
Under the Hood of OBs: Exploring the Rapid Evolution of Today's OB Usage in Europe By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, May 10, 2021 - 12:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Outside broadcast services have never been more in demand than they are today. The pandemic has created new opportunities for service provision as live sport attempts to recoup time lost to lockdowns, and broadcasters battle between schedules, COVID protocols, and new remote productions. SVG Europe spoke to a panel of experts from the OB industry to find out how OBs are being used across Europe today, what demand is being seen, and where small trucks are stepping into the breach.
Tricky times
On how truck usage has changed over the last year, Christer P lsson, president of NEP Central and Southern Europe, comments: The past six to nine months have been some of the busiest in recent memory. Due to the rescheduling of the sporting calendar, we've seen a huge peak in demand all over Europe.
However from a regional perspective, we've noticed demand coming in waves. So with the Nordics being one of the first [regions] to reopen, we saw a large number of sporting fixtures shift to that region as federations looked to clear the backlog.
To cater for this our fleet has never been more European, with trucks regularly moving across the continent to cater for the demand, continues P lsson. Of course trucks are easy to move, but people are more challenging, and being a responsible company we've done our best minimise cross border travel for people and have tried to crew all our productions using regional crew wherever possible. Brexit of course further complicates this!
While Peter Bates, EMG UK managing director, comments: With the worldwide travel restrictions introduced due to the COVID pandemic and especially the varying isolation and quarantine requirements for entry and exit from country to country, it makes complete sense to reduce the amount of travel across borders by sourcing facilities locally.
At EMG we are very fortunate that we can call upon resources across the whole of central Europe from within our Group sister entities, continues Bates. For our customised golf fleet we carefully manage all the different logistical issues to ensure safe passage and timely delivery of onsite facilities together with remoting of many facilities. Within the UK we regionalise crew to limit travel and reduce accommodation requirements where possible.
From a UK perspective, Neville Hooper, NEP UK deputy head of sound, says: Because of the dual complexities of both Brexit and the pandemic, there has not really been any call to leave the country for anything other than regular contract work such as Formula F1, or the Women's Tennis Association Tour. Obviously, this doesn't include the Euros, but to be fair, this was a project initially planned long before the pandemic hit, and it will be our first major venture into Europe this year.
Arena Television's deputy director of operations, Daf Rees, has noticed a marginal truck usage change over the course of the pandemic, but he notes that innovative technology use is enabling more broadcasts to happen safely. He says: [We've seen a] slight change, but we're also seeing great technology like mixed reality environments evolve, that allow broadcasters to stay at home, but make it look and feel as if the presenters are at the venue, tempering the need to be at the far away venue.
Meanwhile, Andrea Buonomo, Cinevideo's executive sales manager, says there has been no change for Cinevideo in Italy. None at all, in Italy from June 2020 (when we restarted our productions), we returned to covering all our events in person, everywhere.
EMG has helped with the speed of innovation in 2020 with its UK ROC in High Wycombe, shown here on 5 July 2020 for the Southampton v Manchester City match directed by Andrew Clement of BBC Sport
Evolving facilities
Production facilitation has definitely evolved over the last 12 months. Bates says: Several factors have influenced how we facilitate productions since the return to sport in June 2020. These include the availability of connectivity from site, the size of the production teams, and safety and COVID protocols.
EMG UK's focus has always been to provide a safe working environment for our clients without compromise to the delivery of their production. We have been able to offer remote production solutions using our ROCs in High Wycombe, Salford and Stratford, as well as providing overspill solutions on site where connectivity has been an issue or our clients have requested it.
More trucks have been needed on site to allow for social distancing, Timeline TV has found. Dan Regan, sound guarantee at Timeline TV, says: Currently we're providing more trucks to aid social distancing and within our Ealing Broadcast Centre, spreading operators across more rooms and providing COVID screens.
While Rees agrees more OB vans are currently being used, he says remote production is also tipping the requirement the other way. He elaborates: Yes, to aid social distancing we've deployed additional trucks or cabins, or built additional production space within a venue where the number of people on site can't be safely positioned within one truck. That said, the remote production models our clients favour enables us to remove one of the production trucks from the venue, so the net result - presently - is minimal.
As the need for social distancing subsides, the truck footprint in the OB compound will shrink because of remote production workflows moving some of the staff elsewhere and allowing equipment to be consolidated into fewer vehicles on-site, Rees continues.
P lsson agrees that more trucks are needed overall due to social distancing, but remote productions mean les
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 ...
30/04/2026
Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 29, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 30, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports first quarter 2026 results.
Highlights
Orders of $7.8 billion; book-to-bill of 1....
30/04/2026
Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...
30/04/2026
STA VENERA, MALTA, APRIL 29, 2026 CPI Media, a voluntary organization within the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) and a leading media house dedicated to p...
30/04/2026
New software platform delivers comprehensive timing measurement across production workflows...
30/04/2026
Once again, the UK Pavilion in Hall 5 of BroadcastAsia 2026 will feature the latest and best in technology specifically developed and tailored for modern media ...
30/04/2026
Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...
30/04/2026
Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media.
DTV (TV 3.0) ...
30/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work.
April 29, 2026
B...
30/04/2026
Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
A flexible monitoring platform designed to simplify ST 2110 operations, consolidate vendor tools, and support modern live production environments. See it at NAB...
30/04/2026
Sundance-premiering Run Amok is an expressive, unconventional take on today's teen experience, replete with musical numbers. When cinematographer Shachar ...
30/04/2026
JACKSONVILLE, AL, APRIL 29, 2026 Jacksonville State University, known as Jax State and a proud NCAA Division I member of Conference USA, has transformed its a...
30/04/2026
Transforming viewer and content data into real-time intelligence to deliver relevant streaming experiences at scale
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-pow...
30/04/2026
Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB
Andy Marken April 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image source: NAB
One of the neat things about trade shows i...
30/04/2026
Back to All News
The Map of Longing Arrives on Netflix Next July 17
Entertainment
30 April 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
WE ARE ALL MADE OF SM...
30/04/2026
Back to All News
Saif Ali Khan Anchors a Story of Duty and Dilemma, Red Chillie...
30/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix has released the trailer for Emi Mart nez: The Kid Who...
30/04/2026
Back to All News
A Bunch of Goofy Misfits Out to Save the World: Netflix Releas...
30/04/2026
Back to All News
Introducing Exciting New Ways to Find and Enjoy Your Next Favorite on Mobile
Product
30 April 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Downlo...
30/04/2026
Com a evolu o de novos standards de broadcast em todo o mundo e o OTT streaming buscando a posi o de lideran a no consumo de m dia, tanto os codecs de v deo q...
30/04/2026
All-New AI-Powered Network Intelligence Solution, Resilient Remote OLTs and Back-Office Integration Platform Power Smarter, More Efficient Fiber Networks SAN JO...
30/04/2026
Two worlds, one show The tour unfolds in two distinct halves. The first is a sol...
30/04/2026
Rian na Fola airs on RT One and RT Player on Monday May 4
Rian na Fola is a o...
30/04/2026
It's gonna be May - and the cloud's in full festival mode.
16 games ar...
30/04/2026
Scripps Research ranks third in 2026 Cure Innovation Index
April 29, 2026
LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation In...
29/04/2026
It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...
29/04/2026
In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...
29/04/2026
Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...
29/04/2026
(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Cla...
29/04/2026
Combines EQ and harmonic distortion
Techivation's latest release is a simple EQ designed to offer quick control over a source's overall tonal balanc...
29/04/2026
Two new MPE controllers announced
Expressive E caused quite a stir when they released the Osmose, making the sort of expression that was once reserved for p...
29/04/2026
New modules & enhanced machine-learning
The latest version of iZotope's flagship restoration suite is now available, and now offers over 50 tools design...
29/04/2026
Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award
29 April, 2026
Media releases
Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Dr Jasmina Kevric...
29/04/2026
Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...