The evolution of live sportscasting: It’s rocket science

IBC

 

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“Elon Musk, whenever you think of the man, has made a rocket that's reusable so why would you now make a rocket that is not reusable? He's changed the game and he's changed the price point to create a different business model.”

 

For Claire Wilkie, Founder and CEO, Limitless Broadcast the analogy can be applied to sports broadcasting.

 

“What we're seeing now is more people switching to using software defined workflows in the cloud. It’s a new business model, a new way of working, a new strategy and it opens new editorial and monetisation opportunities for everyone.”

 

With a career spanning ten years beginning at BBC Studios and BBC Royal Events and working on the 2012 London Olympics, British Basketball League and multiple series of Strictly Come Dancing Wilkie founded Limitless to bring remote production to every sport. Among recent achievements was delivering the live 18-camera grand final of the Premiership Women's Rugby on TNT Sports and BBC iPlayer as sustainable, and ultra-agile remote production powered by the LIMITLESS remote hub.

 

At IBC she speaks with experience about the evolution of live production and says the industry is transforming and changing at a rapid rate.

 

“Remote production is going mainstream with even smaller companies moving into that workflow. We've got changing business models happening within the industry as a result.”

 

Even the largest scale, most high profile events  - like Channel 4’s presentation of the Paralympics from Paris -  are being done with via a remote production hub (in that case from  remote galleries based in Cardiff and managed by Whisper). “What interests me the most is being able to go to the furthest most remote locations and still go live, even when there’s no pre-existing fibre infrastructure,” Wilkie says.

 

This is where the use of 4G and 5G high speed connections, either via network slicing or set-up as a private network, is starting to pay dividends. What is critical in any remote produced and 5G contributed production is synchronised ultra-low latency.

She says, “The last thing broadcasters need is inconsistency. If you're going to have latency, then consistency is key so that everything can be synced up and the director has no problem calling the shots. When feeds are inconsistent the production can be chaotic. So, getting that latency down and in sync is the absolute goal.”

 

The next iteration of live production is greater use of cloud and how service providers like hers can harness cloud to deliver new business models and editorial opportunity. Wilkie says the industry is moving towards software defined tools where the onus is on technologists to look at how that can be streamlined and resilient for editorial.

 

“The key is whether the production team feel in control. Operational crew must feel empowered to do their jobs when they walk into a remote or virtual gallery. It needs to work as though it was a hardware gallery in a truck. They need to be able to do their jobs to the best of their ability and the tech has to be redundant and resilient. Familiarity and trust is really important when we're moving to these more IP-based and cloud workflows.

 

She stresses, “In any remote or cloud set up there has to be low latency and it has to empower skilled people to do their jobs.”

 

With IP infrastructure as the backbone and streaming as the dominant new distribution model, sports clubs, leagues and federations are able to engage their fans like never before. An example is the rise of ‘watch along’ and digital shows such as Lion's Den, which Limitless produce for the FA as an interactive format streamed on YouTube.

“Fans could comment on and call into the show live,” Wilkie explains. “They can communicate with each other through graphics and be part of the show. What's really interesting is looking at how we break that wall down even further between the live event and the community. That's where Virtual Reality comes into play. VR hasn't been adopted yet because the tech is still evolving but it’s a fascinating space which is on the cusp of taking off.”

 

At previous IBCs the focus of innovation in broadcast sports was around resolution but sports producers seem to have decided they’ve reached a plateau where 1080p HDR is as good as the picture needs to get.

“We have to be driven by the habits of the consumer,” Wilkie insists. “The previous generation is watching daytime TV and linear television but Gen Z are only watching shows that have a community following.  The viewing habits of the younger generation will dictate and is dictating how we make content and how we distribute it.”

 

She cites uber-successful YouTubers like Mr Beast with viewing figures in the millions and the rise of influencer-led sports content as clues to the future of live streamed events.

“Those creator-led shows have full production teams creating with high production value. What they're also doing really well is bringing advertising very subtly into the show itself. Rather than having the live game interrupted with an ad break, content creators will embed brands within the show format. It might be a logo on a mug that the presenter has on their desk. Provided this is done in a way that is relatable and authentic then the fan community will buy into it.”

 

If Gen Z are viewing more live sports on platforms like YouTube and on mobile devices one wonders what implications this has for the future of longform live sport?

 

Wilkie believes there will always be international culturally important events like a World Cup which are best experienced in a shared sit-down in front of the main TV.

 

“When an event like that has a huge cultural following people will tune in and watch it live. Nonetheless, I feel like those watching or able to watch in 4K or 8K is quite niche. Younger generations are not necessarily watching in those resolutions so why would we make content in those resolutions if it's not for archive?”

 

There is some reluctance in the industry to move wholesale to remote and cloud methodologies but Wilkie thinks the hardware-based large OB trucks provider will co-exist with and complement more decentralised IP solutions for some time.

 

“When those big trucks were being built they were designed and engineered with the latest technology and the latest functionality but over time as in any industry change happens and transformation happens. We've seen it in the space industry with SpaceX.

 

“It’s coming down to two different ways of running businesses. If you are invested in hardware, then it's understandable that you don't necessarily want to move into a different business model overnight. I also think there's an element of the unknown for some people and an attitude of why do we need to change something that’s been working really well for so long.

 

“The point is that with cloud you can have a much more agile footprint. Limitless is able to offer that ultra flexibility and ultra agility of having a really nimble footprint on site so that we can pop up anywhere in the world and go live and still offer the production value that client’s expect from a more traditional solution.

 

“Ultimately, what’s driving all these changes is creative freedom. Editorial talent are finally able to bring their ideas into reality because of the maturation of new technology. The freedom of using IP-based, remote and cloud production and high-speed cellular internet connections means that you can go anywhere and tell the story.

 

“That’s what I find really exciting. Suddenly as technologists and engineers we are able to open up new opportunities to the storytellers in our industry.”