Euro 2024: Inside UEFA's International Broadcast Centre By George Bevir
Friday, July 12, 2024 - 08:00
Print This Story
The IBC in Leipzig, Germany (Photo by Tullio Puglia UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Just before the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 took place, SVG Europe took a tour of the UEFA's International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Leipzig, Germany. Located in hall 4 of the Leipziger Messe exhibition building, the IBC serves as the hub of UEFA's host broadcast operations and a base for 27 of UEFA's broadcast partners.
At the heart of the 21,000 square metre IBC are the Master Control Room (MCR) and the Quality Control Rooms (QCR), which ensure the seamless broadcast and quality control of live feeds. It also hosts a range of operations and services, including Digital Broadcaster Services, Fan Zone TV, UEFA's ICT services operation, and is a hub for UEFA Editorial Content Services.
The IBC is also the central hub for UEFA's Broadcaster Services team for the tournament who employ over 100 staff members across the ten venues and IBC, all focused on providing support to more than 130 broadcast partners operating in over 200 territories worldwide, supported by CAA Eleven, UEFA's partner agency.
Read more Euro 2024: UEFA's technical broadcast plans
Additionally, it is the centre for Video Assistant Referee (VAR) operations for all 51 matches of the tournament. The Football Technology (FTECH) Hub is where VARs and Assistant Video Assistant Referees (AVARs) operate from four dedicated rooms to oversee all tournament matches.
The FTECH Hub also processes data from various technologies, including goal-line technology and electronic performance tracking systems, as well as sensors embedded in Kinexon's connected balls. This data is quality controlled in real time and distributed to UEFA's applications, such as the new semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) and the performance analyst portal.
Hawk-Eye supplies the technology for goal-line technology, VAR, SAOT, and Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS) and medical and tactical video review systems.
Enhancing coverage: UEFA's Editorial Content Services
UEFA's Editorial Content Services (ECS) offers comprehensive content support to broadcast partners. With 108 people based in London at the headquarters of supplier Whisper, it provides a more sustainable approach to producing non-live content and is a continuation of the model adopted during the Covid-restricted Euro 2020 tournament, which took place in 2021.
Pre-Euro 2024 coverage provided by ECS included the Road to UEFA Euro 2024' magazine show, access days with teams, and host city content. During the tournament, ECS has delivered highlights, review shows, curated ISO compilations, and a daily Euro bulletin.
In London, the ECS team operates 14 edit suites, with 30 producers and APs, 22 editors, 13 production managers, eight graphic designers, and seven engineers and tech support personnel. They are supported by a few staff in Leipzig overseeing a KVM setup that allows for a remote operation with workstations in London editing via a 50-gig connection content that resides in Leipzig.
Live production and content acquisition
The OB operation is a pan-European affair, with five companies supporting UEFA's host broadcast operation at the 10 venues used throughout the tournament, including Germany's TVN (responsible for the final in Berlin and matches at Hamburg), plus Mediapro's trucks from its Spain and Portugal operations (based at Frankfurt and Leipzig), as well as EMG UK (Dusseldorf and Cologne), AMP Visual from France (Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund) and NEP from both Germany and Italy (Munich and Stuttgart).
A UEFA spokesperson explained: We're acquiring everything in 1080p 50 HDR, bringing it back to the IBC and then converting to 1080p50 SDR and 1080i50 SDR before we send the signals back to the venue. The low latency to do all conversions here at the IBC gives up a lot more control.
Virtual Board Replacement
UEFA Euro 2024 marks the first time a Euro has utilised virtual board replacement (VBR), a process that replaces in-stadium LED advertisements with targeted ads for specific regions: China, Germany, and the US.
VBR is only active during live play on the main broadcast camera, providing tailored advertising without disrupting the viewer experience. AIM Sport supplies VBR operations from the IBC, ensuring reliability and signal continuity.
A dedicated production Quality Control (QC) team is responsible for monitoring the consistency and quality of all multilateral feeds from all venues. The QC team is in communication with the UEFA production teams on-site at the venues on match day (MD) and match day-1 (MD-1). They monitor consistency of coverage, ensure the principles set out in the TV Directors Guidelines are adhered to and review broadcast partner feedback.
A dedicated audio expert, also based in the production quality control room, listens to all audio components and liaises with the stadiums to ensure the highest audio quality and consistency. A team of specialists monitor and control all aspects of picture quality from the dedicated HDR quality control room. In addition, there are dedicated MD-1 and FANTV quality control rooms.
Each broadcast venue team, led by the broadcast venue manager and broadcast engineering manager also includes a UEFA live producer, reporting to the IBC QC team, who works closely with the TV match director at their respective venue. The UEFA live producer is responsible for quality control on-site, ensuring that all feeds meet the standards, guidelines and requirements laid down by UEFA.
With a 50-gigabit connection to Whisper and a 200-gigabit diverse connection to each venue, the IBC handles approximately 5TB of data. The Telco Interface Room (TIR), deli
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...
07/04/2026
April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...
07/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...
07/04/2026
Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...
07/04/2026
Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867):
Cuez ...
07/04/2026
CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobility Options, Ease Editing...
07/04/2026
Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder
Brie Clayton April 7, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...
07/04/2026
Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...
07/04/2026
Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...
07/04/2026
Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
Euro 2024: Inside UEFA's International Broadcast Centre By George Bevir 
