Taking steps for sound: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on how it is ramping up audio in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series By Heather McLean
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - 09:27
Print This Story
Audio has been a strong area of investment for the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Series
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, host broadcaster for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, has been working hard to make this season's production better than ever for fans watching at home.
The broadcaster formed the series in 2023 in a deal between itself and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and since that first season, it has been tweaking and innovating on the production through cameras, graphics, data, and audio to really bring the fan closer to the action.
Speaking to SVG Europe, Chris Ball, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports' vice president of cycling events, says that audio has been a strong area of investment for the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Series.
We invested a lot into audio and really put a lot of effort into that because you can have the image, but you also need the sound. So even on the first person view (FPV) drones, how the bike sounds and how the crowd sounds was something we really pushed into, he notes, referring to the development stage of the drones for this season from Aeroplayfilms and Dutch Drone Gods.
From heavy snow in mountainous regions to wild wind and rain that grounds the production's drones, everything has a knock-on effect for the broadcast, which must always remain consistently good
Major audio update
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has invested heavily into refreshing the images and sounds that fans of mountain biking are used to, giving the sport a major broadcast update. Says Ball: It's an outdoor sport and we've brought mountain biking now to the level of some of the larger winter sport productions we've taken.
It's a sport that's over 30 years old. It's been growing globally relatively slowly, maybe plateaued a little in the last decade or so, but we brought it right into the limelight onto our platforms and investment, he notes.
This production is an outdoor broadcast of one of the highest levels, and it's one of the most technically challenging, continues Ball. We've got weather issues. We've got a course that's both in the open, but also in tree cover, which really restricts how much you can cover with certain cameras. So it's a huge production now. But how do we capture the sound?
You've got wind, you've got crowd, our fans love chainsaws, which are great, but they're very, very loud. How do we bring that feeling when you're at mountain bike event into the broadcast? So we've used a lot of technology to enrich the audio, with many more microphones on the course. In future, we'll see if we can bring audio from the athletes in as well. That'll be the next step.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Series key numbers for 2025 so far for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
Next steps for sound
That next step comes with challenges, says Ball. In a car with a full face helmet, it may be quite easy [to capture athlete audio], but in a very lightweight outfit on a mountain, how do you get that audio off the rider into the broadcast? But we've brought that fan sound the sound of the tyres and the dirt, and really getting that sense of speed, which the drone shows visually in with the audio now.
Guy Voisin, vice president of cycling at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, says that although the microphone technology being used it not cutting edge, the strategy within mountain biking broadcasts is.
Voisin says: Our audio delivery is created to deliver the best and closest experience for the viewer. We base our microphone placement and mixing concept around the be on the side of the track experience. Though not revolutionary, it is the base line that we have adhered to deliver the broadcast.
Given a giant pot of money and no restrictions, Ball contemplates what he would like to do for this production going forwards into the 2026 season. I think we need to really continue to bring the rider and the team more into the broadcast, he says. Really bring the fan in, and make that performer or athlete front and centre.
And how do we do that? I think audio is a huge part, he concludes. How do we get either team comms or riders into the broadcast in these outdoor environments? I think that's an interesting one.
Haute-Savoie, France, is hosting the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from 22 to 31 August, spanning two back-to-back weekends. The action begins in Morillon from 22 to 24 August, as the venue hosts its first-ever UCI Enduro World Cup, followed by the ski and mountain bike resort of Les Gets delivering Endurance and Gravity formats, featuring Cross-country Short Track (XCC), Cross-country Olympic (XCO), and Downhill (DHI) UCI World Cup events from 28 to 31 August
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign, which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and ...
16/10/2025
Roku has added several new features to its user interface and operating system meant to make it easier to discover and personalize content, the company said....
16/10/2025
NEW YORK CNN has announced that its All Access subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Oct. 28, providing audiences with a centralized destination for CNN&...
16/10/2025
Student Spotlight: Alan Villanueva The graduate student and saxophonist, who performed on Natalia Lafourcades Latin Grammy-nominated Live at Carnegie Hall alb...
16/10/2025
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced the third cohort of members. The new members include Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Vegas Golden Kni...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and c...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK Australia's Nine Network and the NHL today announced a media partnership that will bring the world's premier professional ice hockey league to ...
16/10/2025
Parks Associates has released new data showing that nearly half (45%) of U.S. internet homes watch free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and 89% of U.S...
16/10/2025
TROY, Mich. -New data from J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Study shows that residential wireless internet providers are growing...
16/10/2025
This Saturday October 18 Katja Mia will burst onto the radio airwaves for the first time as she joins 2FM. Katja will be standing in for Bl thnaid Treacy on Sat...
16/10/2025
This October, RT is delighted to support Wexford Festival Opera, Babor International Arts Festival for Children, Open House Dublin and 36 other arts and cultu...
16/10/2025
GeForce NOW is more than just a platform to stream fresh games every week - it offers celebrations for the gamers who make it epic, with member rewards to sweet...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
15/10/2025
One of humanity's most profound questions continues: Is there any place in our galaxy suitable for life beyond Earth? NASA intends to find out, with the hel...
15/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
15/10/2025
Scality, a global leader in cyber-resilient storage software for the AI era, today announced the advancement of its comprehensive AI ecosystem certification pro...
15/10/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today unveiled key highlights of the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 15 19 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Go...
15/10/2025
At NAB Show New York 2025 (Stand 244), Interra Systems will showcase the future of media QC, monitoring, and captioning, highlighting its award-winning, AI- and...
15/10/2025
Grass Valley today announced that RMC BFM, part of the CMA-CGM Group and France's third-largest private media group, has chosen Grass Valley's productio...
15/10/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future of hybrid, s...
15/10/2025
Rakim to Join Berklee's Hip-Hop Hall of Fame at Signature Series Concert The rap icon becomes the latest inductee, following luminaries such as Roxanne Sh...
15/10/2025
Berklee Brings Live Music to the Head of the Charles Student artists will perform on multiple riverfront stages during the 60th anniversary of the world's...
15/10/2025
CobbTV, the government access television channel for Cobb County, Ga. recently acquired an automated playout system from Pebble, a global provider of automation...
15/10/2025
OSLO, Norway Appear, the global leader in live production technology, will demonstrate how its powerful hardware and software innovations are shaping the future...
15/10/2025
NEW YORK The NBA is making major changes to the NBA App and NBA TV as it takes control of them from TNT Sports, which has long managed the league's digital ...
15/10/2025
SAN MATEO, Calif. In what promises to be a major expansion of interactive features and personalized content on the DirecTV platform, the operator and Glance hav...
15/10/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has launched changes to its user interface (UI) that the streaming platform says will better showcase original programming on the platform...
15/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Software-defined data storage and data services provider OpenDrives has elevated Alex Dunfey to chief technology officer, responsible for driving th...
15/10/2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE October 15, 2025: Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powe...
15/10/2025
Sheldon Nichols and Will Trickett to find and prepare more classic cars for budget conscious would-be owners from Wiser Films
UKTV have recommissioned the clas...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
Nick Cave
JPEG (275 KB)
Explore the creative univer...
15/10/2025
Wednesday 15 October 2025
From breaking up with your partner to quitting your job - new polling shows some messages are just too scary to send
Over a fifth (...
15/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz unveils compact MXO 3 oscilloscopes with 4 and 8 channels: Advan...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Revenge Series The Resurrected' Captivates Audiences Across Asia
Entertainment
15 October 2025
GlobalTaiwan
Link copied to clipboard
...
15/10/2025
Back to All News
Bringing the Best in VFX and Virtual Production Together as Eyeline
Jeffrey Shapiro
CEO, Eyeline
Business
15 October 2025
GlobalCanadaInd...
15/10/2025
Deployed by Astound Business Solutions, Harmonic's Primary Distribution Solution Ensures Outstanding Video Quality and Seamless Ad Insertion at the Edge
SA...
15/10/2025
Collaboration extends a trusted relationship as RMC BFM invests in scalable, fut...
15/10/2025
Series coming in 2026 stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Justine Mitchell and Jason O'Mara released today
RT today released first look images of new comedy-drama ...
Taking steps for sound: Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on how it is ramping up audio in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series By Heather McLean 
