International. Wanting to increase the dynamism of its coverage of the Qatar World Cup, Fox Sports turned to UK video services company Debrouillard Television to capture the fan experience during key tournament matches.
This included the England vs. USA match on November 25. The station, a long-time LiveU user, specified that it was LiveU's technology that had to be used.
Jonathan Young, owner of Debrouillard and also a LiveU user, said: "Fox Sports is one of the host broadcasters of this tournament. There are fan parks around the world for fans to gather and watch the matches on giant screens, as they cannot physically be in the game. This has become very popular among fans as well as broadcast media that can capture the live footage of the reaction of the fans gathered at these events. The example that really fired the imagination was the fan park event during the European Championship Football Tournament with England fans in Hyde Park, London. It had already been done in the past and continues to be a reference of emotion."
Young was hired to find a suitable place in the UK. This was a challenge because, as the event takes place in the UK winter, it was not possible to have outdoor venues. The company chose Road to Victory (RTV), a fan park set up for the tournament on the outskirts of Manchester. They guaranteed high ticket sales, as well as dynamic lighting and multiple giant screens with special animation.
The first experience of fans covered was for the Group B game of the England vs. USA group stage, which fell on Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. Fox Sports anticipated that this would be the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history. Fan reactions during subsequent matches as the tournament progressed were also covered in the same way.
Young adds, "We spent a lot of time checking the place, especially the connectivity. We also tested during a previous match there and LiveU absolutely worked. Because it's almost underground, built on disused railroad arches, we had to ensure connectivity as this was a high-profile event for Fox Sports. What RTV had done with the place really added to the atmosphere."
Debrouillard owns several LiveU drives and one LiveU server. Young explains that with 6000 fans there, many of them using mobile phones for their own images, and the concrete, steel and brick nature of the building, the company worked with LiveU UK to use a 5G-enabled LU800 to ensure maximum bandwidth. The LU800 was configured with a combination of 5G and 4G SIMS in addition to an Ethernet connection. A second LiveU unit was used for redundancy. The feed was sent to Fox Sports so they could use it however they wanted.
Young concluded, "5G was a real advantage for us, not only because of the inherent bandwidth and capabilities of the LU800, but because very few consumers use it right now and in such a complicated environment, this gave us even more bandwidth and resiliency. Fox Sports is very happy with the results we achieved, both in terms of technical excellence and the vitality and sense of occasion that the footage added."
Malcolm Harland, Country Manager of LiveU UK, said: "This is a great example of LiveU's technology helping to drive viewer engagement, adding a real taste of fan excitement. Congratulations to Fox Sports for recognizing this and forging their own path to get what they wanted, instead of relying on news from others over which they have no control. This added a really competitive advantage to their coverage."
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