Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ITV Sport Reveals Remote Production Behind Royal Ascot Horse Racing

30/06/2020

ITV Sport reveals remote production behind Royal Ascot horse racing Editing, media management and graphics remoted out to operators' homes By Fergal Ringrose, Editorial Director, Europe

Tuesday, June 23, 2020 - 12:17

Print This Story

Two weekends ago ITV Sport resumed live horse racing with all presenters at home and a remote production in place for races from Lingfield, Newcastle and Newmarket. Last week brought the high-profile Royal Ascot meeting with lead presenters Ed Chamberlin, Francesca Cumani and Jason Weaver safely distancing back in the paddock and other colleagues presenting from zones around the racecourse.

The ITV Sport production team has left no stone unturned to present the best possible show in the safest environment, and there can be no better illustration of how much coronavirus has changed the landscape than the fact that this was the first year the Queen did not attend the annual Royal Ascot meeting in her 68-year reign.

Challenged with connecting a distributed presenting team and production crew across ten locations two weekends ago, facilities partner NEP made use of low latency encoding technology and bonded networking solutions to deliver a secure platform capable of real time communication with robust and reliable contribution facilities.

However the production hub, two weeks ago and last week, was the Equinox truck, built for the

ITV Racing presenter Olie Bell at his home studio for the first weekend of racing, from Lingfield, Newcastle and Newmarket

bespoke needs of ITV's horse racing coverage. Based at Royal Ascot throughout, Equinox provided the firepower to drive the first weekend's distributed remote production, and of course did not need to be de-rigged following that groundbreaking first weekend of live racing before being pressed back into action for the Royal Ascot OB.

To understand the complexity of the new workflows and production operations involved in delivering live horse racing over the past two weeks, SVG Europe sat down with Daragh Bass, NEP UK, head of sales; Jon Harris, NEP UK, technical projects manager, Horse Racing; Rob Oldham, ITV Sport, technical manager; and Roger Pearce, ITV Sport, technical director.

For the first weekend we had to look at the constraints of the racing venues, said Pearce. Our thinking was around creating a hub a safe hub. That would be the place we actually present from, and it would have the traditional connectivity of a main and a backup feed out to ITV Presentation.

We would try to hook on remote elements from there, connected via the internet. The big problem is the internet, and whatever you put on there you need to back up or be prepared to lose.

That was our planning, said Pearce. We went through every little element and worked out how to back it up. We wanted to be able to keep that core working so if we lost the director, editor and PA via the internet we had someone at the hub who could take over.

Equinox is our established set-up for horse racing coverage, said Harris. When we put this proposal and plan together we didn't know what was in front of us, other than the fact that Royal Ascot was going to happen in the middle of June, more than likely behind closed doors. We very much wanted to get our foot in the compound here and get this hubbed infrastructure' in place.

The timelines fell into place in that we could introduce a remote hub approach for the first weekend's racing, while at the same time rigging Royal Ascot here with all the cameras. And it has now been deemed appropriate, we can now bring the presentation team to Ascot and have them on site.

The schedule for horse racing doesn't contain much slack, said Harris. There are 94 programmes a year, so you're never more than five days away from your next OB.

We're quite adjusted to the fact that we're going from one event to another - and efficiency is the key to all of this. A working environment with a hub approach was the best option really, rather than trying to build it from the ground up.

Three timing planes in place for contribution and production

For the technical approach we took some inspiration from the world of esports, said Bass. Within an esports environment the players need to compete real time, and latency is critical. But you still have to broadcast that.

So the original concept was that we could backhaul each presenter to a hub, create a multiviewer, and send them a return feed. But even on the best low latency encoding you're still talking - ballpark one second in each direction plus a little bit of processing.

We knew we needed to do something different. We set up a couple of different timing planes.

Ed Chamberlin, ITV Racing presenter, at home for the return of racing

To ensure real time we used cloud mixing and cloud video conferencing tools, and that basically enabled all the talent to communicate in real time with visual cues, nods and thumbs up - and they had open talkback into each other's ears to create mix-minus feeds. That was challenging enough in itself, creating all the different audio feeds - Jon and the team in the truck did a fantastic job QC-ing and bringing it all together, said Bass.

And then at the next level we took discrete feeds of all of the individual cameras and microphones and took them to the truck. So the hub probably operates on a slightly different timing plane of about a second behind the real time comms, but it has proven not to be an issue because as long as the talent can communicate in real time in their world and get fed the cues, contributed sources and VTs from the truck, we can create this discrete mix out of the truck and produce it.

And there's a third timing plane to factor in. You've had the contribution side up to now, but the production side is also something of a feat of e
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/itv-sport-reveals-remote-prod...
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 ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

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

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

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...

22/05/2026

Germanys Magenta TV Selects DMC to Provide FIFA World Cup Technical Support for Studios in Munich, New York City

Germany's Magenta TV, which will have 44 exclusive FIFA World Cup match broa...

22/05/2026

DAZN Grabs IFAF Flag Football Global Rights

DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has acquired global broadcast rights to the International Federation of American Football's ( I...

22/05/2026

ATHLOS 2026 Season Set for October Debut in London; Aurora Media Worldwide Named Host Broadcast Partner

ATHLOS, the all-women's professional track and field league, has announced i...

22/05/2026

NATAS to Stream Sports, News, and Documentary Emmy Awards Live on YouTube

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced that the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards and the 47th Annual News & Documentary Emmy A...

22/05/2026

Wooden Camera Rolls Out New Blackmagic URSA Accessories

Wooden Camera today announced the release of new accessories for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive. The new lineup includes a redesigned Top Plate and Side Rai...

22/05/2026

YES Network, OTT Advisors Extend Streaming Partnership for Sixth Season

YES Network and OTT Advisors have announced a sixth consecutive season of their streaming partnership, continuing their collaboration on the Gotham app. OTT Adv...

22/05/2026

NESN Monster Week' Returns With Full Red Sox Broadcast From Atop Green Monster

NESN, New England's premier sports network, will again turn its camera to Fe...

22/05/2026

Dale Pro Audio RF Over Fiber Webinar Set for May 28

Dale Pro Audio is hosting an RF over Fiber Livestream Webinar on May 28 from 1-2:30 pm EST. With major sporting events and large-scale productions putting incre...

22/05/2026

Audio-Technica Appoints Humrichouser, Schanz to New Roles

Audio-Technica has announced key leadership appointments designed to further strengthen its sales organization and drive continued growth across the Americas. M...

22/05/2026

Scott Coker Launches Global MMA League With $60 Million in Backing

After nearly four decades shaping the global combat sports landscape, Scott Coker has announced a powerful return as he looks to build a new international mixed...

22/05/2026

Skyline Launches xOps Vanguard Runway for Autonomous Era

Skyline Communications, the company behind the globally deployed DataMiner xOps platform, today announced the launch of xOps Vanguard Runway, a strategic accele...

22/05/2026

The American Rodeo Takes Over Globe Life Field for Championship Weekend

For the fully onsite production, 30 cameras - including a SkyCam and Megalodon - will capture the action in Texas One of the world's biggest rodeo producti...

22/05/2026

Argentinas Torneos Taps Imagine Versio for Playout Operations Upgrade

Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A. has modernized its playout operations, implementing a fully redundant, multichannel env...

22/05/2026

Owl AI and Major League Pickleball Go Live with First-Ever AI Officiating System Powered by Broadcast Cameras and the Cloud

As the 2026 Major League Pickleball season kicks off this weekend in Dallas, it ...

22/05/2026

Shure, Edge Sound Research Look to Innovate via Partnership

Shure has become a minority investor in Edge Sound Research, a start-up company that is developing new experiential audio technologies that redefine how many au...

22/05/2026

SVG Rewind: MLBs UmpCam AR System Puts Fans Inside the Strike Zone Like Never Before

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

22/05/2026

Jelly Roll Offers Up 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Theme Song for NHL, Amazon Music

The National Hockey League (NHL) and Amazon Music announced that GRAMMY Award-winning superstar Jelly Roll will provide the official theme song of the 2026 Stan...

22/05/2026

David Pogue, Andy Beach Keynotes Highlight Silicon Valley Video Summer Camp, July 14 at De Anza College

David Pogue will keynote SVV Summer Camp and discuss Apple at 50: How the World...

22/05/2026

FOX Sports, IMS Productions Scale Up Indy 500 Production in Year Two With New In-Car Cameras, AR Graphics, and Cinematic Sets

In its second year as rightsholder, FOX Sports goes bigger across the board for ...

22/05/2026

FOX Sports' Indy 500 Director Mitch Riggin on the Tech and Storytelling for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing

Heading into FOX Sports' second Indianapolis 500, Lead Director Mitch Riggin...

22/05/2026

How Spotify's Rebuilt Ad Platform Is Delivering New Value for Brands

At our 2026 Investor Day, we shared an inside look at the rebuild of our advertising business. This pivot to our own purpose-built platform is already driving s...

22/05/2026

Spotify Levels Up Our Podcast Experience With New Features for Fans and Creators

Podcasting on Spotify continues to grow, and so do the ways listeners engage with it. At Investor Day 2026, we shared how we're building the next chapter of...

22/05/2026

CEDAR Audio introduce Icons Bundles

Limited-time collections now available Restoration experts CEDAR Audio have recently launched a new line of Icons plug-ins that make their powerful processo...

22/05/2026

Boss expand PS-1 Plugout Pedal

Three new classics join Model Pass line-up Boss' PX-1 Plugout Pedal offers an innovative approach to guitar pedals, providing users with a hardware stom...

22/05/2026

SGL Carbon commissions photovoltaic system and lays the foundation for a new nitrogen plant at its Meitingen site

At its Meitingen site, SGL Carbon has implemented two key projects to further de...

22/05/2026

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late...

22/05/2026

Polsat Reclaims Second Place and ByteDance Enters Top 10 as Polish Viewing Moves Beyond the Living Room in April

Latest data reveals steady distributor rankings, a seasonal shift toward digital...

22/05/2026

FCC Votes to Update Disaster Information Reporting System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Amagi delivers 30 per cent revenue growth in FY26 Adjuste...

Amagi Media Labs Limited (NSE: AMAGI, BSE: 544679), a cloud-native SaaS platform providing AI-enabled solutions to global media and entertainment companies, tod...

22/05/2026

Annima Post Relies on Cintel to Revive Classic Mexican Films

An nima Post Relies on Cintel to Revive Classic Mexican Films Brie Clayton May 22, 2026 0 Comments Film scanner and DaVinci Resolve Studio help manage...

22/05/2026

Boris FX Sapphire Adds Optical Beauty and Hypnotic Textures

Boris FX Sapphire Adds Optical Beauty and Hypnotic Textures Jessie Electa Petrov May 22, 2026 0 Comments The 2026.5 release introduces advanced defocu...

22/05/2026

Deployment Preserves Trusted Workflows While Enabling a P...

Deployment Preserves Trusted Workflows While Enabling a Path to UHD and SMPTE ST 2110 Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A....

22/05/2026

Study: AI Labeling Does Not Hurt Video Ad Performance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

NAB Show Makes 200+ Sessions Available on Demand

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Torneos Upgrades Multichannel Playout with Imagine's Versio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Ex-Husband, Current Husband, One Wild Rescue: Korean Action Comedy Husbands in Action' Premieres June 19

Back to All News Ex-Husband, Current Husband, One Wild Rescue: Korean Action Co...

22/05/2026

Beta Da Silva hosts live performances from 20 new Irish artists in Sessions from Oblivion on 2FM's New Music Show

Catch the latest in Irish music live from venues such as Whelan's, R is n Du...

21/05/2026

CBS Sports Expands WNBA Tip-Off Show To Cover Half of 20-Game, Regular-Season Package

Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...

21/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Christina Zelin, Rowan University

Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies In the li...

21/05/2026

Media Links Announces Channel Partnership with Clearcast Asia Ahead of BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...

21/05/2026

SiriusXM and NASCAR Announce Multi-Year Broadcasting Agreement Renewal

SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...

21/05/2026

Audio-Technica Hosts High-Density Wireless Microphone Demo at Technica House in New York City

Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...

21/05/2026

RTL Deutschland Selects Ateme Frame-Rate Conversion Technology for Live Event Workflows

Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...

21/05/2026

BCC Live Deploys LiveU LU900Q for Record-Breaking IRONMAN Texas Broadcast

LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...

21/05/2026

Mark Aitken to Receive 2026 ATSC Mark Richer Industry Leadership Medal

ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...

21/05/2026

BBright Outlines MXL Integration Strategy for Software-Defined Broadcast Workflows

BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...