As European sports fans enjoy back-to-back highly anticipated live sporting events this summer, broadcasters are faced with the immense challenge of delivering the highest-quality live experience – with zero room for error – while trying to meet sustainability goals. As the broadcast world descends upon stadiums across Germany, Paris’ Olympic Village, Wimbledon, and others, live broadcasters and rights holders must put their game faces on to deliver hotly anticipated live events as sustainably as possible.
Putting sustainable production to the test
More sports broadcasters and organisations, including the BBC, ITV, and Sky, are moving towards a common goal of greener live production, switching to new technologies such as cloud-based remote production to achieve net zero goals.
ITV Sport embraced a ‘reverse remote’ production workflow with sustainability at its core for its Euro 2024 coverage, including multiple remote galleries across Berlin for live shots, a centralised MCR for connectivity, and a remote gallery controlling and feeding signals back to London. Organisers of the Paris Olympics have also put sustainability at the forefront of their plans, with a goal to have 50 per cent lower emissions than the 2012 and 2016 Games.
The Euro 2024 tournament published its strategy for broadcasting the sporting event, with sustainability efforts central to its practices. Efforts included reducing waste, investing in projects dedicated to mitigating unavoidable tournament-related emissions, and sharing transparent conduct and supply chains. The Olympics are also implementing these practices with the adoption of cloud-based technology in the Paris event to reduce the overall carbon footprint and power requirements. According to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), implementing cloud-based solutions allows it to achieve “more with less” as operators and broadcast partners can operate remotely, further underlining the importance of flexible and efficient technologies. The shift in broadcasting priorities will see major sporting events looking at innovative technologies that keep up with industry standards, while striving for carbon-free initiatives.
Matching fan demands with sustainability goals
The challenges of delivering sustainable productions become harder to navigate as fans demand more immersive and a broader range of live coverage. Broadcasters are ramping up the number of camera angles available, for example, to offer audiences different perspectives on the action and fully appreciate each goal scored or ace served. Grand Slam tennis tournaments often use over 100 cameras to capture the full breadth of gameplay. For this year’s Euros, ITV employed 46 slow-motion cameras per match. This spike in the number of feeds and data being delivered calls for highly efficient technology infrastructure that ensures perfect synchronisation of feeds – particularly when you factor in tools like VAR, which could be called upon at any point in a game.
Beyond the live action, fans also seek real-time engagement with stats, behind-the-scenes insights, interviews, and social feeds. Data is enhancing the fan experience, with events like Formula One using up to 300 sensors per car to collect 10,000 data points per second, offering real-time insights and deepening audience engagement. For the Paris Olympics, OBS still believes that ‘Storytelling is King’ and is committed to scaling content with improved data offerings, real-time graphics, aerial coverage of the Games, 12 beauty cameras to capture the distinct feel of the city and more behind-the-scenes material to tell compelling stories of athletes and fans.
Making green technology investments
The push to produce exceptional live content while meeting sustainability targets is driving broadcasters to adopt high-density solutions that minimise rack space in OB trucks and production control rooms, reduce on-site power consumption, and ease shipping demands. Cloud-based remote production platforms are at the forefront of reducing broadcast footprints. By leveraging these technologies, broadcasters can significantly decrease the need for on-site crews and physical infrastructure. This shift not only reduces the amount of travel but also cuts down on the energy consumption traditionally associated with large-scale live events. Adopting flexible, ultra-dense solutions that support low-latency coverage ensures that broadcasters can deliver quality content while working towards a more sustainable future. The technology available today supports green initiatives, moving away from historically energy-intensive broadcast practices.
With the summer of sports in full swing, broadcasters are rising to the challenge by delivering top-quality content while prioritising sustainability. Industry leaders are looking to see how broadcasters reduce carbon emissions, what areas of sustainability they are focusing on and how they are working towards greener goals. Innovative technologies are key to reducing the broadcast footprint and power requirements. These efforts ensure that the excitement of live sports can be enjoyed sustainably, setting a new gold standard for the industry.
