Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

EURO 2020: At Netherlands-based IBC, ESPN Remains Nimble at Ever-Changing Tournament

14/06/2021

EURO 2020: At Netherlands-based IBC, ESPN Remains Nimble at Ever-Changing Tournament With ESPN's studio coverage in Bristol, crews work hard on match support overseas By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Monday, June 14, 2021 - 4:12 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship was always going to be a challenge.

With much of ESPN's production efforts housed in Bristol, an ESPN contingent, headed by Senior Remote Operations Specialist Claude Phipps (back right), is providing critical support at the Euro 2020 IBC at the Expo Center in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. (Photo: ESPN)

Long before COVID-19 ravaged the globe and postponed the world's largest soccer tournament this side of the World Cup, the 2020 edition of the EUROs were primed to be the most ambitious in its 60+-year history.

For the first time, there wouldn't be a single host city. Instead, there would be 11 stadiums in 11 host cities ranging from Seville, Spain, to Baku, Azerbaijan.

In 2014, UEFA decided to make the 2020 edition of the Euros a transcontinental affair. Since then, Brussels fell out of the running due to an inability to complete its primary stadium, the event was postponed a full 12 months by the pandemic, and numerous host cities have been shuffled because of continued COVID-related spikes and restrictions.

Long story short, an event for which broadcasters seemed to have sufficient time to plan for has taken a lengthy list of twist and turns. Now, four days into the tournament, ESPN (the U.S. broadcast-rights holder) is finding its footing in delivering the month-long, 51-match mega event, deploying a strong studio presence at its home campus in Bristol, CT; limited onsite crews at the IBC in the Expo Center in Haarlemmermeer (just outside Amsterdam); and additional operational spaces in London.

As a company, says John La Chance, director, remote operations, Euros campaign, ESPN, we've been set up for major live remote productions since the onsite of the pandemic in order to provide highly safe work environments. Originally, we had a more significant number of U.S.-based personnel projected to work out of the IBC; it was the smart and sensible decision by our collective team to establish less of a travel commitment and keep many key positions stateside.

Seasoned ESPN Crew Fills Up Netherlands IBC At the IBC, the heart of the tournament's broadcast activities for UEFA's host match broadcaster and the numerous domestic rightholders across the globe, ESPN is hosting its central distribution point for all audio, video, and data signals transmitted from each of the match venues to Bristol.

For inbound signals, ESPN is receiving 1080p50 SDR sources from each stadium, including at least 36 camera feeds: eight in native UHD HDR, eight super-slow-motion (running 30 fps), two high-speed cameras (running at 600 fps), an aerial cable cam, two in-goal POVs, robotic hotheads behind each goal, two pole cams, two Steadicams, and five handhelds.

UEFA is hosting the Euro 2020 IBC at The Expo Center in Haarlemmermeer, just outside Amsterdam. (Photo: ESPN)

It's a massive amount of connectivity to ingest, service, then convert to our appropriate format standards prior to safely migrating all those signals back to Bristol for final integration into ESPN's telecast line-up via dedicated/redundant MPEG4 circuits, says La Chance.

ESPN Senior Remote Operations Specialist Claude Phipps is among the leadership team at the IBC for ESPN. A veteran of the network's global soccer operations, he is jokingly described by ESPN VP, Production, Amy Rosenfeld as the mayor of the IBC. He is executing much of the network's complex remote-operations plan and serves as a key liaison between ESPN and UEFA as well as with numerous other rightsholders from across the globe.

Also on hand for ESPN in Netherlands are Remote Operations Specialist Brian Ristine; Associate Director, Remote Operations, Henry Rousseau; Senior Remote Traffic Representative Brian Sanders; Audio and Communications Technician Leonard Fisher; and IT Lead Alex Ward. The ESPN IBC team is also supported by Gravity Media production and management operations reps Christie Dockman and Ester van Huystee.

The Hive' Offers Huge Media-Management Upgrade A major feature of UEFA's IBC operations this year includes what the organization is calling The Hive. A massive EVS-based server system and media-asset-management system, The Hive is a repository of thousands of hours of content for this year's edition of the Euros, as well as an archive of the event's history accessible remotely by all rightsholders.

Says Ristine, To facilitate access and availability to The Hive content (as well as match content gathered via EVS XT servers at the IBC), we have built a robust content-management and file-transfer workflow to transcode content into the proper format and deliver to Bristol quickly.

He adds that the network has producers in Bristol using remote EVS IP Directors to browse clips and initiate the transfer. It essentially automates ESPN's deployment of the system at the IBC.

The server-based media-asset-system opportunities for this tournament have grown and grown, says La Chance. We've built a rather robust remote file-transfer platform to allow ample choice for the talented production team back in Bristol to select from.

The collective team in country will be extremely busy, overseeing off-tube commentary facilities in London's IMG Studios in addition to the expected 2,000 hours of packaged content to be produced through the IBC. Total production - all feeds, additional programming, all raw material - is expected to exceed 3,500 hours.

Never Enough Safety Nets In addition to all the support at the IBC and in Bristol, ESPN has set up additi
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/06/14/euro-2020-at-netherlands-based-...
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 ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

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

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

25/08/2026

Law and Crime Moves Court TV to Amagi CLOUDPORT for Unifi...

Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced that Law&Crime has migrated its Court TV channel, s...

25/08/2026

Broadcast Solutions demonstrates world-class technology a...

Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, is showcasing the breadth of its ca...

25/08/2026

Leader boosts Test and Measurement capabilities for Denma...

Thatcham, UK 25 August 2026: Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced that leading broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Le...

25/08/2026

Appear and TVTEL power centralised VAR signal transport i...

Appear's X20 Platform enables visually lossless video contribution with sub-frame latency and full path redundancy for TVTEL's centralised VAR operation...

25/08/2026

Big Blue Marble to showcase next-generation 5G Broadcast...

World-first demonstration combines 5G Broadcast and Media over QUIC for seamless, ultra-low-latency hybrid media delivery Big Blue Marble will showcase new dev...

25/08/2026

MNC Software Unveils Unified Software Suite at IBC2026 to...

MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, will showcase its complete sof...

25/08/2026

VAB: Ads in Local News Boost Sales and Brand Perception

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/08/2026

ESPN to Bump Up Streaming Subscription Prices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/08/2026

HPA Opens Call for Award Entries

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/08/2026

CNN Returns to Air After Technical Difficulties

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/08/2026

Calrec to Showcase DMF Capabilities at IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/08/2026

Imagine Communications to Showcase AI and MCP Strategy at...

Company to Demonstrate Practical AI Applications That Add Value Today and Longer-Term Path Toward Agentic AI At IBC2026 (Sept. 11 14, RAI Amsterdam, Stand #1.B...

25/08/2026

KRK Kreate Series Standardizes Monitoring at Miamis WDNA...

Serving South Florida with a unique blend of jazz, Latin jazz, salsa, reggae, blues, and culturally reflective programming, WDNA 88.9FM operates as both a tradi...

25/08/2026

GlobalM Brings GMX Broadcast Platform to Oracle Cloud Inf...

GlobalM announced that it is integrating its GMX software-defined media platform with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), bringing together Oracle's global c...

25/08/2026

Escape to the country as Cheap Irish Homes returns for a brand-new series

The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...

24/08/2026

New Book Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN' Preserves Founder Bill Rasmussen's Origin Story and the Lessons That Still Define the Network Today

Co-authors Mike Soltys and Garrett Sutton reflect on Rasmussen's vision, intentional optimism,' and fan-first philosophy following his death last week...

24/08/2026

Dr. Fill from Yurt Rock

Human-played drum fills on demand Sample library developers Yurt Rock have announced the launch of a new plug-in that's dedicated to creating drum fill...

24/08/2026

Black Rooster Audio launch PS-VC1 Vocal Chain Channel

Debut plug-in in new Professional Series Black Rooster Audio's latest plug-in delivers an all-in-one vocal-processing tool, and is the debut release in ...

24/08/2026

SBS WorldWatch embraces digital future with move to SBS On Demand

SBS WorldWatch embraces digital future with move to SBS On Demand 24 August, 2026 Media releases On 18 September, SBS WorldWatch will transition from a lin...

24/08/2026

Rohde & Schwarz addresses operational efficiency and infrastructure resilience at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam

Rohde & Schwarz addresses operational efficiency and infrastructure resilience a...

24/08/2026

Rohde to Focus on Operational Efficiency, Sustainability at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

24/08/2026

Calrec advances the EBU Dynamic Media Facility vision at...

As the broadcast industry moves toward more flexible production platforms, Calrec will present its evolving audio ecosystem at IBC 2026, on Stand 8.C47. The dem...

24/08/2026

Stop Using Boring Static Highlights - Pro After Effects Workflow

Stop Using Boring Static Highlights - Pro After Effects Workflow Graham Quince August 24, 2026 0 Comments Did you know you can use After Effects expre...

24/08/2026

Paledusk Performance Captured with URSA Cine Immersive

Paledusk Performance Captured with URSA Cine Immersive Brie Clayton August 24, 2026 0 Comments Creative production company THINGS. brings the band'...

24/08/2026

Sky Arts Confirms Double Classical Documentary Showcase Ahead of Edinburgh TV Festival

The Handel Scandal and Dangerous Debussy will both air on Sky Arts this AutumnMo...

24/08/2026

Dalet Accelerates Media Transformation with AI, Automation and Governance at IBC 2026

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

24/08/2026

Arvato Systems becomes a service partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss

Arvato Systems Becomes a Service Partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss Zurich - Arvato Systems Switzerland has been a service partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss since ...

24/08/2026

Up to 30x More Work Per Watt: NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 Sets a New Efficiency Standard for AI Agents

According to OpenRouter data, agentic AI workloads consume 15x more tokens than ...

24/08/2026

With Groq 3 LPX in Full Production, NVIDIA Extends Vera Rubin Inference for Agents

The next era of AI inference won't be defined by a single breakthrough chip,...

24/08/2026

How XPUs Meet a World-Class AI Factory

To generate intelligence at scale, AI factories run continuously, and their economics are defined by delivered output: tokens per second, tokens per watt, cost ...

24/08/2026

Documentary on the life and writings of James Connolly to air on RT

We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm RT is to air the compelling documenta...

23/08/2026

Parish Audio introduce Parametric Compressor

Offers up to 10 bands of compression Parish Audio's latest release allows users to place individual compressors anywhere in the frequency range, but tak...

22/08/2026

Macon Blair on Filmmaking and the Long Road to Idiots

O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...

22/08/2026

Crafting the Contenders: Adam Bricker, ASC on bringing Hacks home

By the time Hacks reached its fifth and final season, Adam Bricker ASC had spent six years shaping one of television's most distinctive visual identities. T...

22/08/2026

World Cup Drives TVP to Retain Top Spot in July as Live Sport Buoys Polish Viewership

Polsat reclaims second place, ByteDance climbs to eighth, and live football miti...

22/08/2026

DirecTV Offers New Customers a Year of Free Netflix with Ads

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/08/2026

Judge Sets Early October Hearing for ABC Lawsuit Against FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/08/2026

ORF Taps Net Insight for Full IP Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/08/2026

Breezeline Teams Up with DirecTV to Launch New Streaming Bundle

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/08/2026

Avid brings agentic media production to IBC2026

Avid brings agentic media production to IBC2026 Brie Clayton August 21, 2026 0 Comments After launching Avid Content Core at NAB 2026, Avid expands it...

22/08/2026

Making of Lord of the Flies Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro

Making of Lord of the Flies Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro Brie Clayton August 21, 2026 0 Comments Filmmaker Lisa Marie Russo shoots on the bea...

22/08/2026

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dogs In A Pile

Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dogs in a Pile The rising jam band talks about where it all started on the Berklee campus ahead of their Homecoming performance o...

22/08/2026

Berklee Alumna Lexi Vollero MA '22 Receives Fulbright Award to Brazil

Berklee Alumna Lexi Vollero MA '22 Receives Fulbright Award to Brazil Vollero, a Berklee NYC graduate, has been selected for a Fulbright Open Research Awa...

21/08/2026

FOX Sports Rolls Out Its Most Ambitious Live Motorsports Production' Ever at IndyCar Freedom 250 GP in DC

A massive deployment of specialty cameras, graphics, and AR will showcase the na...

21/08/2026

Creative Studio Zookeeper Embraces Pinball Motif for West Coast Conference PSA

The West Coast Conference unveiled its new 30-second public service announcement, the latest expression of the Conference's We Rise in the West brand iden...

21/08/2026

ESPN Soft-Launches a New NFL Graphics Package, Scorebug During Thursday Night's Raiders-Texans Preseason Game

New look will serve as the foundation for ESPN's upcoming NFL season and Sup...

21/08/2026

ESPN to Debut Little League Alumni Alt-Cast for 2026 MLB Little League Classic

ESPN will air the ninth annual MLB Little League Classic presented by New York Life on Sunday, August 23, at 7 p.m. ET from Historic Bowman Field in Williamspor...