
Live From FIFA World Cup: Fox Sports Spreads Impressive Studio Presence Along Doha Bay Four separate sets are churning out prematch, halftime, postmatch content at the Doha Corniche By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Saturday, December 3, 2022 - 8:45 pm
Print This Story
There's the idea that studio coverage needs to create its own environment, and then there's the philosophy of Fox Sports' remote studio operations at the FIFA Men's World Cup in Doha, Qatar. Blending unique applications of creativity and technology with the natural and man-made beauty of the city, the broadcaster has developed four sets along the Doha Corniche, the 4.4-mile waterfront promenade that hugs Doha Bay.
We put a lot more attention into not only being correct or architecturally appropriate into the area but making [our sets] shine, says Rod Conti, VP, remote studio operations, Fox Sports. It has definitely become the star of our shows.
Doing The Homework: Fox Sports Spends Two Years Charting Out Every Detail Host Rob Stone at the main desk in front of the Doha skyline
Mesmerizing fans at home with bright lights, swooping shots, and bursting energy took two years of planning, planning, and execution by the Fox Sports team. As the city of Doha rose to meet the gargantuan expectations of hosting an event like the FIFA World Cup, Conti and his team chose a location that would identify for viewers what city the tournament is being played in. For past events, this meant choosing St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square for the 2018 FIFA Men's World Cup in Moscow or the Eiffel Tower for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in Paris. Unlike those two cities, however, Doha is only 127 years old and still developing into the modern age. The crew had some searching to do.
The pentagram-shaped set features LED displays supplied by Creative Technology.
When we came to Qatar, they didn't have [an iconic location] that stood out since it's a fairly new country, says Conti. When we were looking around for different options, which involved the Souq Waqif, Al Bidda Park, and the museums, we understood that this is a country on the move when we saw the downtown skyline. We've seen it grow incredibly, and everything started to come to life very quickly.
Pieces like Persian pillows, hand-made pottery, and desert rose crystals represent Qatari culture.
Working closely with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, a Qatari-run group that oversees delivery planning and operations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Fox Sports zeroed in on the Doha Corniche: a popular meeting place for locals and tourists alike that provides tantalizing vistas of the skyscrapers and the Doha Bay section of the Arabian Gulf. Since the skyline is continually growing vertically, Conti and VP, Field Operations and Engineering, Kevin Callahan wanted to marry this burgeoning town with its roots.
A digital-only set is opposite of the main structure.
We took the dhow boats, which we noticed were an older part of their pearl-diving history, and we said, You know what? The contrast of the old and the new might be the backdrop,' adds Conti. We saw this picture in our heads and knew that we wanted to have this spot.
Pen was put to paper, and conceptualizations became drawings. Collaborating with Los Angeles-based |drive| studio, Fox Sports EVP/Creative Director Gary Hartley and Art Director Johnny Cho produced the final blueprint for the project. Aiming to showcase the culture and daily life of the host nation, the pair made sure to feature work of local artists on the building's exterior and integrate symbols and iconography: rectangular flags on the ceiling to honor the Qatari passion for falconry, Persian pillows and tapestry, hand-made pottery, and desert rose, a rose-like crystal that can be found in-country.
A Flycam and Technocrane 22 are deployed at the Doha Corniche.
Planning transitioned into real-world construction in the latter part of 2022. With the set pre-built in Fox Sports' Charlotte, NC, facility and shipped overseas in 46 containers, operations shifted to Doha in mid September. As the sets were installed and put into place, the home of the onsite production team - a control room positioned within a temporary compound a few hundred feet from the sets - needed to be built as well. That project started on Oct. 1 and was completed on Nov. 10, 10 days before the competition's opening match between Ecuador and Qatar.
Inside the Design: Accounting for High Winds, Meshing AR With LED Floor Dhows floating in Doha Bay
With a beautiful vision, the broadcaster faced several challenges with the locale. With massive expanses of desert surrounding Doha, rain isn't part of the weather forecast, but high-intensity winds are. Although the windiest part of the year is February with an average speed of 10.9 mph, average speeds can reach 9.3 mph between Nov. 14 and April 15. Given a breeze from a large body of water and loose sand from the country, Conti deemed it necessary to have fail-safes and called in Filmwerks, Fox Sports' partner on other remote builds this year: the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum in February, the 2022 Daytona 500 two weeks later, and MLB at Field of Dreams. Responsible for overall construction of the full 148- x 33-ft. footprint, Filmwerks implemented a system of glass windows that would block the wind and prevent debris from entering the set.
Every wall can be covered and protected within 30 minutes with our sliding system, he points out.
Alexi Lalas shoots a segment with a Technocrane 45.
With questions about the wind answered, the finished product has turned into an expansive presence featuring non-conventional shapes and workflows that have elevated every show. Each of the four spaces has its own distinct purpose. For example, a digital-only structure
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final
21 July, 2026
Media releases
Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
21/07/2026
C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
New capability centralizes collaboration, feedback, security and status tracking within VIDA, providing a structured, auditable approach to master quality contr...
21/07/2026
Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SI...
21/07/2026
Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
Brie Clayton July 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist blends vintage film looks to shape...
21/07/2026
Which USS Defiant Pulse Phaser effect is better?
Graham Quince July 20, 2026
0 Comments
Aargh, ever since @DarkRavenProductions posted a comment ask...
21/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's...
21/07/2026
Harmonics cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform and Pearl Remote OLTs Enable Flexible PON Migration, While SeaStar Optical Node Powers Cost-Effective Multi-Gigabit...
21/07/2026
Every live event starts with a defining moment. A camera captures the game-winni...
21/07/2026
AI has entered the gigascale era.
The world's most advanced AI factories are bringing together hundreds of thousands of GPUs and CPUs to train frontier mod...
21/07/2026
NVIDIA Vera Rubin is here, and it's going gigascale.
Vera Rubin NVL72 produ...
21/07/2026
160 hours of Irish storytelling for 2026
KIN and The Walsh Sisters return
RT has today unveiled its most ambitious drama slate ever, with a record-breakin...
20/07/2026
The former Northwestern broadcast-operations leader is helping train the next generation of live-sports-production talent across the Big Ten
The sports-product...
20/07/2026
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
20/07/2026
Product range now readily available in the UK
Graph Tech Guitar Labs have just announced the launch of a new UK Online Store that makes it quicker and easie...
20/07/2026
Popular headset gains active noise cancellation
The Maxwell headet was Audeze's first foray into the gaming world, and thanks to its Dolby Atmos compati...
20/07/2026
The NFVF, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, has released t...
20/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/07/2026
Starfish Technologies will use IBC2026 to showcase the flexibility of its transport stream processing software, including the latest versions of TS Splicer (Win...
20/07/2026
Bitfocus, the specialist in media control and monitoring, will show at IBC2026 (Elgato stand 8.D31, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) how its Buttons control la...
20/07/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced new AI capabilities that e...
20/07/2026
Big Blue Marble's Cloud DRM has been nominated in the DRM/Content Protection category of the 2026 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards.
Only four pro...
20/07/2026
Monday 20 July 2026
Sky brings free global roaming to millions of loyal custome...
20/07/2026
Red Seat Ventures Announces Introduction of Premium Creator and Podcast Communit...