Euro 2024: A League Above
Posted on Oct 10, 2024 by FEED Staff
XR, AR, hybrid production and ad insertion – you name it, and this year’s Uefa Euro 2024 innovated it
By the time you pick up this copy of FEED, 2024’s spectacular summer of sport will be nearing its conclusion.
From a dazzling Olympics hosted in France’s capital and a rip-roaring Formula 1 contest – to seeing Alcaraz and Krejčíková deservedly lifting the coveted Wimbledon trophies – sports fans have certainly not found themselves lacking when it comes to content.
Of course, I have omitted one key example from that list: the men’s Uefa Euro 2024.
Though still a fairly fresh and sore wound to us over here in the UK, Spain’s win against England in the nail-biting final triumphantly concluded what proved to be a trailblazer of a tournament. It was certainly a somewhat surprising contest when it came to the successful teams. Underdogs like Turkey got as far as the quarter-finals, while hosts Germany (and also favourites to win) were pushed out earlier than anticipated – much to the dismay of its swathes of present fans.
Major events like the Euros are crucial in shining a light on the copious technological innovations taking place within the broadcasting community. Live sports tend to be the most challenging forms of content to deliver – especially at the scale of a competition like the Euros. Suddenly, you are faced with delivering content to multiple new territories (and continents) – with networks battling varying signal strengths, differing rightsholders’ demands and growing variations of consumption models to answer to.
Fortunately for you, we’ve been keeping an eye on the major trends, data reports and innovations from this year’s edition of the popular tournament.
Make way for change
Over the past decade, the live sports industry has been forced to come to grips with the worldwide shift in content consumption habits. Long gone are the days of linear TV’s omnipotence over live TV, with connected TVs, smartphones and tablets paving a new path for broadcast that networks have since had to scramble to accommodate.
Thanks to both this and the growing issue of the second screen, broadcasters are now in a mutual race to achieve the most advanced fan experience possible – to better their subscriber retention and bolster monetisation opportunities.
Amdocs recently released a report on the technology that will enhance viewer experience at major sporting events – including that of the Euros – commissioning Censuswide to survey over 1000 UK football fans ahead of the tournament.
The report revealed that 70% of respondents said they planned to watch at least one match on terrestrial TV, while 42% will opt to livestream a match. Focusing on live streaming, the survey showed that it is the most popular format with younger fans – 70% of 16- to 24-year-olds will opt to livestream a match compared to 21% of those aged 55 or above. This implies what much of the industry is acutely aware of: streaming will overtake TV to become the preferred method of viewing big sporting events in a matter of years.
“We will see streaming overtake broadcast, but broadcast will always have a good foundational place since it’s convenient at home,” begins Gil Rosen, chief marketing officer at Amdocs. “I don’t think we’ll see a total cannibalisation.”
The survey also offered insight into the technology which football fans are most likely to invest in to enhance their match experience – as well as issues concerning connectivity and roaming services when attending sporting events.
The results suggested that almost a third of UK football fans would like to watch a Euros match in VR, with 16- to 34-year-olds more likely to use the tech compared to those aged 55 and above.
“The actual statistic of the number of people with a VR-type device is in the very low double digits – around 10%,” adds Rosen. “Interestingly, when you ask about the experiences these devices can create, the demand is sometimes three or four times the number of devices on the market, which means there’s a big opportunity for growth.”
In addition to this, the report found that other technology UK fans would like to try for enhanced match-day experiences include a 360°, user-controlled view of the match and AR experiences – like adding another layer of information such as player profiles.
“In sports, AR makes so much sense,” Rosen expands. “It can provide a personal touch that cannot be provided during the broadcast or streaming feeds. The broadcast experience has expanded in parallel with the growing population who have mobile phones, meaning companies need to take this into account and provide an
end-to-end experience.
“When it comes to the VR or AR experience, the capabilities the Apple Vision Pro brings are mind-blowing. Providing a personalised experience is something that can only truly be done with these added technologies.”
Rosen emphasises how the lack of device availability in the AR and VR markets should stop being used as an excuse, encouraging companies to embrace the new technologies.
“Fans are waiting,” he warns. “When you go to market, you always have a fear that you’re investing in something consumers aren’t ready for. But the market is ready. Our study shows that fans are waiting and eager to pay, so it’s time everybody rose to the occasion and did their best to provide fans with these capabilities.”
It was comforting to see that, according to the report, many football fans still like to watch a match with other supporters despite the growing popularity of live streaming. More than a third of respondents said they planned to watch a Euro 2024 match at a public event, like a pub or bar. It seems that, despite the undeniable changes in media consumption, some of our more sociable habits regarding live sports viewing are unlikely to change any time soon.
Synergised studios
We’ve discussed viewer habits, but what about the content itself?
Punditry and interviews almost equal match content in importance, usually dishing out a generous slice of the coverage pie.
The studios this coverage takes place in are crucial to get right, often becoming both the face and hub for any given tournament. BBC Sport led on this front for the UK, stunning audiences with what visually appeared as a never-ending space, thanks to the use of pioneering XR and AR technologies.
“We wanted to create something a bit different,” remarks John Murphy, design and creative director at BBC Sport, “and not just have the studio, desk and the chairs – that usual physical set design.”
Overlooking the iconic Brandenburg Gate, BBC Sport’s purpose-built complex boasted two presentation areas, both of which were designed following the central theme of a football museum – inspired by Berlin’s Neues Museum.
“We thought about the history behind the Brandenburg Gate and its architecture. We decided to use an LED volume in both studios to create XR – not just using it for graphics, but also to create a bigger space both left, right and in the terrace studio.
“The idea was to create almost a Euros Museum, giving a nod to all the iconic Euros moments of the past. The inspiration for this came from the Neues Museum, which had similar architecture to the Brandenburg Gate.
“Because we had the upstairs and downstairs, we wanted to create a link between the two. There was the studio with the museum element, which had LED XR left and right, and we had a VR extension on the side of that. That meant you could get a full 360° picture of that museum look.”
BBC Sport collaborated with AE Live for the studio. In addition to the overall technical integration, implementation and operation of the real-time LED and AR set extensions, AE Live delivered presentation graphics and a match clock across 27 matches – plus graphics for multiple highlight programmes.
The use of AR and LED real-time graphics technology digitally extended the sets by over 56,000 cubic feet, which ultimately ensured greater editorial flexibility and presentation spaces which wouldn’t have been possible within the confines of the physical set.
“From a personal perspective,” Murphy continues, “this is the best we’ve done – from the VR modelling to the LEDs. Even just not using a green screen made it feel much more real.”
The set design married the physical with the virtual, creating stunning XR and AR presentation areas. A large physical window on the back wall utilised Roe-supplied floor-to-ceiling LED screens, adding a greater sense of scale and grandeur to the environment.
“At the end of the day, we’re there to present the football and analysis. But if your studio can supplement that with AR, data-driven graphics – as well as complement your actual surroundings – then that’s a big win.”
Do or DAI
With football comes money. Quite a lot of it, in fact. Setting aside the vast brand and sponsorship opportunities offered to the teams and the players themselves, there are the many TV and streaming dynamic ad-insertion opportunities too lucrative to be navigated lightly.
Founded in 1999, Yospace’s mission is to deliver SSAI to customers so they meet their commercial targets while delivering the best possible user experience – and reliability at scale.
Throughout the course of the Euros, it worked with 13 broadcasters from four continents covering the Euros, compiling a fascinating sample of data that demonstrates the importance of working strategically for live ad insertion.
Yospace itself stitched almost six billion addressable ads across four weeks of Euro 2024 – up 46% on a standard month. During the tournament, 51,000 years’ worth of ads were stitched globally. The most-watched ad break occurred at half-time during the England versus Netherlands semi-final, with a staggering nine million ads stitched across four continents.
“To watch 51,000 years’ worth of ads, you’d have to start from when humans were still in caves,” emphasises Paul Davies, head of marketing at Yospace. “With the half-time of England versus the Netherlands being the most-watched ad break, that was very much influenced by the style of play and how open the game was.
“You’ve got three goals, one of which was disallowed. For each of these, there was a sharp spike in traffic. For the disallowed one, there’s a sharp peak – then it drops off again. For the England penalty, there’s an extended peak because it was a VAR decision.”
But what about the all-important final? Even though England ultimately faced heartbreak, Cole Palmer’s successful strike from outside the box caused the largest peak in traffic, particularly among fans on the go. As the ball hit the back of the net and the stadium erupted, so did mobile traffic, with a 22% increase in views.
Many of those fans remained glued to the action, with mobile traffic staying approximately 7% higher for several minutes than it was prior to the goal. The closing moments – as England tried desperately to find another equaliser – saw a 12% increase in mobile traffic compared to the first 20 minutes of the second half. In other words, it’s the ad breaks surrounding those crucial peaks in traffic that advertisers are going to pay the big bucks for.
“One of the biggest challenges is that everyone is talking about streaming and the need to use advertising to drive successful business,” Davies explains. “But, if you cannot handle the scale we see at the Euros, that’s a fundamental problem.
“Awareness of the challenges is key,” he concludes. “Many streaming companies are
at different stages of their advertising journeys, whereas some sports rightsholders have been working on this at scale for years.”
Hello hybrid
There’s nothing sports rightsholders and leagues love more than a rock-solid broadcast infrastructure. This is no less true for Uefa, so the newly merged EMG/Gravity Media took a leading role in this department, delivering an advanced broadcast infrastructure for both Uefa and a number of international broadcasters – including the UK’s ITV, Dutch public broadcaster NOS and Australia’s Optus Sport.
Among the delivery of many technical assets, EMG/Gravity Media also provided four OB trucks and RF equipment for the ten matches held at the Cologne Stadium and Düsseldorf Arena.
“For Uefa, the team delivered technical operation centres, FanTV solutions and live helicopter aerials across each of the ten venues in Germany. The FanTV solution involved the efforts of seven entities within the group, coming together as one,” comments international sales operations director at EMG, Xavier Devreker.
Aerial coverage proved a massive component of the 2024 Euros, with EMG/Gravity Media also providing live helicopter 1080p HDR aerial coverage for all matches – from the opener to the final. All six helicopters were fitted with the latest UHD HDR stabilised camera gimbals. These were regionally sourced to keep flying to a minimum, in line with EMG/Gravity Media’s offsetting initiative.
The workflow for the 1080p production was designed around a reverse remote production model, with a remote gallery and mini MCR set-up in Berlin along with studio and commentary positions. The two presentation areas were fitted out with nine cameras between them, while on-site were a vision mixer, PA, producer, autocue op plus a small tech and lighting team. Most of the kit underpinning this set-up – including EVS replay, sound and graphics – were all based in London, with the locations linked together by low-latency 10Gb diverse paths.
A sports media milestone
Whether it’s advertising advancements or game-changing XR and AR deployments, this Euro tournament exemplified the defined lead the sports industry has when it comes to live broadcast innovation.
With reduced carbon footprints and hybrid productions serving as two key driving forces for the broadcasters’ planning of the event, it will be exciting to see what next year’s women’s Euros will bring to the table. Watch this space!
This feature was firs published in the Autumn 2024 issue of FEED.
