Live from the World Cup: TVP Argentina Ready for 12 Hours of Coverage for Final

Sergio Saba, senior producer for Argentina’s TV Pública and the team of nearly 100 production personnel will be on the air today for 12 hours as Argentina takes the pitch against Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup final match.“We will be broadcasting from 10 am to 10 pm from our studio here at the IBC which is the main operational center,” says Saba. “But we will also have two mobile units in the stadium and mobile units around Argentina.”

TVP Argentina’s Sergio Saba (left) and Fernando Ariel (right) on the channel’s set at the IBC.

The big challenge during the tournament has been coordinating and moving the ENG and SNG teams following the Argentinian team around the country. Argentina’s camp is located in Belo Horizonte but the mobile units also had to be at the different stadiums the team was playing at.

“We rented some transmission trucks as well as another mobile unit for specific events like when Argentina played in Brasilia,” says Saba.

Fernando Ariel, TVP producer, says that ratings have been great although audience measurement is only done in Buenos Aires in Argentina.

“The World Cup in South Africa was broadcast over two over-the-air channels but here in Brazil we are the only free over-the-air channel that is broadcasting so everyone is watching us and it’s a big pressure,” adds Ariel.