Live from the Rugby World Cup: Group effort as NEP moves tournament production operation around Japan By Fergal Ringrose, Editorial Director, Europe
Saturday, October 5, 2019 - 02:01
Print This Story
NEP team with Tokyo Stadium in the background: (L/R) Siddhartha Tyagi, NEP Broadcast Solutions Singapore, technical manager; Saeed Izadi, NEP Broadcast Solutions Singapore, president; Donald Begg, NEP Major Events, director of technology; Dougie Fletcher, NEP Broadcast Services UK, corporate resource manager
NEP is on the road around Japan supporting the Rugby World Cup production operation on behalf of host broadcaster IGBS and its client World Rugby.
NEP Major Events has coordinated a large team, driven by NEP Singapore and NEP UK teams with flypacks, moving around between the 12 match venues supporting four rugby TV production crews on behalf of IGBS, a joint venture between HBS and IMG Media.
SVG had the opportunity to sit down in the International Broadcast Centre at Tokyo Stadium to discuss this operation with Donald Begg, NEP Major Events, director of technology; Dougie Fletcher, NEP Broadcast Services UK, corporate resource manager; Saeed Izadi, NEP Broadcast Solutions Singapore, president; and Siddhartha Tyagi, NEP Broadcast Solutions Singapore, technical manager.
Dougie Fletcher: There are 12 venues but from our point of view we had to split it up, so there aren't 12 kits. There are eight core kits - routers, mixers, audio desks - and eight and a half prime kits, with cameras, lenses and EVS. We have four extras' kits, which is an additional four cameras and an additional EVS that we move around separately to cover the bigger games.
There are no big trucks in this country I believe; flypacks were the only option. Saeed's team supplied four identical SDI kits and the UK team supplied four IP kits. The extra system, from the UK, is a baseband system.
And then we have eight tech teams. So it's been quite a jigsaw trying to move all these pieces around. It's a challenge! The Sapporo venue was only for the first weekend, so we're now down to 11 venues.
There are NEP people in each tech team, supplemented by freelancers. There are four teams from NEP Singapore and four from the UK. This was the ideal opportunity to bring the UK and Singapore together.
Donald Begg: If you looked at the Winter Olympics we had about 12 different NEP divisions all coming together on the Eurosport operation. At the Super Bowl this year we had teams from the UK and Bexel coming together. We can take advantage of being a group, bringing the kit and the people we need to bring - and use local where practically possible.
Saeed Izadi: Additionally I think this is one of our core values at NEP. We're one team. This is where the practicality of that core value comes into play, with divisions coming together for larger events. And if you look across the verticals within the NEP Group - be it our broadcast facilities business or specialised cameras or RF or Mediabank, AR/VR, connectivity - it's where that core value comes together.
Dougie Fletcher: There are no big trucks in this country I believe; flypacks were the only option. Saeed's team supplied four identical SDI kits and the UK team supplied four IP kits. The extra system, from the UK, is a baseband system.
It's a jigsaw where there's kit moving literally every day - and this is why the kits had to be identical, so that when we bring in that prime kit we know exactly how it's going to get plugged up. There isn't a lot of time for changes.
Donald Begg: We're still very much in a transition phase, which is dictated largely by equipment lifecycles. Most of our CCUs and EVS are still SDI interfacing. Our vision switches are already IP, we've progressed with those. The core IP system is a Grass Valley UCP platform along with Arista switches.
Actually the four IP systems here are the same as Wimbledon. We did Wimbledon this year and brought it back to base and divided it into four pre-configured, and then sent them on our way.
So the amount of movement and the number of venues for Rugby World Cup causes a level of complexity here in Japan which is a major challenge? Dougie Fletcher: Yes, in the Olympics scenario kit will go into a venue and it might move once. This system moves every day, whether core, prime or extra - or the tech teams. From that complexity point of view, this certainly feels bigger than the Olympics. It's a complex logistical manouevre.
The extras kits come into play for certain games. Every game is minimum 23 camera coverage. We then have this kit that travels independently, and that will go to let's say the England or Australia game, which takes it up to 28 camera coverage.
Siddharta Tyagi: We have two kits of GVG 86 and two kits of Sony 4300s, and the UK kits are all 4300s. The challenge we have is to create multiple formats out of one vision desk. Setting up the vision desk itself was complex, and then educating the operators was also a challenge.
We did it successfully but we have to keep a close watch during the match. When you follow, it's not only the source; you need to follow the graphics and the wipes and every DPM as well.
How does this event embody the big production trends out there - or does it? Because of the geography and culture of Japan, should this be viewed as a one-off event? Dougie Fletcher: I think what it will do is enable the NEP Singapore and UK teams to work more closely together, because we've gone through an understanding of workflows and work processes. There were issues to be ironed out, and that has all come together.
Saeed Izadi: Major events are complex in format, but also complex in number of items of equipment. Then you multiply that by eight or nine kits, and suddenly you require a huge
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...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Live from the Rugby World Cup: Group effort as NEP moves tournament production operation around Japan By Fergal Ringrose, Editorial Director, Europe 
