
Arqiva will be at the heart of many broadcasters' plans for this summer's major sports events. TVB Europes Jenny Priestley met the company's commercial director, Chris Alner, to discuss how it will be supporting the industry over the coming months.
With fans still not fully back in stadiums and some sports unable to welcome them back at all the broadcast experience is even more important than ever this summer. Key to ensuring fans can watch every goal, rally, and gold medal win is Arqiva, which has a substantial transmission role to play for the UK's public service broadcasters. The company is working with both the BBC and ITV on Euro 2020, and will also be involved in the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon and Tokyo 2020.
It's a role that the company takes very seriously, explains Chris Alner, commercial director, broadcast and radio at Arqiva. We're working very closely with our broadcast partners because this year the experiences are broadly going to be broadcast-driven, he explains. We also work with other international broadcast partners for some of those flagship events, particularly on the Olympics, doing broadly similar things to what we'd be doing with the BBC for their broadcast viewing audiences, just in other territories. We're at that point where there's a bit of tingle around us as a business. It's our own sense of making sure that we're ready no matter what happens, because there could be changes quite late.
We always have a big intake of breath as we come into every summer, and right now we're even more aware that we need to be prepared because things might need to change. It's always important, but this year it's even more so as everyone's watching at home.
Arqiva's role includes the transmission and distribution of TV and radio channels across the UK network. It's also responsible for aggregating content as it arrives in the UK from overseas, and delivering feeds into other countries around the world for broadcasters who have rights to show those events. That is the key part of what we will be doing, stresses Alner. I would expect that as time gets closer to the events, there will be additional late or last minute requests to pick up' some of the video feeds from overseas, and bring them back to the UK, and we'll be able to do that using our fibre networks, the internet or a number of different methods to get them back into Arqiva.
We want to be able to say to our customers, you wish to achieve an outcome of bringing the content back to the UK, we have a number of different ways we can do this, which have different costs attached to them'.
Arqiva prides itself on being flexible and able to adapt to its client's needs. The scenario could easily arise where a broadcaster hasn't thought there might be another way of using a feed that they initially weren't planning on using, says Alner. We'll be offering a number of different ways of achieving the same outcome. We want to be able to say to our customers, you wish to achieve an outcome of bringing the content back to the UK, we have a number of different ways we can do this, which have different costs attached to them'. That enables them to work more flexibly with us, and can be provisioned a little bit later if they decide they want to make changes maybe a year out from the event. We speak with them to find the right way of doing what they want at the right time and at the right cost, and that's because broadcasters can't predict with as much certainty what it is that they're going to need to be doing.
One of the big advances in technology that maybe wasn't in broadcasters' initial planning for covering this summer's smorgasbord of sport, is remote production. In a way, it's been the industry's saviour over the past 18 months. I think we'll see remote production used quite substantially and in a number of different ways, states Alner. I think we'll see remote production, remote galleries, studios, graphics and overlays, all of those different parts that really enrich the viewing experience.
Therefore there'll be huge amounts of additional connectivity between venues, stadiums and productions and we need to knit it all together. I also think that there'll be more enhanced viewing experiences around sport as well, things like Watch Together where the fans can watch together when they're not in the same location. I think that those remote digital techniques are only going to increase in usage throughout the rest of this summer.
I think people's lives will be busy and packed and they'll want to have as much fun as possible, including watching live sport on TV.
Of course, with countries slowly opening up across Europe, and it being summer, broadcasters might find it tough to keep viewers inside and glued to their screens. Alner believes after the sport-less summer last year, fans will be more than ready to tune in. I think there's pentup desire to watch it. There will be the pull for people to go out and have a drink, but I wouldn't overlook the fact that it remains a communal experience to watch sports on a big screen. I actually don't think the broadcasters are going to struggle for viewers. I think people's lives will be busy and packed and they'll want to have as much fun as possible, including watching live sport on TV.
One thing that will be different at least in terms of the Olympics is that there won't be as many fans in the stadiums. Sometimes, it's the fans that help create an unexpected narrative around one of the events. Remember swimmer Chad Le Clos and his dad Bert at London 2012? How can broadcasters maintain the level of excitement that real life fans bring to the broadcast if they're
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
20/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Sony is showcasing a broad slate of innovations across liv...
20/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Canon is doubling down on its commitment to live sports pr...
20/04/2026
Fujifilm is sharpening its focus on core broadcast production with a new wave of...
20/04/2026
This upcoming summer in North America is going to be a busy one. The 2026 FIFA M...
20/04/2026
Glookast (Booth W1661) announced a series of product updates at NAB Show 2026, c...
20/04/2026
Matrox Video and Amagi announced a collaboration to integrate the Matrox ORIGIN ...
20/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that the Asociaci n del F tbol Arg...
20/04/2026
Ikegami (Booth C3819) announced the VFE-P07D monocular OLED viewfinder at NAB Sh...
20/04/2026
International Association of MediaTech (IAMT), formerly known as IABM, announced...
20/04/2026
Harmonic (Booth W2831) announced that DIRECTV is updating its US direct-to-home (DTH) video platform using Harmonic's VOS Media Software.
The deployment is...
20/04/2026
Wasabi Technologies announced that it has acquired the Lyve Cloud business from Seagate Technology. As part of the agreement, Seagate received equity in Wasabi ...
20/04/2026
EVS (Booth N1841) has launched Choreon, a robotics controller for media producti...
20/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
20/04/2026
Skyline Communications announced the availability of its DataMiner xOps platform...
20/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (Booth N1129) introduced a set of new products at NAB S...
20/04/2026
Dell Technologies is showcasing its Dell AI Data Platform with NVIDIA at NAB Sho...
20/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced Fairlight Live, a software-based live audio mixer with SMPTE 2110 support and spatial audio mixing. A public beta is available n...
20/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Imagine Communications VP of Sales, Sports an...
20/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, LiveU Senior Director of Sales, Sports Philli...
20/04/2026
A song that perfectly captures a moment is magic. But when you uncover the story behind it, who made it, what inspired it, and the meaning woven into the lyrics...
20/04/2026
Ultra-compact 32-bit recorder set for launch
Deity Microphones will soon be launching a new 32-bit six-track recorder that's been designed with producti...
20/04/2026
Uncoming lightweight shotgun mic announced
Production-sound experts Lectrosonics have recently announced the upcoming launch of a new lightweight shotgun mi...
20/04/2026
New 20-minute documentary explores iconic preamp
In 2025, Focusrite commissioned a new short-form documentary with filmmaker Chris Mayes-Wright - the direct...
20/04/2026
Turn quick sketches into real drum grooves
Sampleson have been experimenting with assitive production tools recently, and their latest creation aims to make...
20/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz rolls out its full ARDRONIS counter UAS suite in a demonstration...
20/04/2026
L3Harris delivers integrated communications, navigation and C4ISR capabilities that empower the U.S. Coast Guard to protect Americas maritime interests and resp...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
CueScript and Lighting Design Group Expand Customer Opportunities
Through New Partnership
Find both companies at 2026 NAB Show in CueScript Booth # C 4720
...
20/04/2026
[Sydney, NSW, 20 April 2026] - Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media orchestration platform Streamcake, today announced the formalisation of its i...
20/04/2026
Deployment spans FOX Sports' REMI infrastructure, IP production for a major global soccer event, and its Jewel Events production systems
Appear, a global l...
20/04/2026
Pro Sound Effects Launches the Industry's First and Only Native Sound Effect...
20/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 Update
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
New update adds camera control and monitoring ...
20/04/2026
Maxon Announces Free Tools and Mobile Expansion of ZBrush and Cinema 4D
Brie Clayton April 20, 2026
0 Comments
Cinema 4D brings professional 3D workfl...
20/04/2026
Vizrt AI Keyer kills the green screen and creates virtual scenes in any environm...
20/04/2026
Register now - Market & Audience Department Ask Me Anything (AMA) Session 11 February 2026
Screen Australia Head of Market & Audience Rakel Tansley
Talking to...