
Inside DAZN's host broadcast of the UEFA Women's Champions League Final By George Bevir
Friday, May 24, 2024 - 09:00
Print This Story
Dave Wade, DAZN head of football and multisport with Jemma Archer, DAZN senior producer women's football
When Barcelona takes on Lyon in the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) Final in Bilbao on Saturday (25 May), it will be a clash between two of the most successful teams in the competition's history as well as the culmination of another season of comprehensive coverage of women's club football for DAZN.
Holders Barcelona will play in their fourth straight final, aiming to become the third team to win three titles. Meanwhile, in four competitive meetings so far including two finals record eight-time winners Lyon have won on every occasion.
I've been working in football around the world for a few years now, and this is one of the best stadiums I've been to it's purpose built for TV
For DAZN, which has positioned itself as the global home of women's football', the UWCL final provides the perfect opportunity to showcase the streaming platform's approach to covering the top tier women's football.
Every year, it's got bigger and better, says Dave Wade, DAZN head of football and multisport. For this particular match, we start off with our mantra that we have for every single match, which is we want to tell every story, cover every single angle and convey the live excitement and atmosphere inside the stadium to viewers, whether they're watching on their phone, their tablet, or in their living rooms on the TV.
It was back in July 2021 that DAZN acquired global rights to broadcast the UWCL and was awarded host broadcaster duties for the next four seasons to 2025. It was also the first time UEFA had centralised all Women's Champions League matches globally. In a bid for further exposure and growth, DAZN entered into a partnership with YouTube to make the competition live and free for fans around the world for the first time.
For the final, as well as producing its own unilateral coverage, DAZN is host broadcaster for 13 sub-licensees from across Europe plus Brazil and Mexico, each with their own unilateral presentation positions.
Supporting the UEFA Women's Champions League: Dave Wade and Jemma Archer
To support its production, DAZN appointed Mediapro as technical services provider. Says Wade: We looked at a range of companies and considered who's best placed to deliver what we need, and in this case, it was it was a fairly easy decision to go with Mediapro with the expertise that they've got, plus they know Bilbao and the San Mam s.
They also have a predominantly female crew (including host broadcast director Claudia Santos) which is an example of how forward-thinking they are as an organisation. We always want the best person for the job; there is no tokenism. And we don't patronise in our coverage. The game has grown up sufficiently that it's judged on its own merits.
Working alongside Wade is DAZN production manager Courtney Pascuad, plus Jemma Archer, DAZN's senior producer of women's football. Says Archer: We feel quite strongly that what you won't see in our broadcasts is 15 minutes dedicated to the rise of the women's game, because we've heard that a million times before. It's treated as football in a pure sense. This is a match, between the best players and our job is to tell the story.
Production planning for the final started in the summer, straight after the 2023 final in Eindhoven. The first site visit to Bilbao was in September of last year. Wade says: With UEFA, we spent a day looking at every single aspect of the stadium, whether that's the camera positions, the presentation positions, where the tunnels are everything that will help us to tell the story and all the subplots .
They considered using a box in one of the upper stands for the DAZN presentation position but it was deemed too far removed from the action so instead, presenters and pundits will be pitch side with no furniture' between them and the viewers. Viewers will see the players walking immediately behind and after the match, they'll come over to our press position and talk to us, so it's really embedded within the day itself, says Wade.
To tell the story of the final, the multilateral camera plan will be comprised of 17 cameras a significant uplift on UWCL group stage games, which typically have between three and five cameras to cover the action.
The Spidercam was already plugged in at the San Mam s, a great example of how suited the stadium is to broadcast, says Wade. I've been working in football around the world for a few years now, and this is one of the best stadiums I've been to; everything is catered for. It's an amazing arena, with every conceivable angle has been thought about when it was designed. It's purpose built for TV.
DAZN Visa FanZone
DAZN senior producer women's football Jemma Archer will work on DAZN's preview show airing on Friday and the integration of second screen experience DAZN Visa FanZone, available via DAZN in more than 200 countries including Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain. Functionality includes interactive features such as quizzes, live chat, and viewer polls - allowing fans to engage with the content and each other in real-time. These social and interactive elements are designed to add further dimension to the coverage.
Says Archer: We've had 72 million impressions, 890,000 interactions with fans from the quarterfinals, so it's been an amazingly successful initiative because it's the first time that the DAZN women's football team has worked on that with a brand like Visa.
It's something you can't replicate with a linear
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...
08/05/2026
Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles
Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...
08/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
08/05/2026
Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, and ESPN have announced a multi-year ...
08/05/2026
BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) has announced the selection of Syname...
08/05/2026
UFC and Joe Hand Promotions, UFC's exclusive commercial distributor in the U...
08/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, has announced it has been granted US Patent No. 12,556,777 for its graphical overlay technology for interactive live streaming. Th...
08/05/2026
Ateme has announced that VTVcab has deployed Ateme's OTT platform to power its VTVprime streaming service in Vietnam. The deployment covers live and on-dema...
08/05/2026
Amagi has announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering via the Amagi ADS PLUS marketplace, providing programmatic access to ad formats inserted dir...
08/05/2026
Young broadcaster will deploy 11-camera complement, At the Line' scorebug f...
08/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
08/05/2026
FOX Sports, America's English-language home for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and...
08/05/2026
Molly Gordon and Ben Platt appear in Theater Camp. (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
By Lucy Spicer
Her character is the beloved founder of the AdirondACTS...
08/05/2026
One-button synth generates random four-track ideas
Cyma Forma and French artist Bambounou have announced RND synth, a compact hardware synthesizer built aro...
08/05/2026
Portable four-layer granular and sampling instrument
Tasty Chips have announced the GR-2, a new granular synthesizer and sampling instrument that combines e...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Polyend Drums
Polyends big announcement for Superbooth 2026 is the Drums, a new drum machine that features both ...
08/05/2026
Deal agreed as NI enters new chapter
Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams has announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for the company to be ac...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Erica Bullfrog Drums
The Bullfrog Drums is the latest collaboration between Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin, and ...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Pete reunites with Dogs Trust for a fourth series and a two-part overseas special
London, Friday 8th May 2026: The award winning factual entertainment series P...
08/05/2026
Wuppertal May 8, 2026
Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider Riedel Communications today announced its return as a spons...
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...