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How BT Sport are stepping up their football coverage to give fans even more
The Premier League and Champions League broadcaster are stepping up to offer fans more content than ever before
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BT Sport arrived on the English football scene and challenged Sky Sports’ dominance.
With their Premier League, Champions League and Europa League coverage, they have continued to do just that
Now, using mobile technology, 5G and 4G, they're looking to step up their game further, to give viewers increased levels of coverage once more.
BT Sport have become the only broadcaster to utilise a 5G network as part of its operation.
Now, that, alongside their use of true remote production, will allow for an increased number of live matches and much, much more this term.
With a radically new approach to how TV is captured, they will be airing more Women's Super League action than ever before - at a time where the women's game across the country is booming.
It also means more National League than ever before, with remote production set to be in operation around every match from both competitions this season.
For fans of both leagues that doesn't just mean witnessing more live action; it also means getting every goal and all the relevant highlights from games closer to the final whistle than ever before, including a new Saturday evening highlights show for fans.
Remote production is playing a key role in the process, allowing BT Sport to be both more environmentally and cost efficient; large production trucks parked outside stadiums could well be set to become a thing of the past.
Crucially in the editorial process, it is freeing up resources, allowing talent to be deployed at a wider variety of locations around stadia than ever before - for example, if the team bus breaks down 100 yards up the road from the ground, they can now quickly deploy a camera there.
That, allied to the use of 4G/5G, is allowing footage to be sent back to the Stratford base within minutes, to be cut and packaged and also utilised alongside digital services such as Virtual Reality.
Until now, match footage has had to be sent back to BT Sport, either via satellite, which comes with a huge cost meaning you can't cover all games, or physically, which delays when viewers get to see the action.
With a much more streamlined approach, it means BT Sport are able to do more than ever before, moving away from more traditional approaches, creating content and putting it out there ASAP on TV, the BT Sport App and social media channels.
"Understanding what you can do with content is really exciting," says BT Sport COO Jamie Hindhaugh.
"What remote production enables is us to build teams of all people working together; it allows greater diversity and inclusion in the production department and allows for greater wellbeing of staff, who maybe had to move all around the country, sometimes away from families.
"Remote production enables us to build teams while driving accessibility using our core infrastructure.
"Our job is to personalise the sports experience. If you're a football fan, the best place to be is in the stadium.
"The second best place is with BT Sport."
