Sports Audio Summit 2023: More speakers added to impressive line-up going in-depth into sports broadcasting audio on 12 October

SVG Europe Audio has added more speakers to an already distinguished lineup for the Sports Audio Summit 2023, which will be held in London on 12 October.

Taking place at Kings Place in Kings Cross in central London, attendees can expect a day of in-depth discussion and debate on stage with audience participation, plus plenty of time for networking.

After introductions from the head of SVG Europe Audio, Heather McLean, and title sponsors for the event, Calrec and SSL, the day will kick off with a session on ‘Making immersive audio ubiquitous in live sport’.

Chaired by SVG Europe Audio’s Roger Charlesworth, an independent media consultant, the discussion will look at how sports content needs to catch up to Hollywood’s production levels on the vast array of platforms now broadcasting sport, and how broadcasters are looking at other ways to enhance audio coverage. Speakers Robert Edwards, Video Sound Services freelance sound director and Renato Pellegrini, Sennheiser head of pro labs and project leader on Ambeo, will take a look at the alternatives and what these mean for the progression of immersive audio in this field. We will also see a Tech Spotlight presentation from Genelec.

We will then hear a case study from sister companies Calrec and SSL that have partnered on a joint development in the cloud. This development will give sports broadcasters additional ways to manage remote production and distribution, therefore increasing the number of events they can produce live.

Next up is ‘In Sports sound in the cloud: What’s next?’, which will be chaired by Professor Felix Krückels from the University of Darmstadt, Broadcast Production and System Design, the speakers set to discuss the topic are: Anthony Sachot, Warner Bros. Discovery director of audio technology; John Munks, IMG Studios engineering manager; Martin Dyster, Telos Alliance VP of business development and Telos Infinity product director; and Ewan Cameron, Lama, chief commercial officer.

This will be followed by a session on ‘Uncovering the secret of objective commentary to IS ratio balancing’ where Professor Krückels and his Bachelor student from the University of Darmstadt, Jonas Engel, will present the findings of a thesis focusing on the conception and development of a Reaper plugin for the objective analysis and representation of the volume ratio of commentary and international sound during sports broadcasts on TV.

After a break for coffee and networking, we reconvene for ‘Observing the impact of IP on audio production infrastructure’. Speakers Pete Mercer, Warner Bros. Discovery director of live production – sports events and Neville Hooper, NEP UK deputy head of sound will discuss with chair, Charlesworth, what the impact is on audio production infrastructures, and what efficiencies we are still discovering.

Finally, Charlesworth and Professor Krückels with Rob Oldfield, Salsa Sound co-founder and CEO, will go in-depth on ‘Friend or foe? Exploring the potential of AI in sports audio’. They will look at how it is being trialled and applied to sports broadcasting audio today, where it might go next, and what this means for the future of audio in sport. Ultimately, is AI a friend or foe for sound in sport?

More speakers will be announced this week.

To find out more and to register go to: https://www.svgeurope.org/sports-audio-summit-2023/