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

02/07/2023

The latest data is now available!

Our robust, comparable data provides trusted insights and gives media owners, buyers and planners the power to trade confidently. ABC members and data subscrib...

02/07/2023

Latest data released on 21st Feb

We'll be releasing The next set of ABC audited consumer media data covering the period January to December 2022 on Tuesday 21st February at noon. When rele...

02/07/2023

Latest data released 21st Feb

We'll be releasing The next set of ABC audited consumer media data covering the period January to December 2022 on Tuesday 21st February at noon. When rele...

01/05/2023

Predicting 2023: Simon shares his thoughts with AAM

Our Chief Executive Simon Redlich was recently invited by Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) to share his views on what 2023 might hold. Read what Simon and other...

25/03/2023

Atomos Cloud Studios Goes Live

MELBOURNE, Australia Atomos today announced its Cloud Studio, a suite of cloud-based video production services, is now available....

25/03/2023

MultiDyne Addresses Convergent Fiber and IP Production Workflows with New NIA9205 Encoder and Decoder

MultiDyne Addresses Convergent Fiber and IP Production Workflows with New NIA920...

25/03/2023

TAG to Introduce Enhancements to Realtime Media Performance Platform at NAB that Provide Greater Insight to Signal Health and Integrity

TAG to Introduce Enhancements to Realtime Media Performance Platform at NAB that...

25/03/2023

The Rebel Fleet Envisions Powerful Video Assist, DIT, and Dailies Workflows with AJA Gear

The Rebel Fleet Envisions Powerful Video Assist, DIT, and Dailies Workflows with...

25/03/2023

FOR-A Strengthens System Offerings through Partnership with Alfalite

FOR-A Strengthens System Offerings through Partnership with Alfalite Brie Clayton March 24, 2023 0 Comments FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast techn...

25/03/2023

Standard General's Soo Kim: FCC Hearing Designation Is Tegna Deal Kill Shot'

Soo Kim, managing partner of Standard General, took to the online op-ed pages of...

25/03/2023

GumGum's Overlay Ads Available Across Amagi's Thunderstorm Inventory

Ad-tech company GumGum said it made a deal with Amagi to make its patented overlay ads available across Amagi's Thunderstorm broadcast inventory....

25/03/2023

MarketCast Brings Brand Effect Into CTV, Measuring Ad Resonance

Looking to grab a foothold in a shifting television measurement multiverse, MarketCast said it was expanding its Brand Effect product into the fast-growing conn...

25/03/2023

Tubi Sets Integrations With VideoAmp, LiveRamp, Comscore

Fox's streaming platform Tubi announced integrations with VideoAmp, LiveRamp and Comscore at its pre-upfront Tubi Connect event Thursday....

25/03/2023

Season Premiere of Power Book II: Ghost' Gives Starz a Record 5.8 Million Viewers

Starz said the season three premiere of Power Book II: Ghost drew 5.8 million mu...

25/03/2023

Boston Rob Does Beantown' Goes Beyond Boston, Host Promises More Adventure' in Season Two

Rob Mariano, host of Boston Rob Does Beantown on Hearst Television's Very Lo...

25/03/2023

Short-Lived NBC Drama Smash' Headed to Broadway

Smash, a decade-old musical drama that was on NBC, about a group of singers and dancers hustling to get a Marilyn Monroe musical on stage, is headed to Broadway...

25/03/2023

Accused' and Alert: Missing Persons Unit' Renewed at Fox

Fox has renewed the midseason dramas Accused and Alert: Missing Persons Unit. The shows' sophomore seasons will air in 2023-2024....

25/03/2023

Bob Halloran, WCVB Boston Sports Anchor, Sets Retirement

Bob Halloran, sports anchor at WCVB Boston, will retire from the SportsCenter 5 team effective May 31. He has spent 38 years in journalism in the New England re...

25/03/2023

Tamron Hall Investigates Women in Skate Sports for ABC Stations

Tamron Hall hosts the special Our America: Women on a Roll on the ABC Owned Television Stations and ABC Localish starting March 25 and continuing over the next ...

25/03/2023

African Proverb of the day: 25 March 2023

African Proverb of the day: 25 March 2023A proverb reflects and reveals a community's culture that provides a glimpse into its value systems, beliefs, and a...

25/03/2023

Daily devotion: Your bible verse and prayer for 25 March 2023

Daily devotion: Your bible verse and prayer for 25 March 2023GOOD MORNING! Here's your daily bible verse and prayer to get you ready and excited about your ...

24/03/2023

Rwanda: developing a course for investigative journalists in Rwanda.

When I started out as an investigative journalist, there were few practising journalists in Kenya to learn from or manuals that I could read to sharpen my skill...

24/03/2023

The Inspiring History of Poster Art at the Sundance Film Festival

Chelsea Christensen (right) greets a Festival volunteer at the Park City building that houses official merchandise for the Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Jut...

24/03/2023

Spotify's Ongoing Efforts To Create a More Equitable and Sustainable World

Each year when we publish Spotify's Equity and Impact Report, we have the opportunity to reflect on our efforts toward creating a more equitable and sustain...

24/03/2023

Fique por dentro das Top Msicas de Vero no Brasil

No Brasil, o ver o aquele per odo para aproveitar o calor e as altas temperaturas, mas n o s isso. De dezembro a mar o, a poca para celebrar grandes feria...

24/03/2023

Spotify Head of Urban Music Carl Chery Invites Fans To Look Into the Stories of Hip-Hop's Top Artists With RapCaviar Presents'

Mark March 30 on your calendars. That's when RapCaviar Presents arrives on H...

24/03/2023

Actus Digital, the premier solutions provider for Quality Assurance (QA) alerting, complia

NAB 2023: Actus Digital Unveils OTT StreamWatch and v9.0 Enhancements to Intelli...

24/03/2023

The Need for Pushback Simulators

Aircraft tractors or tugs help planes back up and away from gates. Learn how pushback training simulators can assist in training tug operators more effectively....

24/03/2023

Summit Preview: Explore the Metaverse with Chris Pfaff

On Wednesday, March 29, TV Tech will be holding its Spring TV Tech Summit, a series of keynote conversations, panel discussions and case studies covering the la...

24/03/2023

Antenna Entertainment Taps Imagine Communications for Cloud Managed Services

THAMES DITTON, England Imagine Communications has announced that it recently helped one of Europe's largest media companies, the Antenna Group, quickly move...

24/03/2023

Miller Tripods to Demo New SkyX 8 at 2023 NAB Show

LAS VEGAS Miller Tripods will be showing its new SkyX 8 fluid head at the 2023 NAB Show on Booth C4221. Designed for outdoor broadcast and studio productions, t...

24/03/2023

NextGen TV Comes to Rochester, N.Y.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Four broadcast television stations serving the Rochester television market have begun offering NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0 broadcast signals....

24/03/2023

Lawo Establishes CTO Office

Lawo announced the creation of a CTO Office as part of a larger customer-centric strategy of providing innovative and markable solutions for a rapidly changin...

24/03/2023

New CTO Office announced at Lawo

The company has established the new CTO Office to drive innovation and deliver on its strategic goals By TVBEurope Staff Published: March 24, 2023 The co...

24/03/2023

Kindai University Employs ATEM Switcher Workflow for its Esports Facility

Kindai University Employs ATEM Switcher Workflow for its Esports Facility Brie Clayton March 23, 2023 0 Comments Kindai University, one of the largest ...

24/03/2023

Justify Lighting The Secret of professional Color Grading Colour Theory in DaVinci Resolve

Justify Lighting The Secret of professional Color Grading Colour Theory in D...

24/03/2023

MwareTV offers a one-stop Managed IPTV Service at NAB

MwareTV offers a one-stop Managed IPTV Service at NAB Brie Clayton March 23, 2023 0 Comments MwareTV, a leading cloud-based multi-tenant platform provi...

24/03/2023

Adobe Creative Cloud tools power top films at SXSW 2023

Adobe Creative Cloud tools power top films at SXSW 2023 Meagan Keane March 23, 2023 0 Comments The 2023 South by Southwest Festival just wrapped, and A...

24/03/2023

Capitol Broadcasting Active at Career Fairs in First Quarter of 2023

Corp's Na'Tasia Robinson helps represent Capitol Broadcasting at a Career Fair at St. Augustine's University near downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, Mar...

24/03/2023

Tonight on Skeem Saam: Someone has sights on a former beauty queen and Obed is not happy

Tonight on Skeem Saam: Someone has sights on a former beauty queen and Obed is n...

24/03/2023

SKEEM SAAM: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

SKEEM SAAM: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch all the latest episodes of Skeem Saam soapie right he...

24/03/2023

HOUSE OF ZWIDE: Episode for 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

HOUSE OF ZWIDE: Episode for 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of House of Zwide? No problem! Watch all the latest episodes of House of Zwide soapie right h...

24/03/2023

SCANDAL: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

SCANDAL: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Scandal ? No problem! Watch all the latest episodes of Scandal soapie right here. Don&...

24/03/2023

GENERATIONS: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

GENERATIONS: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Generation The Legacy? No problem! Watch all the latest episodes of Generation The...

24/03/2023

UZALO: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

UZALO: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of uzalo? No problem! Just watch all the latest episodes of uzalo soapie right here, don...

24/03/2023

MUVHANGO: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]

MUVHANGO: Tonight's episode, 24 March 2023 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Muvhango? No problem! Watch all the latest episodes of Muvhango soapie right here, do...

24/03/2023

SVG On Demand: Madison Square Garden's Matt Coy on the Power of On-Ice/On-Court Projection and Augmented Reality Graphics In Venue

SVG On Demand: Madison Square Garden's Matt Coy on the Power of On-Ice/On-Co...

24/03/2023

ESPN Streamlines Operations in Covering NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament

ESPN Streamlines Operations in Covering NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament For the first time, there are just two Regional Sites for the Sweet Sixteen and E...

24/03/2023

NAB Exclusive: Meet VR creatives Keeley Turner and Hugh Hou at SGO Private Cabana

Published On: March 23rd, 2023 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...