
Sky Sport Summit 2021: Data and 5G to the fore as the DACH sports broadcasting community meets in Munich By SVG Contributor
Thursday, September 30, 2021 - 12:16
Print This Story
This week's Sky Sport Summit, in cooperation with SVG Europe, was a hotbed of debate and discussion about the latest sports broadcasting trends, from practical uses of 5G and data to vertical mobile viewing and attracting new talent to the industry.
On 27 September, the Sky Sport Summit 2021 took place at the Dolby Cinema in central Munich. Whereas traditionally the event would have taken place at Sky Germany's production facility in Unterf hring, Munich, COVID social distancing measures saw this year's event moved into the large auditorium of the Dolby Cinema, as had been done in 2020.
The theatre is one of Germany's most technologically advanced cinema complexes sporting Ultra HD projectors and immersive 360-degree Dolby Atmos sound.
As it turned out, it was a magnificently fitting location for sports TV production experts from all over Germany, who gathered here to learn about new trends in live sports production and to network in-person.
Alessandro Reitano, senior vice president of sports production at Sky Germany, hosted the event once again. Representatives of production service providers, rental houses, technology manufacturers and solution providers were invited to listen to numerous keynotes and discussions.
We need to encourage storytelling through data integration. The value-added chain must be clearly deduced from a clear visual language, and getting this right is going to be one of the biggest challenges for sports broadcasting in the future.
Around 80 participants took advantage of the full day's event to network and exchange ideas. Individual presentations and panel discussions provided insights into innovative production methods, and a hands-on training booth outside the auditorium had guests testing out broadcasting equipment from the event's main sponsor, Panasonic.
In the first panel discussion What's next Dolby? , Dolby Germany's Stefan Kramper discussed how Atmos immersive sound technology is being increasingly integrated into sports broadcasting events, citing the recent Euro 2020 tournament.
He also pointed out that this technology, which was also integrated into this year's Champions League final, will be added to the Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022. Kramper also highlighted the possibilities outlined by Atmos and the Dolby XP app in enriching the audio experience of a wide array of live sports and esports events.
The next panel discussion, entitled Bundesliga Match facts / Sky Tactical Feed , dealt with the topic of Big Data and Smart Data.
Panelled by the Sky Experte and former FC Schalke coach Manuel Baum (pictured above, left) and Sportec Solutions managing director Hendrik Weber (pictured above, centre), questions were raised as to how data can be effectively used to enhance the viewing experience of live sports. Both agreed that data has been proven to provide added benefit to the viewing experience when successfully integrated, for example, through additional real time statistics for player performance in football matches.
The consensus, however, was that there is a need to stress the qualitative over quantitative integration of data within sports broadcasting.
Data needs to be integrated in a contextually useful manner, commented Weber. We need to encourage the additional element of storytelling through data integration. The value-added chain must be clearly deduced from a clear visual language, and getting this right is going to be one of the biggest challenges for sports broadcasting in the future.
Another event highlight was the Transformation in Broadcasting session (pictured, above) featuring Andreas Heyden, the CEO of Deutsche Fu ball Liga (DFL) Digital Sports and EVP of digital innovation for the DFL Group, Riedel Communications founder Thomas Riedel and Christian Massmann, the managing director of Qvest Media.
Guests discussed several topics such as the oncoming 5G revolution, glass to glass strategies and the difficulties of finding the right talent in the industry.
While Riedel expressed scepticism about the media buzz surrounding 5G, the panel were united in their view that the broadcasting industry requires increasing adaptation in order to stay ahead of the game, especially with respect to how younger generations consume live sports.
In the stadium, one is totally focused on the game at hand. At home, however, the experience is entirely different. Trying to keep the viewer entertained with additional layers of statistics is essential to develop fan engagement.
The panel observed that the increasing prevalence of vertical as opposed to horizontal viewing on smartphones, coupled with the insatiable desire for statistics and live analysis, is shaping the way digital natives consume content.
The next presentation from Lars Quetting, Head of Media Technology Projects, at Axel Springer Liveware-IT gave the audience a glimpse into the new shared TV broadcasting facility of die Welt and BILD Live in the new Axel Springer Verlag Building in Berlin.
Together with Qvest Media, the concept of the studio was implemented in several phases leading up to go-live in 2021. The studio's spatial distribution, which makes use of a closely connected live desk, newsroom and production area, provided an excellent example as to how workflows can be streamlined within the studio environment.
Given the fact that the demand for TV series production will constantly increase, the next talk with Amelie von Kienlin (pictured above), Amusement Park Film called Munich Match / Tech in Fiction Production , provided an interesting detour into the technical challenges presented by the world of fiction and film. In her exchange wit
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...
08/09/2026
Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...
08/09/2026
Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...
08/09/2026
Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...
08/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...
08/09/2026
AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...
08/09/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...
08/09/2026
M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...
08/09/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...
08/09/2026
Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...
08/09/2026
SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...
08/09/2026
New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026
8 September, 2026
Media releases
1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date
Best...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...
08/09/2026
New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...
08/09/2026
Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...
08/09/2026
Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...
08/09/2026
Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...
08/09/2026
BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...
08/09/2026
Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...
08/09/2026
Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...
08/09/2026
Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...
08/09/2026
A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms
At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...
08/09/2026
Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...
08/09/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...
08/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...
08/09/2026
Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...
08/09/2026
Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...
08/09/2026
Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning
Quortex today announce...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Telos Alliance and Pluxbox Announce Dynamic Media Facility Integration Partnersh...
08/09/2026
J nger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026
Search
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's ...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...