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This year also sees two of the biggest events on the sporting calendar: the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the Fifa World Cup in South Africa, each attracting global television audiences measured in billions.
There could not be a better time to take a long hard look at how sport and electronic media interact. We now assume that multi-camera, high definition coverage of any sporting event anywhere in the world will be available to us, wherever we sit.
Are we content to sit and watch or do we want to interact? Is HD enough or will our enjoyment be even greater with higher resolutions or stereoscopic 3D?
How do we get those sparkling pictures and immersive surround sound back from wherever the action is to the broadcast base and on into our homes? With coverage getting ever more all-embracing, how do we pay for it?
All this and more will be tackled in a special sport day at IBC2010. On Saturday 11 September, four conference sessions look at the past, present and future – and to keep you gripped there will be plenty of action footage on screen.
The biggest of all sporting events is the Olympic Games, and the day starts with a keynote, showcase and debate on coverage past, present and future. What is the potential for stereo 3D coverage, not just of the action but of the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies? How can audiences – in the stadiums as well as further afield – keep up to date with services to mobile phones? How can the ability of IP-connected devices to handle massive amounts of additional data be harnessed?
Manolo Romero, managing director of Olympic Broadcast Services, will give the keynote and show clips of great Olympic moments. Following his presentation Roger Mosey, who is in charge of the BBC’s plans for the 2012 games in London will talk about the innovations he is planning for interactive, multi-platform coverage.
The 2006 World Cup in Germany marked a watershed, with HD coverage of every match and all the excitement surrounding the competition. This of course was matched in 2010 – with even more cameras at each stadium – but it also sees a bold new venture, the coverage of 25 of the games in stereoscopic 3D, the most high profile use of the new format since Avatar.
Peter Angell is the director of production and programming for Host Broadcast Services (HBS), and is thus the man responsible for all World Cup coverage. IBC conference delegates have a unique opportunity to hear him talk frankly about his experiences in shooting and delivering stereo 3D, and a follow-up panel discussion will look at the commercial prospects for 3D sports.
Online viewing has the potential to revolutionise the way sports fans consume content, allowing them to personalise their own feeds, blending action with behind the scenes access, background content and rich statistical data. What are the opportunities for rights owners, sports federations, and teams and clubs? IBC is the place to investigate, debate and decide.
The final session is another action-packed case study, showing how the latest technology can greatly enhance the viewing experience. The US Nascar automotive series has invested heavily in new ways to help the viewers, from highlighting the leading car to adding virtual dashboards to show the viewer the same parameters that the driver is seeing.
The presentation is sure to spark a debate on how the same technologies can add to the viewer experience in other sports. If you are a sports broadcaster, a rights owner or responsible for marketing and managing a major sporting event, you need to be at IBC2010’s sports day, Saturday 11 September.
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