Behind the sound: How UEFA has gone large with audio for Euro 2020 Host Broadcast Services continues to push into new audio territories By Paul Mac
Friday, July 9, 2021 - 12:32
Print This Story
UEFA Euro 2020 was delayed because of COVID, but the rescheduled tournament has delivered all the quality, drama, upset, and elation that fans expected.
The audio for the European Football Championship has also delivered, bringing something special to the broadcast. The team behind the sound has continued to push into new territories, with everything from stereo to a fully immersive 9.1 mix available to broadcast partners.
Huge operation
As host broadcaster, UEFA provides a huge number of services to its broadcast partners around the world, and is constantly seeking new, engaging formats while pushing the technology envelope ever further.
The current 12 primary broadcast feeds consist of an international sound mix in stereo and 5.1 with and without commentary selected microphone splits and stems across the multifeeds and as part of the immersive audio package on the UHD feed, a full 9.1 mix plus an additional presentation tailored more for public viewing. English guide commentary can also be added to any of the above presentations.
Our hearing doesn't actually need any time difference information for height perception; we just need level difference
HBS is one of the suppliers that is helping to fulfil UEFA's mission for the tournament by supplying broadcast services for selected venues. The company is providing audio consultancy, MCR facilities, and is the company responsible for building the event IBC, situated at the Expo Haarlemmermeer, Vijfhuizen, in the Netherlands. HBS also supplies the commentary services for the event, which involves deploying over 620 commentary units (Lawo Commentary System) across all tournament venues.
Since 2016, the Europe-wide infrastructure has been based on AES67 IP transport across a dedicated UEFA European network with GPS synchronisation at the network edges' via Meinberg M1000 Grand Masters, which also deliver black and burst to all consumers at the venues.
Christian Gobbel, CTO at HBS, tells SVG Europe: From 2006 we were using ATM for audio contribution. And even then, already had a 6,000 [squared] synchronous audio matrix across Germany. Now we have an 16,000 [squared] IP audio matrix across the whole of Europe.
Each of the football venues are interconnected with the IBC by a fibre-based IP network that services all source contributors and consumers. The stadium microphones have three primary consumers: the main and back-up HB OB vehicles, and the IBC, which is where the immersive mix is created, amongst other contributions. There are two immersive studios (Lawo mc 96 consoles) as the schedule overlaps many of the games.
The HB OB vehicles take care of the 5.1 and downmixed stereo feeds, while the immersive studios generate the 9.1 mix and additional objects for alternate presentations for the UHD broadcast.
Sound in close up
The IBC Immersive Audio studio takes all direct sources, including the main immersive microphone arrays and the individual feeds from the 20 pitch-side microphones which feed into the Lawo Kick' close-ball mixing system. There are also additional stems for some sources, where that makes sense.
Some stems are pre-mixed at the venues, especially where they are dependent on either external sources or on the video cut, explains Gobbel. It wouldn't make sense to transmit GPIs for the camera-mounted microphones, for example, so we get the signal pre-mixed into our audio-follow-video group. Other sources include all the replays and splits of the PA announcements, including a music premix as a stereo source.
Things like the opening ceremony music are all part of the drama; you can always hear the PA sounds though open mics anyway because the PA is so loud. It's much better if people are immersed in a nice upmix of the music
Although the Lawo Kick close-ball mix can use live tracking data from image analysis systems and provide a graphic showing the players, the ball, the microphone positions, and so on for the Euros, it was decided to take a more pragmatic approach and manually operate the Kick frontend at the IBC. Each microphone is mapped to a console channel, and the system produces a perfectly matching mix according to preferences and direction from the operator. This close ball feed is not only used for the 9.1 mix, but returned to the venue OBs for use in in the 5.1 and stereo mixes.
Felix Kr ckels, professor for broadcast and systems design at the University of Darmstadt, is immersive director for Euro 2020. He explains that for the 9.1 mix, the close ball sound is panned slightly to the height speakers: It's panned, I would say, 10% or 15% to the height speakers. It gives you a bigger impression of the ball kicks of the players, of the referee; whoever is close to these microphones.
Previously, we'd get a lot of spill from close ball microphones with maybe 95% crowd noise and it would be rare to get the actual ball kick sound. You can get that spill down with different microphones and treatment, but still the problem is manually mixing it. Nobody mixing it could actually find the ideal crossfade point and the crowd spill would go up and down in the mix. Kick plays a huge role in a more precise close-ball mix.
Immersive ORTF-3D microphone
Perfecting the main immersive microphone array for stadium sound has been a fascinating process for Euro 2020, and started with early experiments that added height-spaced ORTF arrays to push the 5.1 sound to 9.1. However, when Kr ckels approached Schoeps Mikrofone about putting this array in an industrialised' package, Schoeps' technical director, Dr. Helmut Wittek, came back with an innovative design based on the resea
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Behind the sound: How UEFA has gone large with audio for Euro 2020 Host Broadcast Services continues to push into new audio territories By Paul Mac 
