Gravity Media provides crew and tech support for Qatar 2022 broadcasters
Gravity Media provided a host of services for a range of broadcasters at Qatar 2022, including technical support, production services and crew for the likes of Fox Sports, Telemundo and Sky Sports.
Gravity Media started planning to provide resources and crew for the 2022 World Cup just as the Arab Cup started in Dec 2021.
“The World Cup in Doha has been a real chance for us to showcase the depth of our global Gravity Media turnkey services, as well as reinstating our presence and experience in Doha,” says Gravity Media managing director Ed Tischler.
“We have been working across a range of projects, from technical solutions to production services and helping to provide crew for a host of unilaterals. It’s been a real opportunity to highlight the breadth of our skills and world-leading expertise from a passionate collective.”
Gravity Media’s team in Doha is led by business development manager Edward Dowdall, who has been based in Qatar since the end of 2021, with support from Gravity Media’s other locations including the UK.
Gravity worked with Northwestern University in Doha to source and coordinate local crew, with around 50 people provided for US rights holder Fox Sports.
The Fox Sports studio on the Corniche in Doha
Dowdall says: “Working with Northwestern has been great. Our association with the media department there began in March, when we let them know about the kinds of roles we were looking to fill. We then arranged interviews and briefings before they joined up with Fox Sports.”
Fox Sports began to build its presence in Doha from September, so additional support was needed from then onwards. Roles included technical crew and entry level roles like runner, co-ordinators, fixer who worked at the Fox Sports studio setup on the Corniche in Doha and at stadiums around the city.
Adds Dowdall: “Northwestern is the main media university established by the Qatar Foundation, and as the term was paused during the World Cup it all lined up really well for us.
“We were already in touch with Northwestern for other clients in Doha, so we were able to provide local resource whether alumni or students.”
For Fox Sports, Gravity also provided an HDR 1080P RF solution for the broadcaster’s Corniche studio, equipping the broadcaster’s Steadicams and return vision. In addition, RF solutions were provided for handheld cameras and audio including lip mics, two-way radios, in-ear comms and return vision monitors.
Says Dowdall: “The Fox Sports studio was in a spectacular location on the Corniche in Doha, and very close to the Fan Fest. Providing an RF solution at the Corniche was helped by the fact that it’s a fairly flat location without too many obstacles and buildings in the way, but given the size and scale of the World Cup and the number of broadcasters present, we diligently worked with the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) to ensure we met all local standards and regulations.”
Gravity also worked with US Spanish-language network Telemundo, for which it provided a 45 person-strong team across a host of locations, including the Fan Fest, stadiums, Telemundo’s studios at Souk Waqif in Doha plus roaming teams in predominantly operational roles.
Gravity’s OB truck Suhail in use by Fuji TV for Japan v Spain
In addition, Gravity Media’s OB truck ‘Suhail’, a six-camera HD OB vehicle with DSNG capability, was brought in to support Tokyo’s Fuji TV. And for the UK’s Sky Sports, Gravity Media provided lighting kit, fixer and branded print installation to make ‘empty shell’ space look like the Sky Sports News studio.
Prior to the World Cup taking place, Gravity Media worked with contractors to equip broadcast positions with wall boxes and cabling into rack and control rooms for four stadiums: Khalifa International, Ahmad Bin Ali, Al Bayt and Al Thumama. Gravity Media also worked with Supreme Committee to provide guarantee broadcast engineers for infotainment systems in each World Cup stadium.
For BBC Wales, Gravity Media provided on-site, flyway kit consisting of a three-camera rig at Education City for the England vs Wales group game – which was project managed via the Gravity team back in the UK.
Sky Sports studio in Doha
Additionally, Gravity Media was also chosen to provide some local services for TV2 and Israeli broadcasters.
In total, across all clients, Gravity Media has been responsible for sourcing, training and placing some 80 students with clients.
The Gravity Media team is now focused on planning for the 2023 calendar of upcoming events in the region, as Qatar will play host to the Asia Cup in January 2024 and FINA Swimming Championships in 2024.
Adds Dowdall: “The World Cup has been a really positive experience for us. There is no doubt that everyone who has worked on it has faced challenges, whether that’s integrating people from all over the world to deploying technology, to the intensity of the group games. It required a lot of commitment, teamwork and focus, but it’s been a fantastic experience and we have delivered some amazing results.
“We have been able to demonstrate to local and regional clients what we have been doing for the last 25 years, which is specialising in delivering quality services for big global events. This event has been a great way for us to showcase that and we see lots of opportunity here as this region, not just Qatar, is growing.”