In Broadcast - CCW 2015 - 42


42

www.inbroadcast.com | CCW 2015 InShow Guide | 11-12 November

A New Point Of View
For Sports Broadcast
By Ali Zarkesh,
VP Product Management

O

ver the past 50 years, and the
last decade in particular, the
broadcast industry has seen many
changes in the way live television is not
only produced, but consumed.
Today's viewers want the freedom
to watch what they want, when they
want to. A growing habit of binging on
TV shows for hours at a time has also
emerged, thanks to the proliferation of
video on demand services like Netflix.
This shift suggests that linear viewing
is out and 'catch up' is in. But when it
comes to live broadcasting, traditional
players still hold all the cards.
TV advertising remains the most
important revenue stream for
broadcasters. Yet during the past
few years its value has been eroded
across all areas, except live television.
Live sports, in particular, prove this
rule, and remain one of the most
important domains broadcasters have
access to. Here, they can guarantee a
large viewership by the very nature of
what's being shown, thereby drawing
the largest possible advertising spend.
Football is a particularly good example
of this, as UK rights to broadcast the
Premier League have nearly tripled to
£1.7 billion per season - representing
a big initial outlay for broadcasters,
granted, but also a big potential
reward given the sizeable viewership
on offer. Evidently there is still a
steady demand for live broadcasting,
but, while this growth looks initially

positive, increased competition from
online players has been a key factor
in the reason behind sports broadcast
rights becoming more expensive. As a
result, it has become more important
than ever for broadcasters to provide
the best possible experience around
live sporting events.
Fortunately, this is within reach.
Sports broadcasting is on the cusp of
a major shift, driven by the growing
use of portable camera equipment to
deliver point of view (POV) viewing
angles that resonate well with sports
enthusiasts. To keep live sports
exciting, viewers at home want access
to never-before-seen footage, helping
them to live the experience like never
before, which broadcasters are now
starting to provide. We've seen this
already around the NHL where a
player wearing a helmet cam can
give the viewer an entirely new way
to experience the action from an ice
hockey match - via a live feed direct
from the player's POV.
Advances in the design of wireless
cameras, and subsequently wireless
camera transmitters, are making this
possible. New smaller, lightweight
and ultra-portable equipment is
completely changing the face of live
sports broadcast. We're entering
an exciting era where we can soon
expect all members of a sports team
to be wearing these devices, giving
broadcasters more flexibility and
freedom than ever before when it
comes to relaying the best possible
camera angles to the viewer at
home. There's also potential that, in

time, viewers will be able to switch
between multiple camera angles at
will, watching live sports in the way
they want to, with a view of the match
that's unique to them.
POV cameras have been used
at other sporting events as well,
such as the Winter X Games held
in Colorado this February. GoPro
cameras were mounted to the
helmets of snowboarders, letting
viewers experience the "ride" as if
they themselves were on the board.
This new method of capturing the
most exciting camera angles from
sporting events has created a far
more immersive television viewing
experience, and is essential in helping
broadcasters to retain control of live
sports broadcasting.
Due to the need for more advanced
and higher quality coverage, live
sport is now one of the driving forces
behind the latest developments in
broadcast equipment. By its very
nature, live broadcast will always
demand reliability. There's no room
for error and high latency is simply
not acceptable. However, delivering
more exciting coverage through new
techniques like POV camera angles
depends on the use of wireless
equipment. Equipment manufacturers
have played a key role in developing
modular solutions that are both
adaptable and flexible, enabling
broadcasters to cope with these
changing needs without needing to

compromise on quality.
It's not just the viewer at home who
will benefit from the latest lightweight
and ultra-portable cameras and
transmitters. Another benefit is the
accurate analysis of play. Judges today
rely on two or three fixed camera
angles to determine a goal, but the
camera angle may be obscured by
other players and equipment. In the
US, the NHL has already rolled out the
'Goal Cam', a miniature camera and
video transmitter placed at the back
of the net with the perfect view of the
goal line. Less likely to be obscured by
players than previous camera angles,
this enables disputes to be resolved
faster and ensures a more accurate
play analysis overall.
Broadcasters can't stop the changing
habits of TV consumption, but they can
tune in to changing demands around
live broadcast. Only by providing
viewers with the best possible quality
and the best possible camera angles,
delivered without delay or glitches, will
broadcasters retain control over their
most profitable segment of the TV
market - live sports.
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