
PTO Tour Ibiza Part Two: FilmNova and the PTO overcome island challenges to tell triathlon story By Michael Burns
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 - 11:52
Print This Story
Germany's Anne Haug wins the women's race in Ibiza
The Professional Triathletes Organisation came to Ibiza on the first weekend of May, with a host of the world's best triathletes taking to the water, running and cycling the course, and a bigger broadcast reach than ever before. However, holding the PTO Tour 2023 on the Balearic island was testing, not just for the competitors, but for the OB production too.
Whenever you do anything on an island, let alone an island in Spain, you have certain challenges, says Matthew Coliandris, senior director at host broadcaster FilmNova. It's that much more difficult to get kit and people there, and it takes longer to get things resolved. Then you can add in a few mountain issues to make things a bit more of a challenge.
In a previous SVG Europe article, we revealed how the layout of the triathlon course caused difficulties for the broadcaster - rather than forming an unbroken circuit, the locations for the start and transition areas were separated from the finish line by 2.7km of Ibiza Town streets. However, the local ISP was able to provide internet connectivity to relay camera signals from a hub at the finish back to the OB (provided by Gravity Media) at the start. Adding to the complexity, the men's and women's races ran on the same day and were time-staggered, with the women's race starting an hour after the men set off.
A point-to-point race like this will always present challenges, says Coliandris. But we got full connectivity from finish to start, and those pictures held up. There was, however, a slight delay with talkback which always presents a little bit of a challenge.
The swim
The initial swim segment threw up issues, as the drone that was meant to be providing coverage wasn't permitted to fly over the marina by the local port authority. This was even though permission had previously been sought and granted by Spanish air traffic control.
That delayed the drone guys in terms of their testing, and in terms of the RF link that was associated with it, says Coliandris. That gave us a bit of an issue on Saturday morning - we didn't have the drone for the men's swim because the RF link wasn't holding up.
It was left mainly to just one camera to provide the main coverage, sited on a raised breakwater and fitted with an 86:1 box lens.
Essentially that men's race was all down to Scott, our cameraman on the big lens, for the swim. He was working very hard to make sure that the variety of shots that we got made it interesting, says Coliandris. We also had two cameras in the transition area doing their level best to give us other shots to cut in between.
The separate cycle [4x19km loops] and run courses had to be covered over 4G for the most part, with two camera motorbikes filming each of the men's and women's races (following the leader and the chase).
We had 4G coverage on the cycle course which was fairly long up towards the north of the island from Ibiza Town, Coliandris continues. When we tested it on Thursday, the top end of that course was really patchy and we were losing the top 5km. So the engineers put latency in the signal, which essentially meant we had a seven-second delay between the bikes sending out the pictures and us getting them. It was the same with the talkback: they wouldn't get my message until seven seconds later.
The engineers did a very good job of making sure all that worked. They were adjusting the latency as it came back into Ibiza Town, where we had a few fixed cameras around transition, so the delay was a lot less.
You learn to cut around delays anyway, he adds. Obviously with people getting on and off bikes, you have to be careful that you're not seeing them get on the bike twice for example. The fact that there was a delay didn't impact on screen. But it greatly helped the signal.
Presenting arms
Many aspects of the PTO coverage are driven by Martin Turner, head of broadcast for the PTO, who also edits the programme. With a background including Sky Sports' F1 and rugby union coverage, Turner prefers presenters to be in among the action at the start, transition and finish line, rather than sitting in a studio.
In Ibiza, returning TV anchor Alex Payne led a presentation team that included lead commentator John Gooden, with expert analysis from former Olympic triathletes Vicky Holland and Helen Jenkins.
We've used Alex Payne and Vicky Holland a lot, they're becoming quite expert in understanding the personalities and the stories within the PTO, says Coliandris. We like to have live interviews during the race where we bring in people's family, friends and coaches. Using split boxes, we'll have a shot of the triathlete in one box, and their associate speaking on the other side. We try to keep the coverage varied in that regard. We got very lucky on Saturday when Lucy Charles-Barclay's husband was around the transition area. We grabbed him and did an interview live as she was coming through transition, with the shot of her over his shoulder.
Payne presented from the start area, then once the women's race began, he moved to the finish together with his floor manager, camera op and sound assistants to present the end of the programme from that position.
Telling the story
Coliandris had 16 live cameras to play with - four on the motorbikes, two drones and a mixture of cabled and RF cameras.
I wasn't trying to cut a load of cameras all at once, he says. Once the bike race begins, I'm very reliant on the moto guys, who did a sensational job on the weekend. The bulk of the show was relying on those guys, and th
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
WWE's Virtual Production Playbook: How the Professional Wrestling Super Powe...
23/01/2026
Tight set up: Squeezing the PSA's Tournament of Champions into Grand Central...
23/01/2026
Evolving production: The PSA on bringing squash to more viewers at the Tournamen...
23/01/2026
AFC Championship Preview: Behind the Scenes With NFL on CBS' Producer Jim R...
23/01/2026
NFC Championship Preview: FOX Sports Director Rich Russo Talks Technology, Story...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Coalition military forces operating across the vast geography of the Indo-Pacific rely on interoperable, secure data links to share intelligence, surveillance a...
23/01/2026
Artist rendering of L3Harris Technologies' AERIS next generation airborne early warning and control solution....
23/01/2026
The U.S. Air Force AMP Increment II aircraft at L3Harris' facility in Waco, Texas. L3Harris has modernized C-130 avionics since 1985, delivering digital coc...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Multi-year deal utilizes Nielsen's full suite of local audience marketing in...
23/01/2026
New York, NY January 21, 2026 - Neptune BidCo US Inc. (the Issuer or the Co...
23/01/2026
ALT Systems, Inc., a leading system integrator and technology solutions provider for the media and entertainment industry, today announced the launch of PixSpan...
23/01/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) will mark a major milestone for Pro AV-over-IP at ISE 2026 with the official launch of Internet Protocol Media Experi...
23/01/2026
KRK, a leader in professional studio monitoring for nearly four decades, will unveil the all new V Series Five at the 2026 NAMM Show, offering attendees an excl...
23/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today announced Steve LLamb, Vice President of Technology Standards and Solutions for Cin...
23/01/2026
IBC today announces that the call for Technical Papers is now open for the IBC2026 Conference, inviting innovators from across the global media, entertainment, ...
23/01/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Asharq News, the leading multi-platform Arabic news service owned by the Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG), has expanded its c...
23/01/2026
At the SET Expo 2025, a consortium including Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Motorola, and Rohde & Schwarz successfully demonstrated a real-world proof-of-concept ...
23/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Gwen Braygreen as Executive Vice President and...
23/01/2026
Alfalite, Brainstorm, Dejero, Domo Broadcast Systems, FOR-A, KitPlus, Ontario Soluciones and RGB Spectrum partner to demonstrate revolutionary integrated soluti...
23/01/2026
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer experience and engagement, expands its team to ignite a new era of professional-grade pro...
23/01/2026
LOGIC media solutions, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Partner specialising in AWS-based media workflows, is one of the official launch partners of the ne...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
Back to All News
Pavane' Drops Teaser Ahead of February 20 Debut - A Tende...
23/01/2026
FY2025 Full Year Results...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
SVG Students To Watch: Chuck Luarasi, Curry CollegeThe Massachusetts native is cutting his teeth with Harvard Athletics, Cape Cod Baseball LeagueBy Brandon Cost...
22/01/2026
Follow the Money, Episode 4: Talking Tech, Sports, and Private Capital With Sam ...
22/01/2026
Fever pitch: WRC is back for the start of the 2026 season with Rallye Monte-Carl...
22/01/2026
FloSports Prepares To Broadcast Outdoor Hockey Game Amidst Brutally Cold Tempera...
22/01/2026
As Paramount Enters the Octagon, UFC's Craig Borsari Previews Production Pl...
22/01/2026
By Jordan Crucchiola
It's a desire you hear so often among those in filmmaking circles. I just want to make cool stuff with my friends. With the NEXT selec...
22/01/2026
Brittany Shyne attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Seeds at The Ray Theatre on January 25, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Sh...
22/01/2026
Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones appear in Train Dreams by Clint Bentley, an off...
22/01/2026
Last November, Ed Sheeran returned to his musical roots for an intimate, one-nig...
22/01/2026
A New Voice, New Places and the Real Australia as Brooke Blurton joins Ernie Din...