Qatar 2022: MagentaTV to utilise PlazaMedia’s XR LED studio for World Cup programming

Deutsche Telekom will air all 64 matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup live on MagentaTV from 20 November to 18 December, utilising a new hybrid World Cup studio at the AGROB Medienpark in Ismaning near Munich.

During MagentaTV’s coverage, this new and innovative XR LED studio from PlazaMedia will be a central element, combining real set architecture and physical media feeds with a digitally generated, virtual extension in a 360° world.

The centrepiece of the 350sqm studio set, in which four cameras realise the interplay of virtual and real elements in real time, is a 33m-wide and 3.5m-high curved LED wall from Alfalite. As part of its activities as a production service provider, PlazaMedia will be responsible for realising all matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on six channels in UHD and HD, as well as signal supervision for the entire inside production on 23 live game days and 29 production days.

SVG’s Qatar 2022 blog All the broadcasting and production news from the FIFA World Cup

The 690sqm main studio with its state-of-the-art features is set to create a completely new experience, drawing viewers at home and in the studio even closer into the World Cup. To achieve this, PlazaMedia has chosen an LED wall with extremely high viewing angle stability and a fine pixel pitch of 1.9mm paired with Unreal Engine from Epic Games as the real-time render engine. Unreal Engine contains the digital model of Doha Bay in Qatar: daytimes, swell of water and special effects can be changed at any time with one click.

The studio ceiling is replaced by an augmented reality starry sky for the viewer at home. This is made possible by seamlessly integrating the Unreal Engine with Vizrt’s Viz Engine used for the AR environment. Combining Unreal Engine 5 and Viz Engine 5 offers outstanding workflow advantages for use in the World Cup studio, which are fully exploited by PlazaMedia’s technology and graphics team. To ensure that all camera movements are being transferred to the virtual world, the position of the four studio cameras is constantly tracked and the data transferred to the render engines using Mo-Sys Startracker and Mo-Sys bMRo systems.

Jens Friedrichs, chairman of the management board of PlazaMedia, said: “After the UEFA Euro in 2021, we are producing the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s biggest sports event of the year, for MagentaTV. We seize this opportunity to launch our innovative XR LED studio for creating completely new possibilities in studio productions here in Munich: On the one hand, regarding state-of-the-art productions combining real and virtual elements, and on the other hand regarding environmental sustainability. We would like to thank Deutsche Telekom for their great trust and the other service providers involved, such as thinXpool, for their excellent co-operation on this World Cup project.”

MagentaTV is the only provider in Germany to show all 64 World Cup matches – also in UHD via MagentaTV receivers (media receiver, MagentaTV One, MagentaTV Stick). Sixteen of these matches will be shown exclusively on Telekom’s TV service, and eight conferences will also be broadcast for the first time. The World Cup content is included in all MagentaTV rates for existing and new customers and is available both live and on demand at any time.

MagentaTV will broadcast up to 14 hours of programming daily, plus a conference for parallel matches. Telekom will show the World Cup on MagentaTV on three channels – Football.TV 1-3. On the first channel, matches will be available in classic form with commentary. On channel 2, there will be a special tactics feed for selected matches with a camera perspective from the long shot and its own tactics commentary. On the third channel, linear TV and social media are combined. Soccer influencers Pascal and Marcel Gurk welcome guests to the social media studio every day and will follow the matches together with them as a reaction stream. On the final group match days with parallel matches, a conference option will also be available.