London Marathon: BBC Sport looks back in order to move forward with coverage of one of sport's most joyful events No remote production workflows this year - but under consideration for 2022 race By Will Strauss, Editor
Friday, October 1, 2021 - 09:01
Print This Story
BBC Sport senior producer Micky Payne on the Mall during the 2020 London Marathon
Ahead of this weekend's London Marathon, SVG Europe caught up with BBC Sport senior producer Micky Payne to find out how the race coverage will be produced now that COVID restrictions have been eased in the UK.
The London Marathon is one of sport's most joyous televised events.
From the potential 50,000 runners pounding 26.2 miles through the streets of London (plus another 50,000 virtual runners doing the same distance elsewhere around the UK) and one of the best elite fields outside the Olympics to the iconic landmarks on the course and the countless human interest stories raising millions of pounds for charity. It is an event that provides hope in ways that other sports and tournaments don't.
Thanks to COVID-19, last year's race was reduced to an Elite level-only race, albeit, with thousands of virtual runners. The 2021 Marathon will be much more familiar though and not just in terms of route and the number of runners.
BBC Sport is the current UK rights holder, as it has been since the first London Marathon took place back in 1981. It is also the host broadcaster, providing both the domestic and international cuts. Its coverage, and the OB set-up, will also be a hark back to 2019, as senior producer Micky Payne (pictured above) explained to SVG Europe in the week before the event.
The Marathon is a big production effort and for this year, with the uncertainty around COVID, and the uncertainty around absolute confirmation of what the race would look like, we've decided to keep the model from 2019 and then review it after this year.
We are pretty much lifting and shifting from 2019, he acknowledges. So, for this particular year, and we're going to review it after this year, we've still got exactly the same model. We've got six outside broadcasts: The Start, Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, Blackfriars and The Finish. Each has its own sets of cameras, directors and reporters.
That is supplemented by six RF cameras on motorbikes two on each elite race: wheelchairs, women and men. So, a bike with the lead group and a bike to follow and track whatever the story is behind the leaders. And then two helicopters help to join the dots between the OBs for the elite race. Once the elite races are finished, we concentrate on the masses properly with those six OBs and our reporters.
While BBC Sport is looking backwards in order to move forwards, this approach hasn't been without its trials.
[The challenge] is trying to remember and relearn what we did!, he says, only partly in jest. In the two and a half years [since the last full Marathon] there's obviously been a lot of technological change that's been exacerbated by the lockdown, especially around remote production.
Nothing will be done remotely this year, he adds. But that might change in 2022, assuming the BBC holds on to the rights for the race. Its current contract expires this year.
The Marathon is a big production effort and for this year, with the uncertainty around COVID, and the uncertainty around absolute confirmation of what the race would look like, we've decided to keep the model from 2019 and then review it after this year.
It feels like there are a couple of aspects of it, where we could do a bit of remote stuff, which would help both the carbon footprint and push the green initiatives and it might help with some costs long term.
Although Payne is keen to embrace remote, there are caveats especially from an editorial perspective.
Because it's such a big event, if the main editor or producer is back in Salford, doing the main output remotely, it could definitely work technically, but editorially you feel so far away, he says.
Remote production will work. It's just getting your head around it and letting go of the hands-on control you would normally have.
All those weekend conversations with your presenter, with your reporters with the marathon people, with the OBs. Instead of having it face-to-face, or at least in the same sort of area, you would be doing it on the phone or over TalkBack. And it would be quite unsatisfactory, from a purely personal level.
We might have to do that though because that is the way things are going. It will work. It's just getting your head around it and letting go of the hands-on control you would normally have.
Feeling like you are part of the race, and relaying that to viewers back home, is also harder when you are many miles away, he acknowledges.
I think particularly when you've got thousands of people back on the streets doing a run, plus thousands on the street in certain parts of the country supporting them and cheering them on. That's such a huge part of what we're trying to get back into showing and reflecting. Being there is all part of that. You can feel it much more. I think, coming back after two and a half years, that's important for this year.
Race coverage The London Marathon is very much a game (or race) of two halves: the elite; and then the charity fundraising and human interest.
Payne picks up the story: So, the wheelchairs are first off and that has got good domestic interest and strong international interest. You've got David Weir, who has been there forever so we cover that with the OBs and with two motorbikes. One goes with the lead men, one goes with the lead women.
We give that all the build-up and the coverage that it needs. But then the complication comes at 9am. The women's rac
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
01/07/2026
Chyron Launches the All-New Chyron Academy: A Reimagined, Hands-On Learning Expe...
01/07/2026
Amplium Captures Kawasaki Brave Thunders Game with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersiv...
01/07/2026
Boris FX Optics Expands Plugin Support to Apple Photos, Capture One, and Affinit...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
London Marathon: BBC Sport looks back in order to move forward with coverage of one of sport's most joyful events No remote production workflows this year - but under consideration for 2022 race By Will Strauss, Editor 
