As the English Football League (EFL) continues to raise the bar for content quality and delivery across its Championship, League One and League Two matches, IMG has turned to Riedel’s SimplyLive Production Suite to power one of the most ambitious remote production operations in European football. Supporting more than 50% of IMG’s weekend output from its broadcast hub in Stockley Park, Riedel’s intuitive, scalable software-based workflows enable IMG to efficiently produce, clip, review and distribute over 30 concurrent live matches.
“Our production teams face a uniquely demanding schedule – there are weekends when 34 EFL games take place at the same time,” said Brian Leonard, head of engineering – production & workflows at IMG. “From our facility, we produce 50 to 60 matches a weekend, and SimplyLive helps us handle that scale with confidence.”
The EFL’s remote production setup brings in six camera feeds from Championship venues, four from League One, and two from League Two – representing an increase of more than 60% in camera inputs compared to prior seasons. All feeds are ingested into IMG’s centralised SimplyLive environment, where operators manage live switching, instant replays, post-match highlights, compliance deliverables, and social content across multiple platforms.
A key reason for IMG’s selection of the SimplyLive Production Suite was its operational flexibility. Replay operators benefit from intuitive multi-angle review and quick-turn highlight creation, while directors can build custom workflows using a combination of touchscreen and remote control interfaces.
“Our replay operators enjoy the ability to scroll back through all angles at once, quickly find key moments, and create replays or highlight clips in seconds,” said Sarah Lochmore, staff director at IMG. “The system also supports a hybrid control approach – users can work with touchscreens, remote controllers, or both. There’s no single ‘right’ way to work with SimplyLive. You can build a workflow around the operator, not the other way around.”
Beyond live production, the centralised SimplyLive setup has unlocked new efficiencies for post-match content delivery. IMG’s operators can quickly fulfill requests from clubs, officials, and rights holders, whether for broadcast distribution or social media engagement. With all camera angles instantly available, turnaround time is dramatically reduced and editorial quality is enhanced. The software-based design has also opened the door to faster onboarding for new staff, allowing IMG to expand its operator base with talent from both broadcast and non-traditional backgrounds. By removing complexity from the control surface, the platform allows users to focus on storytelling rather than technology.
“IMG’s deployment of the SimplyLive Production Suite is a powerful example of what flexible, software-driven workflows can achieve at scale,” said Brett Stoneham, business director live production, Riedel Communications. “By centralising operations and adapting to the needs of every operator, they’re delivering more content, more efficiently – and raising the bar for remote production in football.”
