THE CUSTOMER
ITV Sport provides live coverage of a wide range of high profile sporting events for British network, ITV.
The company holds joint broadcast rights with the BBC to screen the FIFA World Cup. It has screened every World Cup live since 1966.
THE PROJECT
In 2014, the hotly anticipated FIFA World Cup was held in host nation, Brazil.
In order to provide high definition, seamless live coverage of the 64 matches, ITV Sport commissioned worldwide broadcast services specialist Gravity Media – then branded Gearhouse Broadcast – to deliver a range of facilities, and to provide on-site support.
Facilities were located in the International Broadcast Centre and included a production office, master control room and transmission gallery.
ITV also commissioned Gravity Media to provide a studio located on iconic Copacabana beach. Full talkback capability was required between the two sites.
THE APPROACH
In order to support ITV’s production requirements, Gravity Media’s Projects Solutions division selected and supplied bespoke facilities consisting of a range of the latest and best broadcast technologies available in 2014.
Equipment used included EVS XT3 servers and IPDirector production asset management suite for ingest and logging, Avid MediaComposer, Interplay and ISIS shared media storage system, Snell routers, Harris glue, Sony cameras and Riedel talkback systems.
Gravity Media is highly experienced in the provision of broadcast and production solutions for high-profile sporting events such as the World Cup. This expertise played a crucial role in the approach taken in Brazil.
OUTCOME
Held every four years, football’s international championship has long been a live television institution. With advancements in digital and mobile technologies, ITV Sport’s coverage draws in fans from all around the world.
ITV’s technical director of Sport, Roger Pearce praised the Gravity Media team for its “talent” and “expertise” in delivering project objectives successfully. “It’s critical that the equipment and supporting technology is rock solid, so we need to work with partners who have the necessary experience in delivering facilities at these type of high profile events.”