2022 FIFA World Cup Preview: Fox Sports Embraces Home Run Production Production execs David Neal and Kevin Callahan discuss plans and expectations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 8:36 am
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This article originally appeared in the Fall 2022 Edition of the SVG SportsTech Journal. To read the entire journal, click HERE.
Beginning on Nov. 20, the most popular global sports event will kick off in Qatar: the 2022 FIFA World Cup. For the team at Fox Sports, the 2022 edition provides an opportunity to finally showcase the U.S. men's team, which didn't qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. And it will allow Fox Sports to showcase new technologies that embrace Home Run Production, bonded cellular, and IP in ways that not only make things easier but increase the content output. At the SVG Remote Production Forum in Los Angeles, SVG sat down with David Neal, executive producer, FIFA World Cup on Fox/ VP, production, and Kevin Callahan, VP, field operations and Engineering, to discuss the broadcaster's plans and what to expect.
Stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha have full fiber connectivity to maximize signal distribution internally and externally.
What are your expectations heading into the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
Neal: One thing on our mind every day is that the U.S. is in this World Cup, as opposed to four years ago when they weren't. When you're put in an adverse situation, sometimes your best work comes out of it. I was exceedingly proud of what we put on the air from Russia, but it was an inescapable fact that the U.S. wasn't there. And the collateral damage that did to our viewership numbers was unmistakable.
This time around, the buzz going into the tournament is [the U.S. team] not only qualified but actually is good. I mean, this is a young team with some genuine stars who are playing on an international level. It gives a lot of anticipation to what we're doing. You can't go a day reading soccer media without seeing some mention of the the U.S. vs. England game on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. That by itself, especially if the U.S. wins its first group game - which they should do against Wales - has the potential to be one of the five most-watched soccer games in U.S. television history. And that's just for a Group Stage match. For us, the game-changer is the fact that the U.S. is gonna be there. We're bringing more people to Qatar because, first, the U.S. is there and, second, because of the compact nature [of the tournament]: the eight stadiums are no farther than 90 minutes apart.
What does that compact footprint mean?
Neal: Instead of having talent and production crews crisscrossing a country like we did in Russia - sometimes changing planes at 2:00 a.m. trying to get to Sochi for a noon kickoff - we'll have everybody staying in the same hotel. Nobody has to get on an airplane from the time they arrive until the time they leave. Because of that, when our bosses were going through the budget, they said, Let's just go all-in. This will be the first time ever that a U.S. rightsholder called all the matches with a commentary team in the stadium. With the exception of some significant back-of-house operations, we're taking everything to Qatar, which is a throwback to how things used to be.
Do you plan to have more ENG crews?
Callahan: We will have more crews this time around, and they'll be doing different things. We have more reporters in-country because we're able to get a lot more content out of them. We also have two crews that are dedicated to capturing the news of the day and flavor of the country, shooting things like a new scenic every day. One of our post-mortem comments from Russia was, we used the same bumper shot of birds every day. We want to make sure we're showing off everything that Qatar is.
What is the RF situation for ENG crews?
Callahan: The RF situation's actually interesting. It is nearly clear spectrum-wise, which is very different from what we're used to. That is mainly because there isn't a lot of terrestrial TV distribution. But we tend to shy away from RF in venues when we are overseas.
We are relying heavily on bonded cellular, and all of our ENG teams and digital teams will have LiveU backpacks. We are also using them for the affiliates so they can provide content 24 hours a day when the national network is off-air.
Can you tell us about the plans regarding a studio show and set?
Neal: It's different because there's nothing in Qatar that is instantly recognizable to an American audience. We are on a set that basically looks like all of our previous sets but on steroids. We're creating a destination, and we're going to be located next to the fanfest; we want to tap into the energy there. It gives us a great view of the ultra-modern skyline, and it goes back to everything being centralized as all the fans will be staying somewhere in the area.
We will also have a practice pitch, but the field is actually just a giant LED screen. To the viewer, it will look like a grass field. There's a lot of technology that our brilliant Creative Director Gary Hartley employed in the A Stage on the Fox lot, and you'll see a lot of that same big technology on this set.
This World Cup is much like an Olympics, given the small footprint. Did you draw on any skills you developed while at NBC Olympics?
Neal: Yes, and there's no doubt that we can focus more on bringing the country to life because we know the stadiums are easily accessible. Our operations are manageable because the stadiums are so close to one another. There are the 32 teams, and those are sort of your actors: there is an antagonist and a protagonist, hero and villain. But one thing I le
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2022 FIFA World Cup Preview: Fox Sports Embraces Home Run Production Production execs David Neal and Kevin Callahan discuss plans and expectations By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
