Giro d'Italia 2024: Behind the scenes of EMG Italy's TV production By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent
Tuesday, June 4, 2024 - 08:40
Print This Story
Part of the Grand Tour of cycling, together with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espa a, the Giro d'Italia is known as a beautiful but challenging event. And, like the race itself, the operation that brings the Giro d'Italia to television viewers around the world each year is both complex and imposing.
The entire technical apparatus of people and equipment needed to produce the international signal for the broadcast of the Giro, which stretches for 3,404.8km across Italy in 21 stages, is put in place by EMG/Gravity Media. The race began on 4 May, concluding in Rome on 26 May.
For the third consecutive year, event organiser RCS entrusted EMG Italy with the entire TV production. In addition to the live international race signal, the clean signal for the national broadcaster (Rai), and the clean clean signal for Eurosport distribution, daily highlights and the news feed, a weekly magazine and social media content were also produced.
The production itself faces numerous challenges, starting with managing a crew of over 120 people who travel daily from stage to stage, and moving the TV compound, which consists of regia vehicles and support vehicles for graphics and connectivity.
Read more: Pink race: Graphics gold for EMG Italy with a peloton's-worth of innovations for the 2024 Giro d'Italia
Daily live broadcasts
The duration of the live broadcast, which varies in length depending on the stage and weather conditions, averages six to seven hours each day.
The international feed produced by EMG begins 30 minutes before the race start and continues for 45 minutes after the stage winner's arrival; it includes the daily jersey award ceremonies.
A major challenge is ensuring seamless coverage for areas not directly connected via cable or fibre. For this, state-of-the-art and proprietary wireless transmission systems are used.
Once the live broadcast is over, EMG Italy also plays an important role in the production of highlights, using two Avid editing stations connected to the EVS network to create daily clips and a weekly magazine.
Read more: Maglia rosa: EMG Italy on managing the logistics and technicalities of the 2024 Giro d'Italia
Andrea Basso, head of TV productions and media rights for RCS, says: This year we chose a Dutch director and assistant director, Koen van Mourik and Tjarko Stikkers, who we know well because we have already produced some editions of the Tour of the Emirates with them.
They are used to working together, they are very synchronised and they have an even fresher and more dynamic vision of the race. In their narration of the Giro, they used the new graphics package created by Boost Graphics much more than in the past.
For its part, RCS Sport has also invested heavily in the storytelling of the territory, selecting points of interest that are regularly provided to the team of aerial camera operators and enhanced during each stage.
The voice from the director's booth
It was a very exciting job! begins van Mourik enthusiastically. The Giro is definitely a great show and it's not for nothing that it's called the toughest race in the world, in the most beautiful country in the world'. It was a great opportunity to work with Tjarko Stikkers and the international team that EMG has made available.
Overall, the event was very well planned from the beginning of the season and then, at each stage, a camera plan was used that we confirmed on site each day before the start. Obviously, there are always small operational aspects that we cannot foresee before each stage and we are forced to make changes at the last minute, he adds.
For example, we are often not sure if we will have the space we want for camera placement and sometimes we have to mediate and adapt to the actual conditions, solving problems by making small changes to the original plan.
In general, we always have a big pre-production meeting where we explain to the operators what we want to achieve and what we expect from them. Then we discuss the small daily adjustments to the story and underline the focus we want to tell before each stage and on that specific day.
EMG at the Giro d'Italia
EMG Italy:
Manages the entire production and all logistics, and provides the main OB mobile vehicles
Is responsible for television direction, guaranteeing coverage of each stage
Coordinates and has relations with MIMIT for radio frequency licenses
Coordinates and carries out satellite booking for all contribution transmissions
EMG Connectivity:
Coordinates the activities of moving images during the stages and provides the necessary personnel and technology
Ensures the wireless transmission of images and data from the race to the HB's OB van
EMG Belgium + EMG France:
Coordinate the operations of helicopters and airplanes during the stages
Guarantee the safety and integration of the shots taken from the motorcycles
EMG Netherlands:
Manages satellite transmission
Distributes the Giro d'Italia video signal to broadcasters around the world
Boost Graphics:
Developed the race graphics package and provides timing and data processing services
Enriches the television production with informative and engaging visual elements in real time
Aerial Camera Systems (ACS):
Provides the gyro-stabilised cameras positioned on the helicopters for coverage of the action from above
From a technological point of view, continues van Mourik, we have extended the use of drones following the trend in other cycling races where aerial shots undoubtedly allow for greater spectacle, especially in some of the most difficult stages to follow.
The use of drones had already been inaugurated by EMG I
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
Giro d'Italia 2024: Behind the scenes of EMG Italy's TV production By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent 
