Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Model Citizens: Inside Manchester City's Media Production Machine

30/01/2023

Model Citizens: Inside Manchester City's media production machine By Will Strauss

Thursday, January 26, 2023 - 17:14

Print This Story

To find out just how wide-ranging media production is at the world's biggest football clubs, SVG Europe visited English Premier League champions Manchester City FC to see what they do and how they do it, and to get a better understanding of why audio-visual content is so important to the business side of the beautiful game.

Modern-day professional football clubs are no longer just competitive sporting organisations.

From top-flight to non-league, they are also media production machines, pumping out oodles of multimedia content for multiple platforms, and for multiple audiences, all in the name of entertainment, PR, marketing and, perhaps most importantly of all, fan engagement. Football is big business. And media content plays a huge part in it.

It's all a far cry from how things used to be. Readers of a certain vintage will recall that back in the day, as a fan, the closest you could get to your club was articles in the matchday programme or looped news and interviews on ClubCall, a premium rate phone line service.

Premier League champions Manchester City are a great example of how things have changed.

We've got this amazing audience here, says James Wilkins (pictured, right), executive creative director at Manchester City, chatting to SVG Europe on the day of the home team's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

We have these passionate fans all around the world. [With our content we ask] what are we going to do to entertain them and bring them closer to the club and the players, and closer to what the Manchester City brand stands for? Everything we do is in service of the fans.

The content designed to fulfil that brief is created by City Studios, an in-house B2B department launched in 2022 that consists of creatives, production talent (including writers, photographers, designers, producers and editors), and facilities.

Between them, they are responsible for live production, behind the scenes', documentaries, and social content, as well as activations' for commercial partners and sponsors.

The output is made available on various platforms including the City+ subscription OTT platform, social media networks and YouTube. Some is shared with broadcasters too.

There is a lot of top-secret stuff that is highly sensitive. The football department needs to know that they can trust us to capture the content in the right way and [keep it that way].

From a live production perspective, while City Studios cannot show the club's Premier League games, those are sold as part of a multi-billion pound league-wide broadcast rights deal, of course, there are various other matches and activities that they do cover including Under 21 and Academy matches, pre- and mid-season friendlies, and press conferences. They also produce live City-centric wrap-around programming for all City's first-team matches.

The latter is called Matchday Live, a show that goes out on City+ pre-match, at half-time, and post-match.

A crucial cog in the club's output, Matchday Live is produced from two studios: Studio 2, which is inside the Etihad Stadium and affords space for a presenter and various ex-player pundits to provide analysis for home matches. And Studio 1 (pictured, top), a new state-of-the-art multi-use 98m2 studio inside the City Campus, adjacent to the club's training pitches. This is used for Matchday Live when City play away. The actual match coverage in both scenarios is limited to audio commentary only.

Studios 1 details

Studio design by Jago Design

Set build and install by Scena

Broadcast support by LDM.tv

Cameras: 4K Blackmagic cameras, with use of a Pedestal, slider and jib

Size: 98m2

Lighting rig with LED cold lighting

Video wall

Green screen area

Additional: Soundproofing, TV floor, gallery, drive-in doors, adjacent live gallery

Where City Studios really goes to town is on those games where they do have the chance to show full match coverage.

Gavin Johnson (pictured below, left), group media director at City Football Group, cites the example of a mid-season friendly versus Gerona that took place at the 7,000 seater Manchester City Academy Stadium (across the road from the club's 53,400-capacity Etihad Stadium) in December 2022 as being indicative of the kind of treatment City Studios can give to matches.

Our production quality is very high, he says. We are set up to do a live seven-camera shoot. We will do pitchside pre-game, presentation, an interview with [manager Pep Guardiola]. We've come a long way. But I have ambitions for us to get even better.

To that end, the City Studios team has doubled in size over the last two years. From approximately 45 staff up to around 90, including admin and content distribution too.

A tour to the US last year was similarly significant for the content team, as Wilkins explains.

Our social team took care of our real-time social content. Our documentary-style films were being made at the same time. We had our live team out there too. Plus local crews that we were managing. In total, there were 150 non-football-related people on that trip. It's about closing that gap between players and fans.

In Houston, adds Johnson, we agreed with the local producer that [a camera operator] could go onto the pitch after a goal was scored to join in with the celebrations. We try to push the boundaries in that way too.

Even the way we cover training, he continues. We've got five Go Pros set up. We get closer to the players. And then we do this amazing edit which then brings fans closer to it.

Loyalty card

At this point, Johnson is quick to reiterate the importance of trust and the close relationship that the media team has with the club
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/model-citizens-inside-manches...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

18/09/2025

DirecTV Adds Three Sports Channels to Its FAST Streaming Offering

DirecTV continues to expand its women's sports offerings by adding Sports Fanatics' and Whoopi Goldberg's Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) All Wo...

18/09/2025

Fall Football Kicks Off With Native HDR Production, NextGen TV Telecast

WASHINGTON NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport's fall seas...

18/09/2025

FCC Extends Deadline for EEO Audit Replies

WASHINGTON After issuing audit letters seeking Equal Employment Opportunity data from a randomly selected group of TV and radio stations in August, the Federal ...

18/09/2025

Warner Bros. Discovery Signs New Deal with Nielsen

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen have signed a new, long-term, multi-year deal that covers measurement for all Warner Bros. Discovery platforms acros...

18/09/2025

CIMM Launches Startup Program and Innovation Showcase

NEW YORK As part of its ongoing efforts to develop better measurement solutions, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced the launch of t...

18/09/2025

UPDATED: ABC Takes 'Jimmy Kimmel Live! Off the Air Indefinitely

IRVING, Texas Following threats from the Federal Communications Commission and the announcement that the nations largest station group, Nexstar Media Group, wou...

17/09/2025

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learning

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learni...

17/09/2025

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challenge for Sports Broadcasting

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challeng...

17/09/2025

Dua Lipa's Service95 Book Club' Goes Live at the New York Public Library

It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...

17/09/2025

The Gauge: Mexico August 2025

During August, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous month, accounting for 25% of TV viewing. Discl...

17/09/2025

Jo Aun Joins FOR-A America as Senior Manager, Product Engineering

CYPRESS, Calif. FOR-A America has named Jo Aun as senior manager of product engineering, a new role responsible for guiding the planning, development and rollou...

17/09/2025

PlayBox Neo and CIS Group Power CazeTV with a seamless Pl...

PlayBox Neo, in partnership with CIS Group, a leading provider of media and broadcast technology solutions, has successfully deployed PlayBox Neo's Dual Cha...

17/09/2025

Energy Regulatory Agency Underscores Commitment with Ene...

In a relationship that mirrors societal advances in sustainability, Brightline Lighting and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Headquarters have en...

17/09/2025

Clear-Com Powers Star-Studded Communications at Houston A...

Clear-Com is proud to support the world-class productions of Alley Theatre, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit resident theatres in the United States. With...

17/09/2025

Arch Platform Technologies Announces Strategic Collaborat...

Arch Platform Technologies (www.archpt.io), a pioneer in automated, scalable cloud infrastructure for high-performance workflows, today announced a Strategic Co...

17/09/2025

With over 39bn EUR in assets under management and record-...

Over 300 selected decision-makers from start-ups, corporates, and VC funds worldwide will gather for the third edition of the event, united by a single goal: to...

17/09/2025

Telestream Celebrates Award Win at IBC2025

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, is excited to announce that its flagship Vantage platform and its next-generation AI capabilities re...

17/09/2025

Mediagenix Celebrates Triple Best of Show Wins at IBC2025...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions that profitably connect the right content to the right audience, proudly announces its three Best of Show...

17/09/2025

PlayBox Neo Appoints Transtel Universal as Top Reseller P...

In a move to further establish a firm foothold across South East Asia, PlayBox Neo, the well-respected name in broadcast playout and channel branding, has appoi...

17/09/2025

Wisycom Unveils Two New Solutions at IBC 2025

Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless audio solutions, announced two major wireless solutions at IBC 2025 (Stand 8.D30). This includes the Portable RF-o...

17/09/2025

Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards

Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to acclaimed programs Severance, The Studio, The Penguin, SNL50: The...

17/09/2025

Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo

Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo The weeklong contemporary music program will run January 5-10, 2026. By Colette Greenstein September 17, 2025 ...

17/09/2025

Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia

Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia Through ELIA's UAx Platform, six students from Kyiv joined Berklee Valencia for a week...

17/09/2025

Meet Kenna Hilburn, Avids New Incoming Chief Product Officer

Earlier this year Avid announced Kenna Hilburn as its new senior vice president of product. Recently Hilburn was promoted to Avids new Chief Product Officer, su...

17/09/2025

SES and K2 Space to Accelerate Development of Next-Generation MEO Network

Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...

17/09/2025

Fox TV Stations Join Madhive's Local Live Sports Marketplace

NEW YORK Madhive has announced that the Fox Television Stations have joined its Live Sports Marketplace....

17/09/2025

Sony Electronics Partners with Newhouse School at Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. Sony Electronics has announced that it is partnering with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University to provide state-of-the-art equipment, hands...

17/09/2025

Roku's First TV Smart Projector Now Available in the U.S.

SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced that the first smart projector using its Roku TV operating system, the Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube, is now avail...

17/09/2025

Meet the Streamlabs Streaming Assistant, Accelerated by NVIDIA RTX

Today's creators are equal parts entertainer, producer and gamer, juggling game commentary, scene changes, replay clips, chat moderation and technical troub...

17/09/2025

Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with a dazzling line-up of celebrity sitters on 1 October

Wednesday 17 September 2025 UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...

17/09/2025

FOR-A America Appoints Jo Aun to Lead U.S. Product Development

Jo Returns to FOR-A as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering...

17/09/2025

AIR's Big Comeback with DPA Microphones

For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...

17/09/2025

The Late Late Toy Show hits the road in search of Ireland's brightest young stars

Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway The County Parade returns f...

16/09/2025

SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPN

SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and ...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and ...

16/09/2025

Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026

Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026 By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 10:15...

16/09/2025

VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate Grows

VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate G...

16/09/2025

ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising Communications

ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising C...

16/09/2025

IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor

IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From th...

16/09/2025

Celebramos 10 aos de Viva Latino en Spotify y el xito global de la msica latina

Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...

16/09/2025

Celebrating 10 Years of Spotify's Viva Latino Playlist and the Global Rise of Latin Music

A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...

16/09/2025

Spotify Welcomes Graham Norton and Select VICE Studios Content

Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...

16/09/2025

One Enterprise, One Mission: Aligning the Supply Chain to the Warfighter

At DSEI 2025, James Dunne of L3Harris Maritime UK chaired a panel on aligning the supply chain to the warfighter, where leaders discussed modernising support fo...

16/09/2025

RTW chooses Calrec as technology partner

Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...

16/09/2025

Football and Back-to-School Dynamics Spark First Gains Since April for Traditional TV

College Football Scores Top Telecast in August with 16M+ Viewers on FOX, Followe...