Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From the Rugby World Cup: Group Effort as NEP Moves Tournament Production Operation Around Japan

08/10/2019

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
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/live-from-the-rugby-world-cup...
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...

27/03/2026

FCC Opposes Emergency Motion to Stay Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

NAB Pans Netflix's Coverage of MLB Opening Day

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Netgear

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature-Rich CV320 and CV520 IP and 3G-SDI POV Cameras at NAB 2026

Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature-Rich CV320 and CV520 IP and 3G-SDI PO...

27/03/2026

Sony Electronics Inc. Elevates Professional Video Workflows with Powerful Updates to Monitor & Control and Catalyst Tools

Sony Electronics Inc. Elevates Professional Video Workflows with Powerful Update...

27/03/2026

GatesAir Extends AirWatch365 Managed Service with Edge Gateway Site Appliance

GatesAir Extends AirWatch365 Managed Service with Edge Gateway Site Appliance Brie Clayton March 27, 2026 0 Comments NAB marks global launch of servic...

27/03/2026

GatesAir Expands AirWatch365 Managed Service

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Dejero, Eutelsat, Others to Offer 'Field to Air' Demo at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Global NextGen TV Takes Center Stage at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

USSI Global Opens Media Transport Solutions Lab

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Net Insight Elevates Nimbra Edge to Govern Live Media Sys...

At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight will showcase the next evolution of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer designed to manage live media services across...

27/03/2026

Harmonic Delivers Winning Live Sports Streaming Innovatio...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced powerful new innovations that further elevate the company's sports streaming solution. The advanced capabilities enh...

27/03/2026

Bitmovin s Player Web X Expands with Performance First Ad...

Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for Player Web X, its next-generation web video player...

27/03/2026

CS live Builds Future Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet...

Riedel Communications today announced that Czech-based production company CS live has equipped its newest outside broadcast (OB) van with an integrated Riedel i...

27/03/2026

MPTS 2026 Unveils First Wave of Speakers Featuring BBC Sk...

130 Industry Experts Confirmed as Show Celebrates its 10th Anniversary MPTS, the UK's largest and most influential event for the media, production and tech...

27/03/2026

Grass Valley and NVP Elevate LALIGA Broadcast Production...

Grass Valley today announced the successful completion of a major live production deployment with NVP, a leading European media company specializing in live spo...

27/03/2026

Appear Business Momentum Drives Leadership in Live Produc...

Showcases resilient solutions for satellite-to-IP migration, REMI and hybrid live production Appear ASA (Appear, OSE:APR), a global leader in live production t...

27/03/2026

Lightware MX2 delivers rock-solid 4K60 HDMI 10-bit signal...

San Francisco, California, March 2026 - Microsoft Ignite, a major annual conference hosted by Microsoft for developers, IT professionals, partners and business ...

27/03/2026

Clear-Coms EQUIP Wireless System Keeps Youth With A Missi...

Clear-Com is proud to highlight its support for worship teams through professional communication solutions, with the deployment of its EQUIP wireless system a...

27/03/2026

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...

27/03/2026

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...

27/03/2026

RT is Supporting 20 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this April

RT Supporting the Arts RT is Supporting 20 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this April RT is proud to support an exciting month of arts and cul...

27/03/2026

Average of 1.37 million viewers watched Irish World Cup heartbreak on RT2

Average of 1.37 million viewers watched Irish World Cup heartbreak on RT 2 Over one million streams on RT Player Highest number of streams for any single eve...

27/03/2026

Dolby Unveils Dolby House Shanghai, its First Global Flagship Experience Center

March 27 2026, 01:30 (PDT) Dolby Unveils Dolby House Shanghai, its First Global Flagship Experience Center A New Global Platform Showcasing Dolbys Innovatio...

27/03/2026

Dolby and QQ Music Advance Streaming Music with Enhancements to Dolby AC-4

March 27 2026, 03:30 (PDT) Dolby and QQ Music Advance Streaming Music with Enhancements to Dolby AC-4 Delivering greater fidelity, clarity and detail to Dol...

26/03/2026

Audio-Technica and Extron Announce Microsoft Teams-Certified Enterprise Solutions

Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...

26/03/2026

SPORTEL Asia Returns to Singapore with 370 Participants from 35 Countries

SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN to Showcase Satellite-to-IP Migration Solutions

LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100). The C-Ban...

26/03/2026

Seattle Mariners Upgrade Center Field Video Display at T-Mobile Park with Daktronics

The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...

26/03/2026

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Names National Team Partners Across 100+ Countries

The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Expands Vantage Integration with Adobe Premiere, Media Encoder, and Frame.io

Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: FOR-A Brings Nippon TV's viztrick AiDi AI Production Tool to Market with NVIDIA

FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Reaches New Long-Term Multiplatform Rights Agreement with the WNBA

CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...

26/03/2026

Zac Brown Band to Perform Sunday Night Baseball Open on NBC and Peacock

Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...

26/03/2026

2026 MLB Season Opens With Full Slate of National Games

Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...

26/03/2026

DIRECTV Adds Nine MLB Team Channels for 2026 Season

DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...

26/03/2026

Nationals.TV Now Available on Charter, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, Verizon Fios and More

Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...

26/03/2026

MLB.TV Launches on the ESPN App Starting Opening Day

Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...

26/03/2026

What's Next for Spotify and NAVER in Korea After a Stockholm Summit

Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...

26/03/2026

EastWest DrumX: Early access

Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...

26/03/2026

Dynamic Range Day 2026

Friday 27 March Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...

26/03/2026

ASMR Choir from SRM Sounds

Includes four separate instruments Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...

26/03/2026

IMPORTANT FEEDBACK: PESP 6

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...

26/03/2026

Why YEP Changed My Career (And Why It Might Change Yours)

By Matt Klein Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Inks New WNBA Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...