Giro d'Italia: Inside the Travelling TV Compound That Needs to Be Ready for Anything

02/06/2023

Live from Giro d'Italia: Inside the travelling TV compound that needs to be ready for anything By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent

Friday, May 26, 2023 - 10:14

Print This Story

Stage 1 of the 106th Giro d'Italia kramon

With the Giro d'Italia in full swing, SVG Europe speaks to the team behind EMG's production of the three-week Grand Tour, to explore the logistics and planning that goes into such a long and challenging event.

Davide Furlan and Bruno Coudizer are overall project managers. Furlan's responsibilities include the co-ordination and technical control of the workflow between the various media and the TV compound, the satellite booking for all contribution feeds and the management of all suppliers and related budget costs.

Coudizer manages and co-ordinates all the moving parts, including the crew specialised in cycling production, the motorcycle crew and the Cineflex operators in the helicopters. Furthermore, thanks to his experience in sports production, Coudizer is this year taking on the role of assistant director.

The EMG Italy production team deployed for the Giro d'Italia is completed by Matteo Fragni, unit manager on site, Mario Lovallo, producer on site, and Isabella Leoni, together with Valentina D'Alia and Nicol Selvestrel and Salvatore Amato in support, who manage the booking of accommodation at each stage.

This year, says Furlan, the television production of the Giro d'Italia created by EMG is international; it's led by EMG Italy in collaboration with EMG Belgium and EMG Connectivity of France, and with the important addition of the graphics and timing divisions of Boost Graphics and Microplus.

EMG provides personnel specialised in filming on board motorcycles and in the radio frequency connection sector, as well as those who manage the aerial links for filming and all service communications and connectivity.

The entire budget and all service providers are managed in Italy, including helicopters which are an important workflow resource, frequency concessions and their co-ordination for all broadcasters, the logistics of the 143 people involved with planes, cars, vans, buses, trains and above all hotel rooms, as well as ground shooting and general co-ordination during all the movements between stages, he adds.

My job is to help co-ordinate production, Fragni intervenes. We started with pre-production in the months preceding the event, which involved organising the teams, all the logistics and the technology involved.

In addition to the Giro d'Italia, says Lovallo, I am busy following the other cycling events in Italy that have been taking place since March, such as Strade Bianche, the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro di Sicilia.

I mainly deal with the co-ordination of the television media present at the TV compound, including those of RAI and the integrated broadcasters. We arrive in the evening in each city hosting the stage and we set up the parking lot from scratch where all the television media operate. With the Giro d'Italia we need to be ready to react to the inevitable unforeseen events of all kinds at each stage, so being present to always guarantee the best solution for everyone is fundamental.

Producer Mario Lovallo and unit manager Matteo Fragni outside the Orion 209 OB

The EMG team is made up of those on the ground who take care of filming, including the camera operators assigned to the 4-5 cameras placed before the finish line and the other 7-8, placed after the finish, depending on the stages.

In addition, staff dedicated to camera controls on board the main gallery truck and those devoted to audio recordings are on site.

The control room of the Orion 209 OB has a set-up of 14 cameras on the ground in the finish area, and it is Belgian director Gunther Herregodts who decides which supports to prepare and where, after the morning inspection at each stage.

More on Giro d'Italia:

Live from Giro d'Italia: EMG's Gunther Herregodts and Bruno Coudyzer - For us, cycling is religion!'

Live from Giro d'Italia: RCS Sport's Andrea Basso on the latest innovations enhancing a complex production

Boost Graphics partners with RCS for timing, live graphics and data processing of the Giro d'Italia 2023

Grand Tour season spins onto screens as Warner Bros. Discovery presents its global Giro D'italia coverage

Most of the time the cameras are placed on typical mounts or hi-lo's at the side of the track, identical to those used behind football goals; these mounts elevate the operator and camera above the heads of the fans.

At some arrivals, shoulder camera shots are used to create impressive images and cameras are also set up on Magnum Duo mini mobile cranes, where the operator, remaining seated together with the camera, can choose the shooting height using a remote control that operates a hydraulic column. This allows for a higher shooting point above the heads of the public gathering to see the arrivals and above the umbrellas that have often been out thanks to rainy weather this May.

Daily live coverage

The Giro d'Italia is made up of 29 production days with 21 live race stages during which the whole team starts in the morning with a meeting around 8:30 and finishes around 19:30. They produce about eight hours of live coverage every day, before leaving for the next stage.

The work continues for at least an hour after the arrival of the cyclists to capture the award ceremonies where jerseys are awarded to the various winners.

In addition, EMG also produces a newsfeed on site with three-minute highlights edited for distribution dedicated to international takers. The contents are distributed via satellite and also via streaming, through a dedicated portal.

The TV compound

Around 20 trucks, including those from EMG operations and support, are par

LINK:	https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/live-from-giro-ditalia-inside...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026