Endless AR possibilities: BT Sport's Match Day Experience technical partners talk new realities By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, November 23, 2020 - 12:41
Print This Story
Here Match Day Experience on the BT Sport App is shown in Stadium Experience
BT Sport and mobile operator EE recently announced Match Day Experience, a set of new features for the BT Sport app.
Match Day Experience brings augmented reality (AR) elements and 360-degree video to live and non-live coverage of Premier League matches for EE 5G subscribers using the new iPhone 12.
SVG Europe caught up with Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer at BT Sport, along with three of its technical partners behind some of the new features - Stats Perform, Second Spectrum and Visualise - to get more detail on how the features were created and where AR is going to take viewers in 2021.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Hindhaugh comments on how BT Sport has created the new functionality: What I'm really proud of is the whole of BT Sport is taking people to the heart of the game and being editorially relevant, not gimmicky. The strength of being in sports is the community we build; it's about strategic partners.
He goes on: I think it's the combination of the products [in Match Day Experience] and really identifying from an editorially relevant point of view what football fans want, or what they can't get in the current climate, that works here. But what we've also done is everything we've built is looking forward to the full 5G roll out and enabling fans to still engage with all of these editorially relevant products, no matter where they are. This is the start of, I think, an incredible journey for all of the teams combined to really transform the experience around watching live sport.
On some of the companies involved in Match Day Experience, Paul Hunt is European executive director and European lead for football at Second Spectrum. In conjunction with the BT Sport team, Second Spectrum provides the video streams augmented with stats and graphics in Manager Mode for the BT Sport app.
Ross Tanner, Stats Perform account lead for BT Sport, helped provide the data-rich services across Opta to create visualisations for Match Day Experience; it provides data that powers the formations and attacking areas in Match Day Live's AR features.
Meanwhile, Henry Stuart, CEO and co-founder of Visualise, an AR and virtual reality (VR) production agency, has taken the stats from Stats Perform and visualised them throughout the app, such as, a stadium that you can place in your living room with all this live data , according to Stewart. Visualise also created the app's Stadium Experience, which enables the user to walk through an AR doorway as a portal into immersive content.
Other partners for the app are Sceenic, which supports the Watch Together functionality, Tiledmedia which supports the 360 functionality, and last but not least, Deltatre that integrates the Tiledmedia service into the BT Sport App enhanced player.
BT Sport's new App functionality, Match Day Experience, here shown in Manger Mode
Endless possibilities for AR
As to how the combined technologies within Match Day Experience will help BT Sport's viewers during the pandemic by allowing them to engage with sport that they are unable to attend in person, Hindhaugh says: We're taking people to the game, we're giving them match day experiences they can't currently get, and we are enabling them to socially come together. For me it's about the experience.
It's about addressing the fact that in this current pandemic, a lot of us are on our own watching a game where usually we're either at the game or we're with mates watching the game in the pub or what have you, Hindhaugh goes on. So I think [the different aspects of Match Day Experience] complement each other tremendously.
Stuart agrees: The way we see it, this is just the foundation that allows us to build these first steps. You'll see more and more impressive graphics and animations coming onto TV, either tracked onto pitches or in studios.
Stuart notes that the possibilities are endless; through AR you can have, a life size recreation of a player who stands there and you can have your photo taken next them to in your living room . He adds: Once the assets can be placed there, the possibilities are actually limitless. I think that's what's so exciting. And also the fact that BT Sport already produces so much live 360 content, as well as the prerecorded stuff that we're currently using through the portal.
You'll soon be able to just be watching the TV [at home] then put an [AR] portal down and walk through to a live view, which is on the side of the pitch, you know, and then stand there and look around with your phone. It's just an incredible way of watching the sport.
Hunt says this is all pointing to a much more personalised experience: I think that [this is about] making it more of a personalised experience. So rather being fed what's been shown for the past 20 or 30 years on television, this is a new angle. It's bringing new features and new excitement to it.
He adds: We're all different. We all want something different. We all want to see things at a different cadence. So I think this gives us now the opportunity to start looking at rather than just watching the full 90 minutes [even though] football is engaging let's face it, it's been around for 400 years it's about delivering that next level, now. I think what we're seeing here now will become very much part of the standard of future broadcasting.
Hunt notes that the different functionalities of Match Day Experience also enable BT Sport to serve existing customers in new ways as well as attract and engage new or le
North America Stories
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) today announced an exclusive partnership with Nu Studio, the company behind the first modular, portable studio designed for immersi...
26/01/2026
OpenDrives, the leader in high-end video data management and workflow solutions, today announced an add-on investment to its previous funding rounds, led by IAG...
26/01/2026
SmallHD today announced a major update to its award-winning PageOS software, introducing Fleet Control, Portrait Mode, expanded Camera Control features, and Dow...
26/01/2026
Whether rigging a PTZ on a truss, sliding a Blackmagic camera across a mezzanine railing, or capturing the mayhem from inside a drum, Filipic delivers visuals t...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for Salvador
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DISCOVER THE TRAILER
DO...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents Our 2026 Series and Films and Announces New Projects
Entertainment
26 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
...
26/01/2026
Back to All News
Made in Louisiana: People We Meet on Vacation' Lights Up New Orleans
Emily Bader and Tom Blyth film on Royal Street in New Orleans' ...
26/01/2026
LinkedIn Gives Professionals the Edge with Verified Skills and Tools to Navigate the Job Search Show Proficiency of AI Tools such as Descript, Lovable, Relay.ap...
26/01/2026
Alfalite, Brainstorm, Dejero, Domo Broadcast Systems, FOR-A, KitPlus, Ontario So...
26/01/2026
Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 26, 2026 - Broadcast Pix is excited to exhibit at the Alliance for Community Media West Region Conference and Trade Show, taking plac...
25/01/2026
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Premieres April 2: Teaser Trailer, Art and ...
24/01/2026
Masami Kawai Selected as the 2026 Merata Mita Fellow; Isabella Madrigal and Tsanavi Spoonhunter Named 2026 Graton Fellows During Native Forum Celebration in Par...
24/01/2026
The MC-55A Peregrine aircraft will give the Royal Australian Air Force information superiority and serve as strategic assets for future Australian Defence Force...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
24/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
WWE's Virtual Production Playbook: How the Professional Wrestling Super Powe...
23/01/2026
Tight set up: Squeezing the PSA's Tournament of Champions into Grand Central...
23/01/2026
Evolving production: The PSA on bringing squash to more viewers at the Tournamen...
23/01/2026
AFC Championship Preview: Behind the Scenes With NFL on CBS' Producer Jim R...
23/01/2026
NFC Championship Preview: FOX Sports Director Rich Russo Talks Technology, Story...
23/01/2026
Coalition military forces operating across the vast geography of the Indo-Pacific rely on interoperable, secure data links to share intelligence, surveillance a...
Endless AR possibilities: BT Sport's Match Day Experience technical partners talk new realities By Heather McLean, Editor 
