly seeking out vendors who can help them deliver more personalised viewing experiences.
Renato Pellegrini, manager pro labs at Sennheiser, highlights that demand for immersive audio experiences is continuing to grow across the full spectrum of sports. Although deployments inevitably vary between broadcasters and specific sports, the common theme is the desire to bring viewers closer to the action.
Outlining the kind of customers approaching Sennheiser, “traditionally from soccer they have been in the ‘starting league’ of sports that have worked on this, but also from the National Basketball League, the American Football League, ice hockey and, more recently, tennis. There has also been strong interest from motorsports recently, and of course, since the very beginning the Olympics.”
Pellegrini adds: “All these different sports want to deliver a better immersive experience with the idea of being closer to the viewers emotionally, making them feel like they’re on site. In soccer, for example, that would involve better audio from the pitch, but also a good experience of the ambience, so getting audio from the fan stands – and hopefully your own fan section – heard as you watch a match.”
Christian Struck, senior product manager audio infrastructure at Lawo, says that the demand for immersive and customisable experiences has “grown exponentially”. With regard to personalisation, audiences now “expect to experience the spatial character of a venue as this creates the impression of being close to the action”. He adds that the gradual shift towards viewers having more control over the way they experience sports is being facilitated by technologies such as Next Generation Audio (NGA) and Serial ADM (S-ADM), with considerable implications for how broadcasters approach sound design and delivery.
Bill Oakley, associate director of product management at Shure, says: “The real driver is the desire for more content and deeper engagement; fans want to follow their favourite players, access behind-the-scenes moments, and experience real-time highlights. This pushes marketing departments, teams, league and broadcasters to innovate and meet fans wherever they are – whether at home, in venues, or in virtual spaces.”
Mics and mixing
As one might expect in a such a comparatively new era of development, ideas about how to achieve the best results are still maturing – and that extends to the continued evolution of field and ambient audio capture.
“Obviously, all good recordings start with excellent material, and that means putting the microphone where it needs to be, which is close to the action,” says Pellegrini. “Sennheiser has researched a lot to make its shotgun microphones usable in conditions where the field audio is ‘buried’ in the audio of the masses that watch the game; capturing the field audio is essential. Moreover, the various leagues have very rigid instructions on microphone placement because they want to ensure a consistently high quality for their customer base during all of their broadcasts.”
In terms of microphone deployments, Struck notes that arrays “typically configured in 4.0.4 or 5.1.4 formats are strategically placed throughout stadiums to capture the enveloping character of the space. These feeds are then processed using immersive mixing techniques, with 5.1.4 being the standard for sports broadcasts. While formats like 7.1.4 and 9.1.6 are common in music productions, the focus in sports remains on formats that balance spatial depth with practical deployment.”
Noting that Lawo’s Kick 2.0 software was designed to focus on relevant sound sources captured by an additional array of mics placed around the field of play, Struck adds that Lawo is also “exploring the future of immersive audio in augmented reality and virtual reality. Demonstrations using VR goggles at recent trade fairs have showcased that Lawo’s technology is ready for these emerging platforms – highlighting the potential to enhance fan experiences in virtual environments.”
Meanwhile, immersive mixing techniques are continuing to evolve and may be quite contrasting depending on the preferences of individual engineers. Berny Carpenter, broadcast product manager at Solid State Logic (SSL), says: “People have different styles and that’s a really good thing. However, it has to be a [compelling] mix and if you have a situation where people notice it too much and are distracted by it, then it can do more harm than good. With that in mind, as a console manufacturer we’ve tried to make it as simple as possible for people who are coming at it from stereo or 5.1 to take that next step up to immersive.”
While the treatment of relevant sound sources as discrete audio objects assists with the creation of immersive and personalised audio content, Struck points out that sound supervisors also have to deal with another ongoing requirement – namely, “the need to provide ‘cleaner’ audio stems that can be used in a ‘standalone’ fashion, be it for commentary or a variety of on-pitch and off-pitch sound sources. Striking the right balance between more possibilities and keeping things manageable has always been paramount, which is why presets and so-called ‘presentations’ for different applications (including public viewing, etc) are currently being used.”
Creative opportunities
Although both immersive and personalised sports audio are increasingly easy to deliver effectively, there is a view that it will take some time for the latter, in particular, to become a default choice. As Struck observes: “Personalised audio is technically mature and increasingly feasible with today’s broadcast workflows. Trials have evolved into live services, with broadcasters offering viewers control over commentary levels, crowd ambience, and even camera angles. However, widespread adoption remains limited. While countries like France, Brazil and South Korea have implemented MPEG-H-based personalisation, and broadcasters like NBC and ARD/ZDF have conducted trials, market demand seems to be lagging somewhat.”
But it’s also evident that Struck feels it’s only a matter of time. He adds: “Lawo’s role is to ensure the technology delivers once it becomes a must-have feature, and ultimately we see immersive and personalised audio not just as technical prowess, but as a creative opportunity.”
“There is no single solidified approach yet,” says Oakley, who highlights the unveiling at IBC2025 of the DCA901 planar array microphone allowing simultaneous immersive and traditional audio capture as a notable recent development from Shure. “The market is still testing what fans value most, and future developments may include athletes of teams directly monetising personalised audio content as technology and regulations evolve. The overall trend is towards greater fan choice and interactivity, but the specifics of delivery and adoption are still in flux, with audio remaining a critical component for enhancing engagement and differentiating offerings.”
Rest assured, however, that experimentation is continuing to occur throughout the sports broadcast world. Carpenter, who notes that SSL’s System T has been “natively immersive for quite a few years now”, sums up: “Now that a lot of the key technology aspects have been ironed out, lots of customers are thinking about the next steps and how exactly they should use [immersive and/or personalised audio] in the right way for their content.”