
I had a little tear in my eye when the cricket started How CTV prepared for the return of live Test matches By Will Strauss, Editor
Friday, July 10, 2020 - 09:58
Print This Story
CTV Outside Broadcasts is providing the COVID-safe OB facilities for Sky Sports during the Test series between England and West Indies, both at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Old Trafford in Manchester.
Speaking to SVG Europe mid-way through Day 2 of the first Test (Thursday, 9 July), CTV commercial manager Angela Gibbons described the experience of the last few months, and helping to get cricket back on the air, as a rollercoaster ride , going rapidly from thinking there might not be any cricket played this summer to finally going live on Wednesday.
We've had quite a COVID journey with this, she says. But Sky Cricket presented us with a fantastic opportunity. With so many events being cancelled, at one point, we were quite convinced that an international cricket season wouldn't happen at all.
We had to work out how we would fit all the required people inside OB11, while social distancing. Two-metre social distancing is at the core of everything that Sky is doing right now and is central to the overall safety principals.
One of the big challenges for CTV was how to get all the members of the production team and the engineers inside OB11, the preferred truck for Sky Sports' cricket coverage, but ensure people could work within the health and safety parameters.
OB11 is a triple expander, says Gibbons. It's a very large vehicle which was specifically designed for the International cricket specification. It's just about as big as you can get in the UK and across Europe. But we still had to work out how we would then fit all the required people inside, while social distancing. Two-metre social distancing is at the core of everything that Sky is doing right now and is central to the overall safety principals.
So, for the Test match coverage we are now using a VT truck alongside OB 11 and we have a portacabin too. This gives everybody the social distancing space that is required.
OB11 in action on Day 3, complete with perspex screens
There were lots of ideas and Sky were fantastic at looking at those ideas and working together with us to establish a really redundant plan that has allowed them to utilise their most loved cricket truck for the majority of matches.
A lot of work also went into deciding who needed to be on-site and what functions could be undertaken remotely. The statisticians, for example, are working remotely from home using comms links provided by CTV.
The important thing has not been taking anything for granted or thinking oh that's always how it happens so it has to happen that way now, continues Gibbons. So, we've really looked closely at what remote working we can do, how we rig and how we deploy people.
The rig time has increased with the need to clean down working areas. And the usual prep time has tripled.
Normally for the cricket, we spend a dedicated week getting the trucks ready and doing the technical preparation. Because of COVID, and how we've had to social distance at our base operation, that became nearly three weeks. We tried to ensure that departments weren't crossing each other too much and we tried to keep our numbers down and use the time to make things more efficient and safer.
We actually had an ECB testing centre at CTV last week for the first tranche of guys. Some of the freelancers came down too, she reveals.
There are perspex screens but it looks almost like a normal OB. If you've never seen an OB before you'd just think that's how people worked in there all the time.
Inside the trucks, perspex screens have been added, there are ionisers in each area and the units are given an overnight ozone generator deep cleanse. Masks are not essential, however, because the crew are kept in their bio-secure bubbles, staying at the stadium in one of the two hotels that are on site. On other OBs, CTV crew will likely need to wear masks.
Another addition to the inside of OB11 is an Aerial Camera Systems mini-cam which is providing the director with a shot of the gallery. During a rain delay on the first day's play, TV viewers were given a rare glimpse of a cricket production from behind the camera'.
You could see everyone was really adhering to the social distancing rules, says Gibbons proudly. There are perspex screens but it looks almost like a normal OB. If you've never seen an OB before you'd just think that's how people worked in there all the time.
There is no significant change to camera positions for match coverage. The overall Test match spec has been maintained, although there are no touchscreens for presentation and analysis.
Despite so many unknowns and variables, the team have been able to pull everything together quickly and efficiently.
We got the initial schedule late May, says Gibbons. So, we've effectively turned around an international cricket season in five to six weeks. It would have been intensive and exhausting in normal circumstances but the five weeks have flown by. Sky have been very supportive. It has been a very solid partnership. Nobody felt like they were walking back into an environment that wasn't as good as we could possibly make it.
Is it a strange experience for the crew? New, yes, Strange, no.
Our guys who do the cricket are just really pleased to be back. They've really missed it. We have had months and months of uncertainty as a nation and as a business. They went back in on that first day and I think there's a quite a big sense of relief. That camaraderie that OBs have. It is still there. It's just changed.
Gibbons herself is pretty happy too. I think everyone is just pleased to be back. I even had a
North America Stories
06/08/2026
The broadcaster's 14-race schedule begins in Iowa and ends in November with ...
06/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
06/08/2026
As media organizations consolidate teams, technology platforms, and content libr...
06/08/2026
Firmware updates introduce Dolby's next-generation picture engine, content-aware optimization, and new motion and ambient-light tools...
06/08/2026
TNT Sports will have wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming FIBA Women's Bask...
06/08/2026
swXtch.io (Stand 5.MR13) has unveiled groundSwXtch for Audio over IP (AoIP), a software application that lets broadcasters and media organizations move audio in...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, Riedel Communications (Stands: 10.A24, 10.A31, 10.A38) will bring modern media production to life with the Live Production Experience - a connected ...
06/08/2026
The first live-sports director to receive the prestigious honor, eight-time Emmy...
06/08/2026
NBC Sports will continue to present the Preakness Stakes on NBC and Peacock thro...
06/08/2026
Cobalt Digital (Stand 8.F90) continues to reinforce its commitment to delivering...
06/08/2026
Wave Central has promoted promotion Jeff Daubert to Director of Sales, Americas.
In his expanded role, Daubert will lead Wave Central's sales strategy and ...
06/08/2026
KMH Integration is expanding its ability to serve media, broadcast, and IT organizations by adding Keith Hanadel, an accomplished architect with decades of indu...
06/08/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has promoted Michele Ferreira from Vice President of its Systems Integration team to the newly created position of Chief Business O...
06/08/2026
Demonstrations will include new JPEG XS, Dolby audio, cloud-gateway, stream-processing, and distribution capabilities...
06/08/2026
The deal includes three premium mobile units, engineering personnel, existing br...
06/08/2026
Broadcast Management Group produced Amazon Prime's inaugural Obsessed Fest a...
06/08/2026
Exhibit will feature new variable-ND functionality, OLED viewfinders, remote-camera tools, and UHD production monitors...
06/08/2026
Compact full-frame E-mount lens targets sports, wildlife, and other long-range shooting applications...
06/08/2026
Live broadcast will honor Roger Federer and Mary Carillo on Aug. 29, with onsite...
06/08/2026
End-zone board receives higher-resolution LED technology and an updated Show Control system ahead of the 2026 football season...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
Proven offering builds on more than 20,000 live sporting events with greater automation, flexibility, and operational control
LTN , the industry leader in tran...
06/08/2026
Hornets Tech, a specialist in broadcast connectivity and IP video, is bringing a new range of encoders, decoders and an IPTV platform to IBC2026.
Broadcast in...
06/08/2026
Introducing Adobe for ChatGPT: Create, edit and get work done - all in ChatGPT
Deepti Pradeep August 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Adobe plugin in ChatGPT br...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, MediaKind will make its first major appearance as a unified global powerhouse in video, showcasing one of the world's most comprehensive video i...
06/08/2026
Big Blue Marble (#5.A63) will demonstrate how its integrated technology and operational expertise help media companies scale premium services with less complexi...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research has received more than $500,000 in first-year fund...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Viruses are masters at invading our cells thanks to specialized proteins that coat their surfaces. When scientists design vaccines, they often crea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The brain has its own immune system, which detects threats and mounts a defense. A growing body of evidence has shown that in Alzheimer's disea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve....
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation Index recognizing the top-performing institutes and centers across the United S...
06/08/2026
Benjamin Cravatt, the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor of chemis...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Dennis Burton, professor and the James & Jessie Minor Chair in Immu...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Inside every human cell, proteins are constantly being tagged with small chemical modifications after they're produced. Known as post-translati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA-Scripps Research has established the Ian Wilson Endowed Chair, a new fa...
06/08/2026
Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Science...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Professor Jin-Quan Yu of Scripps Research has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of sciences and ...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-For years, researchers have been hoping for vaccines that protect people against not just one strain of HIV, but every strain of the quickly mutati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, the nonprofit...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Building the complex 3D molecules needed for new medicines has alwa...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Fentanyl and related variants of the synthetic opioid kill more Americans each year than car accidents and gun violence combined. In too-high doses...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-What do decoding communication between organs and reimagining the future of genome editing have in common? They're among the scientific questio...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, app...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-For some people, cancer immunotherapies are life-changing. These treatments can turn the body's own immune system against a tumor, either elimi...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Many conditions that cause vision loss share a common feature: the ...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-RNA interference is a natural mechanism for living cells to control whether specific genes are being used or not.
Crowned with the 2006 Nobel Priz...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The drugs that keep rheumatoid arthritis in check may one day help people stop drinking. A new Scripps Research study shows that an anti-inflammato...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to global health, linked to an estimated 4.7 million deaths worldwide in 2019 alone. As mor...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Some of the world's best-selling diabetes drugs depend on a che...