The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain and Japan. Each requires a different editorial approach and even has different technical approaches (for example, DAZN Japan is testing remotely controlled robotic cameras from pitch side). Sandeep Tiku, DAZN, chief technology officer, shared some insights about the technical workflows with SVG editorial director Ken Kerschbaumer.

As we enter the final stage of the tournament how do the production demands shift and change? For example, do you have independent ENG and commentary crews for Italy, Japan and Spain at each match now? How will plans grow for the semi-finals and final? Are you using bonded cellular for ENG transmission (LiveU, TVU, and so on)?

For DAZN, the shift is both operational and editorial. Throughout the group stage and early knockouts, we have been running a deliberately tiered production model: a dynamic, intelligent allocation of resource matched precisely to the market relevance of each match. Our architecture is designed to flex, and as we move into the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, that flexibility is key because at this stage, every match is a marquee event for at least one of our territories, and we treat it accordingly.

 At this stage of the tournament, commentary positions, ComCam and ENG are finite and fiercely contested, outside of the two competing teams. What we have engineered is a system that doesn’t depend on arbitration outcomes. Where we secure on-site positions, we deploy fully. Where we don’t, seamless remote fallback workflows deliver pitch-side contribution and commentary over world feed pictures. The viewer experience is protected regardless of what arbitration returns.  

Portable live transmission technology is a core part of our contribution toolkit throughout the tournament. During the final stage it’s enabling outside venue positions, pre-match presentation, reporter pieces and agile ENG contribution wherever fibre is not practical. It liberates our teams from fixed infrastructure and puts them exactly where the story is, in the stadium precincts, the fan zones, the city. Layered on top of our primary fibre contribution paths, it creates a contribution architecture with genuine depth. At the final in New York, every layer of that system will be live simultaneously.  

Tell me a bit about the IBC operations…how many people are here, some of the technology on hand and then duties. Is it simply passing through signals? Is frame rate conversion done here or overseas?

The DAZN Production Hub inside the FIFA IBC in Dallas is anything but a pass-through facility. It is the operational nerve centre for one of the most ambitious live sports broadcasting deployments ever attempted, and it is running continuously. 

From this single location, we are managing contribution feeds, unilateral content, commentary circuits, live transmission paths, quality control, routing and real-time monitoring across multiple simultaneous productions. On peak match days, that means several live HDR productions running in parallel, all being orchestrated from Dallas.

Processing is distributed intelligently across our global production network. Some functions remain in Dallas; others are performed in regional centres, including our central operations hub in the UK, our technology partner in the Netherlands and local production hubs in Italy, Spain and Japan. The architecture is designed so that each function happens at the most efficient point in the chain, not simply the nearest one. Frame rate conversion, colour space management and audio configuration are all handled at the appropriate node for each territory’s production workflow. This is a deliberate, pre-engineered design that was already proven at the 2025 Club World Cup and scaled up for this tournament.

Is the IBC hub handling commentary circuits and/or reporter/ENG feeds or do those go straight to the different countries?

The DAZN Dallas IBC hub is the central aggregation and routing point for all of it. Commentary circuits, reporter positions, presentation locations and ENG contributions, both inside and outside the stadiums, are all coordinated through the hub as part of a unified remote production architecture. Signals are then routed to the appropriate production destination based on each market’s model.

What makes this genuinely interesting is the scale of the editorial operation running alongside the technical one. DAZN is supporting ENG operations across the United States, Mexico and Canada simultaneously, enabling fast turnaround of content not just for live broadcast, but for digital platforms and social media throughout the tournament. The IBC hub is feeding an entire content ecosystem in real time.

Communication is the key for any production team, so how are you and the team dealing with the simple issue of having personnel who speak English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian?

Communication is a critical element of any major live production, particularly at DAZN, where we operate at a global scale with teams working across multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and many others. 

The way we approach this is through a clearly defined operating model. For every major event, we establish a common production language for critical operations – typically English – so that key decisions, escalations and incident management can be understood and acted on in real time by everyone involved. 

We combine that global framework with strong local expertise. Our local market teams, bilingual leaders and designated escalation owners play a vital role in ensuring that market-specific requirements, rights holder relationships, talent coordination and user expectations are managed effectively. At the same time, our central production and technology teams remain aligned through shared runbooks, real-time dashboards, rehearsals and live-event command centres.

Preparation is key. Ahead of every major event, we invest heavily in translated documentation where needed, shared terminology, detailed decision trees, pre-event simulations and disciplined communication processes. When a live event is underway, clarity is everything, so communication is kept simple, structured and role-based to minimise ambiguity and enable rapid decision-making.

Linguistic and cultural diversity is one of DAZN’s greatest strengths. Operating in more than 200 markets gives us an unparalleled understanding of local audiences, cultures and viewing habits. Our role is to combine that local insight with a consistent global production model, ensuring that every fan enjoys a seamless, high-quality experience, wherever they are watching in the world.

How do signals then get from here to Japan, Spain and Italy? Do Japan, Spain and Italy all have the same frame rate, resolution and colour space? Is audio 5.1 or stereo?

Signals leave Dallas via diverse, redundant connectivity: fibre, satellite, IP and cellular, into DAZN’s global production network. We have built three levels of redundancy into the contribution architecture precisely because a tournament of this scale, spanning thousands of kilometres of fibre across three countries, cannot afford a single point of failure.

Each territory receives the technical format appropriate for its production workflow. Japan, Spain and Italy have their own platform requirements and different audience expectations, so frame rate, colour space and audio configuration are all managed individually before final delivery. We are delivering HDR with 5.1 surround sound as the premium output, with format adaptation handled at the relevant processing node for each market.

The signal path for an Italian viewer, for example, travels from the stadium to Dallas IBC, across the Atlantic via fibre to our Netherlands technology partner for processing, then onward to Italy where local commentary, graphics and editorial content are added, before the final encoded stream reaches the viewer’s device. That entire chain, end to end, is engineered for millisecond-level reliability at scale.

Do they also have access to FIFA MAX feeds, and do they get all the HBS feeds like the fan reaction, and so on?

DAZN has access to the full range of FIFA and HBS content services covered under our rights agreements, including the MP feeds, MP router and the broader HBS service offerings. Beyond that, we have curated additional DAZN feeds specifically for our production and editorial workflows.

But I would go further than simply listing what we receive. What distinguishes DAZN’s approach is what we do with that content. We have created dedicated feeds that allow viewers in Japan, for example, to vote for the player they want to follow and watch the match from that player’s camera angle. That level of personalization starts at the production layer and is reflected directly in what fans see on screen. The feeds are the raw material; the intelligence we apply to them is what creates the experience.

You have two markets within the same time zone and then Japan which is a bit more far-flung…how does that impact IBC operations and scheduling of staff? Are you guys the closest to a 24/7 operation there is at the IBC other than FIFA and HBS?

We are 24/7. The DAZN IBC hub in Dallas operates continuously throughout the tournament, with production, engineering, creative and operational teams working in overlapping shifts to maintain uninterrupted support across every time zone we serve.

The geographical spread is actually one of the most fascinating operational challenges of this tournament. We are simultaneously supporting live productions in North America while managing workflows for audiences in Europe and Asia, markets that are anywhere from six to 14 hours apart. The architecture has to be resilient enough to absorb that complexity without any single region feeling like it is being served from a distance.

What makes it work is that the entire system was designed for this from the outset. Centralised monitoring, transmission control and support services run around the clock. There is no handover moment where one team passes the baton to another and hopes for the best. The hub is always live, always watching, always ready to respond.

What have you and the team learned after the past few weeks in terms of workflows? How have they adjusted?

The most powerful validation has been seeing just how much modern remote production can absorb with precision and outstanding quality, unlocking new opportunities and allowing broadcasters to deploy more innovative solutions. Delivering a tournament of this size, 104 matches, three host countries, multiple simultaneous productions, continuous around-the-clock operations, and doing it from a single centralised hub, would have been unthinkable a decade ago. We are doing it now, and we are doing it in HDR with 5.1 audio and personalised feeds for individual markets.

The foundation was the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. We tested the architecture, proved the workflows and identified the edges of the system under real tournament conditions. For the 2026 World Cup, we did not start from scratch; we scaled something that already worked. That familiarity across our teams is a genuine competitive advantage.

If there is one thing the past few weeks have reinforced, it is that resilience is not just a technical property; it is an operational discipline. The technology holds because the teams behind it understand it deeply, have rehearsed for the unexpected and are empowered to make decisions in real time. That combination of intelligent architecture and experienced people is what makes the difference when a live tournament of this scale demands the unexpected. That is what is running right now, every match, every market, every minute, and that is what modern sports broadcasting looks like.