Maglia rosa: EMG Italy on managing the logistics and technicalities of the 2024 Giro d'Italia By Heather McLean
Friday, May 17, 2024 - 09:00
Print This Story
Tadej Pogacar from UAE Team Emirates at the finish line of Prati di Tivo stage 8 at the 2024 Giro d'Italia [Photographer Marco Alpozzi]
At this very minute, over 150 men in lycra are pedalling furiously through the stunning Italian countryside in an attempt to win the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Known as the maglia rosa - or pink jersey - this race is taking competitors through olive groves and up mountain ranges, with only the strongest and most tactical riders making it to the final stages.
The Giro, which started on 3 May and will finish on 26 May in Rome, is a complex production for organiser RCS and its host broadcaster, EMG Italy.
Three years ago RCS began to self-produce the Giro, with EMG Italy bringing its knowhow into the pink race'. Comments Davide Furlan, EMG Italy's director of outdoor productions, and Giro d'Italia production director: Since then every year there has been continuous improvement, even in the technical choices to provide more and more content. This year the most obvious innovative implementation is the graphics with tracking; it is a system that uses pixel tracking technology that we have used on many other occasions and in other sports with excellent results.
Notes Furlan: The entire technical infrastructure of people and means for the production of the international signal is from EMG/Gravity Media. This production is really a great work of the group, with five different languages spoken at the TV compound.
The experience gained over the years producing all the major cycling races allows us to design more and more reliable and quality systems, and I believe that by seeing the product on air you can understand what I'm talking about
In the TV compound there are 15 trucks for the host broadcast, and the same number again, says Furlan, for right holders and broadcasters who are integrating the international feed with their own cameras, with a strong presence from RAI . RAI is additionally the only rights holder with a mobile stage set up on site, which it uses as a TV studio with five cameras.
EMG Italy is working across Europe with other parts of the group to bring the broadcast of Giro d'Italia 2024 to life
The EMG/Gravity team is made up of 123 people who prepare the entire set up at the various locations planned for the day's stage every morning. Furlan explains: At the start are the riders and camera operators, at the intermediate reception are the technicians, at the GPM [Gran Premio della Montagn, or Mountain Grand Prix] location are the technicians and camera operators of the Intergiro, and finally the other technicians and camera operators at the finish.
Behind each stage, which the spectator can enjoy at home from the comfort of his or her seat, there is an enormous amount of preparation and logistics work, a huge circus' that moves every day; more than 100 people who have to travel, sleep, eat and of course work safely.
On how the group is contributing to this production, there is:
EMG Italy responsible for the entire production plus OB vans
EMG Connectivity RF and motorcyclists
EMG Belgium motorcycle coordination
EMG Netherlands satellite broadcasting
Boost graphics and timing
High standards
EMG Italy works on two production standards for its major cycling races: Standard B with a live time of around two hours; and Standard A, of which the Giro d'Italia, with its high profile and all-day racing, is obviously a part.
Furlan notes: Live time varies depending on the length of the stage and how long it takes the athletes if the weather conditions get tricky, so let's say it varies between six and seven hours a day on average.
A constant technical challenge is to make everything that is not connected by cable or fibre with the OB van to appear as if it were. To be able to manage all the parameters of the cameras as if we were in a studio or in a stadium is really stimulating
The Giro d'Italia is a production of 21 days plus set up days, continues Furlan. The Giro d'Italia is a world event and cycling has many fans all over the world. The live media coverage is really impressive. We who produce the host broadcast signal start producing half an hour before the start and finish about 45 minutes after the arrival of the daily stage, after all the award ceremonies that see the five classification jerseys awarded every day.
Highlights are also an integral part of the production that takes place within EMG Italy's technical media. It uses two Avid editing stations connected to the EVS network to produce a 23 minute daily highlight show for Eurosport and a 26 minute weekly show for RCS and IMG.
The 2024 Giro d'Italia route through Italy
Complex event
Comments Furlan on the challenges this year: The television production of such complex events poses many challenges. First of all the technology with which we manage all the RF signals is proprietary to EMG. The experience gained over the years producing all the major cycling races allows us to design more and more reliable and quality systems, and I believe that by seeing the product on air you can understand what I'm talking about.
With the race stretching with speed across the countryside, EMG Italy is challenged by the transmission requirements of this race. Says Furlan: The technical infrastructure for the RF signals is very complex. All the signals of the 10 motorbikes and the two helicopters pass through a two-repeaters plane which, following the ride at an altitude of about 6,500 metres, receives and retransmits each video and audio signal to an intermediate point. All ASI RF signals are encapsulated and transmitted with an encr
North America Stories
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
07/05/2026
At Broadcast Asia 2026 (Stand 5H3 8), LiveU is redefining live production with its most powerful IP-video EcoSystem to date built to help broadcasters and con...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Recreating the 1974 Doctor Who Time Tunnel in After Effects
Graham Quince May 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Time Tunnel from Doctor Who titles is one of th...
07/05/2026
AI will help build the energy it needs.
That's the case U.S. Energy Secreta...
07/05/2026
Back to All News
Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix Present the Trailer of ...
07/05/2026
Less typing, more tanking.
Faster logins mean more time in the gaming action - and this week provides GeForce NOW members with a smoother path straight into th...
06/05/2026
Gravity Media Chief RF Communications Engineer Glenn Willems uses Wisycom RF over Fiber and wireless solutions across major cycling events and international mar...
Maglia rosa: EMG Italy on managing the logistics and technicalities of the 2024 Giro d'Italia By Heather McLean 
