Sound Down Under: Fox Sports Australia Preps Audio for Live Sports in Empty Venues Music helps fill the silence and pump up the players after a score By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 - 10:30 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon that has shut down sports pretty much everywhere. And just as many civil and governmental responses have been mostly local - U.S. efforts have been led largely by state governors, for instance - regional sports broadcasters are wrestling with how to help get sports back on television. Without fans in the stands, audio poses a major challenge.
Fox Sports Australia has been working on the issue as it applies to rugby, first tackling the situation's most central question: should crowd sounds be inserted into live sports programs? Here, Antony Koveos, head of audio, Fox Sports Australia, relates his staff's efforts around the issue, readying the network for the recommencement of the National Rugby League (NRL) on May 28, without fans present in the stadiums.
Fox Sports Australia's Antony Koveos: Everyone is physically isolated, but we are all watching this match together. We are currently working with partners looking at ways to capture home-fan audio and curate it into some workable presentable playback.
What was the consensus around inserting crowd sound into shows?
That was the first question, and, early in the week, we all said, Yes, let's run some clean crowd atmosphere through the PA system in the stadium to give it something. However, by the time we got to showtime, we all agreed it was going to sound rather silly considering the seats were going to be empty. Fake crowd = hollow emotional connection. The first points scored in the first match without a crowd [were] surreal to say the least. The players were pumped having scored, but the deadly silence hit them like a frying pan: there was no roar from the fans! A few hands went up for a high five and quickly limped down, as there was no communal affirmation. That was the moment we all realized how big the vacuum was.
How do you decide to punctuate the various emotional cues and create an acceptable atmosphere for the viewers at home and the players on the field?
Fast forward 24 hours, and we had developed a stadium PA-playback policy. We sat down with the stadium PA and playback operators and went through the various states of match day. Every state had a type of music associated with it and played back at a particular level.
In the pre-match window, we got them to run some low-level bubble tracks, pump it up as the teams hit the field, and eventually fade out on kickoff. The music is pumped through the PA, and our effects microphones pick it up as reverberant reflections. During match play, the PA fades out, which allows us to extract some decent field-of-play effects, as, for the first time in history, we are not competing with the crowd. When there is a break in play, the PA plays some low-level bubble to cover the emptiness, nothing during match play, and, as soon as someone scores from either team, the PA will play upbeat motivational celebratory music at 100%. So the music from the PA becomes the de facto crowd. It works for the players in the stadium; it works for the audience at home.
How has the broadcast mix changed?
For starters, the field-of-play effects are fantastic. The stadium has now become like a Foley studio, and you can pick up a lot of good effects, [and] impact sports allow you to hear various levels of contact. Traditionally, we would only hear the big hits; now we can hear the ball touching the hand, minor scuffles, and the stomping of the feet. In ball-kicking sports like soccer, we would hear every kick, which isn't always possible when fans are chanting and playing drums.
[We are also] hearing more player communication: all the yelling and calling in back play is easily picked up. However, we have to be mindful of foul language coming off the field of play and the bench. We alerted the sporting bodies heading into this that we would hear this much clearer, and a directive went out to all the teams to be mindful of their language.
We also made a point to pause the commentary during match play and absorb the sounds as they come off the field, as this [provides] a new insight into the game. We further added our own replay music, and we picked up selected fans at home through video-conferencing apps and recorded their reactions, including audio, and replayed these into the replay sequence. We did get some live applause from the reserve players that sat in the lower parts of the stands. It was like junior-league applause on a Tier 1 sport.
Any changes with microphone placement?
The main camera deck is now an unwanted noise source - you can clearly hear the camera operators talking - so the crowd microphones had to move from there. The crowd microphones now become [reflected-sound] microphones: non-specific wide ambience. We find spots for them to pick up reflections of whatever noise there is. In most venues, this ends up being down low, pointing up into the stand and the roof.
All other microphones stay the same except for interviews. In order to maintain social distancing, we set up an interview position with a shotgun microphone on a microphone stand for the person being interviewed. Our reporter has the stick mic, is standing back with the crew, and asks the questions. The interviewee stands 6 ft. in front of the camera and answers down the shotgun microphone. For remote interviews, we run a mix-minus return feed into a powered speaker, such as a Fostex 6301, which allows the studio to talk to the player or coaching staff - no headphone, no earpieces, no touching - and it worked well. All other broadcasters, including radio, followed our lead on this, and it's
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...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
14/07/2026
Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...
14/07/2026
Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...
14/07/2026
New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...
14/07/2026
ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...
14/07/2026
Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...
14/07/2026
Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
As broadcasters con...
14/07/2026
Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...
14/07/2026
Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...
14/07/2026
FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...
Sound Down Under: Fox Sports Australia Preps Audio for Live Sports in Empty Venues Music helps fill the silence and pump up the players after a score By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
