Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Live From London: Buzz 16 Tackles Production Duties for TNT Sports' EPCR Finals Host Coverage

28/05/2024

Live from London: Buzz 16 tackles production duties for TNT Sports' EPCR finals host coverage By Fergal Ringrose

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 - 09:45

Print This Story

The Hollywoodbets Sharks celebrate their victory over Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which also guaranteed them a place in next season's Champions Cup [photo: EPCR]

As the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) Challenge Cup and Champions Cup broadcast rights holder for the UK, it fell to TNT Sports to provide host broadcast coverage for both finals on Friday (24 May) and Saturday (25 May) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

This season TNT Sports has shown every Champions Cup match, as well as a selection of matches from the Gallagher Premiership, EPCR Challenge Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup. TNT Sports and its predecessor BT Sport have shown the Premiership since BT Sport launched in 2013. Buzz 16 took over production of rugby content for TNT Sports this season. Previously, production for BT Sport's rugby output including the two EPCR competitions was provided by Sunset+Vine.

Buzz 16 is led by managing director Duncan East and co-founder and CEO Scott Melvin. On the ground at Spurs last weekend Buzz 16's executive producer for TNT Sports was Gari Jenkins, with Gruff Davies in the hot seat as match director for both games and Dom McGuire working as production manager. In the stadium on Friday morning SVG Europe sat down with McGuire to step through the network of relationships and meticulous planning process required to deliver host coverage for both European finals.

Dom McGuire: There were two host broadcasters in Dublin last year [BT Sport for the Challenge Cup final and RT for the Champions Cup final] but it was very much funneled through NEP and the RT group as they had the Champions Cup.

This time, everything has come through to me! So the workload has gone up massively, and going from the back to the forefront is a steep learning curve - even though we do Premiership rugby every week. When you have two French broadcasters, an Irish broadcaster, World Rugby - we're familiar with ITV and how they work - but having the other broadcasters coming in, the footprint for everything is so much bigger.

We're used to a couple of trucks turning up in the compound; now it's two or three trucks per broadcaster. The camera spec, obviously, is significantly increased for the finals from the 12-camera spec on our regular Premiership three games per weekend. So logistically it has been a challenge, and it does involve a lot of spreadsheets and a lot of email chains!

In the Premiership you approach the club, where the club and the stadium are usually one and the same. For these finals EPCR has taken over the stadium so you have to run everything via EPCR. You also need to go to the stadium people sometimes.

So where there is usually a direct route through to one group of people now you have to factor in a variety of other sources to make sure you're getting agreement and confirmation from everyone, whether it's approval on a different camera position, where you can sit to watch the game, or what you can do around the pitch.

Dom McGuire, production manager, Buzz 16 for TNT Sports

You're the production manager for Buzz 16's TNT Sports coverage, but you're now effectively production manager for the entire broadcast operation this weekend! That's a lot of pressure

Yes, it is a lot of pressure. I've been involved with the rugby team for ten years in various roles, and I became the lead production manager on the Premiership a few seasons ago - that was with Sunset+Vine for BT Sport. It's a step up.

You start generally on a Premiership cup game for example, with a smaller footprint, smaller camera spec, much easier to go through. Then you go through to the Premiership, eventually leading that Premiership effort, overseeing every single game to some extent, building up to the final at Twickenham - giving you a chance to work with the RFU and see how they operate.

It's not in the job title, but I became the lead production manager on Europe, which I did for the first time last season. Last year's finals were a great experience as I was not the centre point for everyone but I could see how it worked. This year, it was almost like a tsunami of work came and hit me!

How has the approach changed from BT Sport to TNT Sports, in terms of how rugby is produced?

I think from my side of things there's not a big change, because logistically we follow the same processes to get to the end game. But from an editorial point of view changes have been made. We have tried to innovate with certain aspects of our pre- and post-match coverage, doing more inside dressing rooms for instance when we get permission to do that. We always like to be on the pitch and in and around the players, but we have become more involved during warm-ups and talking to coaches and so on.

We've been lucky enough to bring in the Cine Cam on quite a few games, which adds a whole new element to the visuals. That will be here for the Champions Cup Final tomorrow, along with Hi Mo cameras behind the posts. The camera spec for the finals this year is significantly increased - we have tried to push it a bit for a total of 32 cameras.

We have Steadicam in for both games, which is quite normal, but we've got a Super Slow on that to add an extra dimension. We have two cameras on the reverse where normally we only have one. We also have a four-point WireCam from Luna Remote Systems above the pitch. And then we've got a Hi Mo camera position just above the tunnel where the players come in.

This is a wonderful stadium as we can see, but it is quite tight along the sidelines to accommodate camera positions?

It's because there are two pitches here: you've got the f
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/live-from-london-buzz-16-tack...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

09/11/2025

Dalet Unveils Agentic AI Media Workflows at IBC2025

Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

18/09/2025

DirecTV Adds Three Sports Channels to Its FAST Streaming Offering

DirecTV continues to expand its women's sports offerings by adding Sports Fanatics' and Whoopi Goldberg's Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) All Wo...

18/09/2025

Fall Football Kicks Off With Native HDR Production, NextGen TV Telecast

WASHINGTON NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport's fall seas...

18/09/2025

FCC Extends Deadline for EEO Audit Replies

WASHINGTON After issuing audit letters seeking Equal Employment Opportunity data from a randomly selected group of TV and radio stations in August, the Federal ...

18/09/2025

Warner Bros. Discovery Signs New Deal with Nielsen

NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen have signed a new, long-term, multi-year deal that covers measurement for all Warner Bros. Discovery platforms acros...

18/09/2025

CIMM Launches Startup Program and Innovation Showcase

NEW YORK As part of its ongoing efforts to develop better measurement solutions, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced the launch of t...

18/09/2025

UPDATED: ABC Takes 'Jimmy Kimmel Live! Off the Air Indefinitely

IRVING, Texas Following threats from the Federal Communications Commission and the announcement that the nations largest station group, Nexstar Media Group, wou...

17/09/2025

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learning

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learni...

17/09/2025

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challenge for Sports Broadcasting

Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challeng...

17/09/2025

Dua Lipa's Service95 Book Club' Goes Live at the New York Public Library

It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...

17/09/2025

The Gauge: Mexico August 2025

During August, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous month, accounting for 25% of TV viewing. Discl...

17/09/2025

Jo Aun Joins FOR-A America as Senior Manager, Product Engineering

CYPRESS, Calif. FOR-A America has named Jo Aun as senior manager of product engineering, a new role responsible for guiding the planning, development and rollou...

17/09/2025

PlayBox Neo and CIS Group Power CazeTV with a seamless Pl...

PlayBox Neo, in partnership with CIS Group, a leading provider of media and broadcast technology solutions, has successfully deployed PlayBox Neo's Dual Cha...

17/09/2025

Energy Regulatory Agency Underscores Commitment with Ene...

In a relationship that mirrors societal advances in sustainability, Brightline Lighting and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Headquarters have en...

17/09/2025

Clear-Com Powers Star-Studded Communications at Houston A...

Clear-Com is proud to support the world-class productions of Alley Theatre, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit resident theatres in the United States. With...

17/09/2025

Arch Platform Technologies Announces Strategic Collaborat...

Arch Platform Technologies (www.archpt.io), a pioneer in automated, scalable cloud infrastructure for high-performance workflows, today announced a Strategic Co...

17/09/2025

With over 39bn EUR in assets under management and record-...

Over 300 selected decision-makers from start-ups, corporates, and VC funds worldwide will gather for the third edition of the event, united by a single goal: to...

17/09/2025

Telestream Celebrates Award Win at IBC2025

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, is excited to announce that its flagship Vantage platform and its next-generation AI capabilities re...

17/09/2025

Mediagenix Celebrates Triple Best of Show Wins at IBC2025...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions that profitably connect the right content to the right audience, proudly announces its three Best of Show...

17/09/2025

PlayBox Neo Appoints Transtel Universal as Top Reseller P...

In a move to further establish a firm foothold across South East Asia, PlayBox Neo, the well-respected name in broadcast playout and channel branding, has appoi...

17/09/2025

Wisycom Unveils Two New Solutions at IBC 2025

Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless audio solutions, announced two major wireless solutions at IBC 2025 (Stand 8.D30). This includes the Portable RF-o...

17/09/2025

Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards

Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to acclaimed programs Severance, The Studio, The Penguin, SNL50: The...

17/09/2025

Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo

Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo The weeklong contemporary music program will run January 5-10, 2026. By Colette Greenstein September 17, 2025 ...

17/09/2025

Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia

Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia Through ELIA's UAx Platform, six students from Kyiv joined Berklee Valencia for a week...

17/09/2025

Meet Kenna Hilburn, Avids New Incoming Chief Product Officer

Earlier this year Avid announced Kenna Hilburn as its new senior vice president of product. Recently Hilburn was promoted to Avids new Chief Product Officer, su...

17/09/2025

SES and K2 Space to Accelerate Development of Next-Generation MEO Network

Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...

17/09/2025

Fox TV Stations Join Madhive's Local Live Sports Marketplace

NEW YORK Madhive has announced that the Fox Television Stations have joined its Live Sports Marketplace....

17/09/2025

Sony Electronics Partners with Newhouse School at Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. Sony Electronics has announced that it is partnering with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University to provide state-of-the-art equipment, hands...

17/09/2025

Roku's First TV Smart Projector Now Available in the U.S.

SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced that the first smart projector using its Roku TV operating system, the Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube, is now avail...

17/09/2025

Meet the Streamlabs Streaming Assistant, Accelerated by NVIDIA RTX

Today's creators are equal parts entertainer, producer and gamer, juggling game commentary, scene changes, replay clips, chat moderation and technical troub...

17/09/2025

Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with a dazzling line-up of celebrity sitters on 1 October

Wednesday 17 September 2025 UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...

17/09/2025

FOR-A America Appoints Jo Aun to Lead U.S. Product Development

Jo Returns to FOR-A as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering...

17/09/2025

AIR's Big Comeback with DPA Microphones

For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...

17/09/2025

The Late Late Toy Show hits the road in search of Ireland's brightest young stars

Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway The County Parade returns f...

16/09/2025

SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPN

SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and ...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and...

16/09/2025

Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam

Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00 Print This Story The SVG Europe and ...

16/09/2025

Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026

Amazon Prime Video Picks Up Four Hours of Early-Round Masters Coverage in 2026 By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - 10:15...

16/09/2025

VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate Grows

VERSANT Inks Deal for League One Volleyball as Women's Sports Rights Slate G...

16/09/2025

ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising Communications

ESPN VP, Corporate Communications, Katina Arnold Named SVP, Disney Advertising C...

16/09/2025

IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From the Show Floor

IBC 2025 in Review: SVG Europe's Full Collection of Video Interviews From th...

16/09/2025

Celebramos 10 aos de Viva Latino en Spotify y el xito global de la msica latina

Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...

16/09/2025

Celebrating 10 Years of Spotify's Viva Latino Playlist and the Global Rise of Latin Music

A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...

16/09/2025

Spotify Welcomes Graham Norton and Select VICE Studios Content

Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...

16/09/2025

One Enterprise, One Mission: Aligning the Supply Chain to the Warfighter

At DSEI 2025, James Dunne of L3Harris Maritime UK chaired a panel on aligning the supply chain to the warfighter, where leaders discussed modernising support fo...

16/09/2025

RTW chooses Calrec as technology partner

Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...

16/09/2025

Football and Back-to-School Dynamics Spark First Gains Since April for Traditional TV

College Football Scores Top Telecast in August with 16M+ Viewers on FOX, Followe...