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
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
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 
