Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

From 4G to 5G: BT Sport on COVID-19 Forcing the Evolution of Broadcasting With Mobile Tech

31/03/2020

From 4G to 5G: BT Sport on COVID-19 Forcing the Evolution of Broadcasting With Mobile Tech By Heather McLean, SVG Europe

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 11:39 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Broadcasters are working hard to get content onto TV screens despite the self-isolation that most of the world finds itself in today due to the spread of COVID-19. BT Sport is one of those broadcasters finding solutions through the use of everyday technology. At the weekend, BT Sport was able to make the most of its Group affiliation with mobile operator, EE, to use 4G to bring a program host and participants together from their respective homes.

BT Sport's Live: Early Kick Off' programme, broadcast at 11am on Saturday 28 March, was pulled together using EE's 4G mobile network. All the technology for the show was set up by engineers at the homes of each participant (with the engineers working in isolation), with 4G used for all connectivity.

All participants - Adam Lallana, Peter Crouch, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Savage and Russell Martin - were then able to be filmed at home alone, while host Jake Humphrey was filmed with the help of a technical producer and a camera operator in case of technical issues, all working at a safe distance; for this coming Saturday's show, he will have a technical director only.

The entire programme's crew from Sunset+Vine and BT Sport - director, executive producer, vision mixer, PA, EVS operator, and sound and graphics operators - also all worked from their respective homes.

While last weekend's show was pre-recorded, BT Sport confirmed with SVG Europe that it hopes that the next one will be live. The broadcaster also said this was the way the programme will be produced until the world returns to pre-COVID-19 ways.

Pursuing the possibilities of 4G

Obviously this is not the first time that 4G has been used to broadcast; the first time was in 2013. EE launched 4G a year before the other UK operators because it was able to refarm some of its spectrum. Only days after it first launched the network, Matt Stagg, director of mobile strategy and lead of EE strategy for delivering 4G and 5G networks for the media and broadcast industries, had an impromptu request for help from Sky News, which had trouble getting an OB near to St Mary's Hospital where Prince William's first child was being born at the time. He came up with a solution using a 4G dongle for the broadcaster so the reporter at the hospital could be filmed.

Comments Stagg: And that was the first broadcast over 4G, with breaking news. That was where we saw 4G's potential; that it makes economic sense to use it as you don't need a truck.

However, Stagg adds: Since 4G was launched [it has been used by] sports broadcasters, breaking news, and outside broadcasts in areas where you couldn't get a satellite truck or where it wasn't commercially viable to send a satellite truck. So then you would bond lots of 4G into one of the bonding devices and you could combine that with many different technologies, almost to scrape enough bandwidth together to be able to create a mobile solution, but you were still reliant on the fact that it was a best effort' network, almost on a hope and a prayer that you didn't have lots of other people in the area doing other things on the network. 4G is one network for consumer, business; everything.

SVG Europe's Heather McLean taking part in BT Group's world first broadcast over 5G with remote production, speaking with BT Sport presenter, Matt Smith

Unexpected consequences of 5G

5G is the answer to those issues around 4G. When EE and BT Sport worked together to carry out the world's first remote production over 5G, for the Wembley Cup in November 2018, the production confirmed two unexpected consequences of using 5G; that it increased possibilities for remote working and therefore people's work-life balance, and also that it increased the creative options for the crew.

Stagg explains: Why 5G cameras? Remote production on its own has a huge advantage moving forward to how we do things now. It's not necessarily a cost thing; even if it was cost neutral, it would be still much better to do remote. It's the ability to have a work-life balance.

When one of our directors, Gemma [Knight], was asked at IBC when we did a demonstration of 5G remote production into our marquee what does [the use of 5G remote production] mean for her personally, she answered, I get to have breakfast with my son every day . I think that's very powerful in terms of the work-life balance, and especially where we are at the moment [with COVID-19]; it's already allowing us to rethink the way we do things. There is also the carbon footprint reduction that remote production provides us with.

He continues: For tier two or three sports, you can have a four camera production that looks like an eight camera production, because [5G cameras] are easy to move. The big things that came out of our initial trials - we began looking at remote production before 5G, on 4G - and I always love unintended consequences, was the creativity and flexibility it gave our directors to be able to send a camera wherever they wanted. To send it on the pitch where the players were warming up; to be able to do that with a tethered camera, even with a radio camera so it can move around is just not viable.

The first time we did it, our director said, We can just move them anywhere? , Yes , OK, so can you just drive it in a car and meet the team bus? . And that was the first really big, massive change in which mobile-connected cameras really changed the way things can be done. It is a big change, technically and culturally.

This creativity led to more unexpected results, says Stagg: It has always been seen that we would have 5G c
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/03/31/from-4g-to-5g-bt-sport-on-covid...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

07/04/2026

YEP November 2025 Newsletter

The November 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a recent YEP Coffee Chat, offering members the chance to connect with industry professionals in an informal setting ...

07/04/2026

YEP December 2025 Newsletter

The December 2025 YEP Newsletter includes a Spotlight on Emily Vail, showcasing her career journey and work in the industry, alongside Mentorship Reflections by...

07/04/2026

US Space Force Selects L3Harris to Strengthen America's Defense with Advanced Space Surveillance

Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) telescope operated...

07/04/2026

Haivision Unveils Makito ONE Live Video Contribution Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Neutrik To Unveil TRUE1 Data Connector Series At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Chris Welcker Deployed Full DPA Arsenal to Record Live Mu...

Catgut Sound Owner and Production Sound Mixer Chris Welcker, CAS, has built a career at the intersection of music and film. A former musician and composer, Welc...

07/04/2026

SDVI Launches Next Generation Rally Platform to Give Medi...

SDVI Corporation today announced the next generation of its Rally media supply chain management platform, introducing a redesigned orchestration engine that rep...

07/04/2026

Avid to Debut Avid Content Core on AWS at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Frequency Launches Smarter Ways to Operate Streaming Chan...

Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...

07/04/2026

Ikegami to Introduce Expanded Range of Broadcast Producti...

Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...

07/04/2026

Kiloview Advancing Broadcast IP Workflows with a Smarter...

April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...

07/04/2026

Bitmovin Adds Support for SGAI in its Playback Products t...

Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...

07/04/2026

Synamedia unveils AI by Quortex - a just-in-time AI-plugi...

Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...

07/04/2026

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026 From Story-C...

Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867): Cuez ...

07/04/2026

Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder

Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder Brie Clayton April 7, 2026 0 Comments New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...

07/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Solution

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...

07/04/2026

Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming at NAB 2026

Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...

07/04/2026

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Open AI Agent Framework

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...

07/04/2026

ASG Names Andrea Cummis VP of Systems Engineering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

KTVJ Completes Major Signal Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Hearst's WDSU to Air Million Dollar Rodeo Competition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Grass Valley Launches Future Playmakers Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Saranyu Technologies Launches MATCH - Multi-View Sports S...

Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...

07/04/2026

Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores

Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...

07/04/2026

Netflix Reveals 'ONE PIECE' Expansion With New Original Titles and Extensions Delivering More Adventures for the Straw Hat Crew

Back to All News Netflix Reveals ONE PIECE Expansion With New Original Titles a...

06/04/2026

Fab Five' Reunion Drives TNT and CBS's Experimental Final Four Altcast Built on REMI Workflow

Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...

06/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Optikka CEO Daniel Evans on Scaling Sports Content with Programmatic Graphics

From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...

06/04/2026

Quickplay and TwelveLabs Join AWS Business Outcomes Xcelerator Program

Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...

06/04/2026

Grass Valley Launches Future Playmakers Program for Students in Sports Production and Media Technology

Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...

06/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Raasean Robinson, Gerente de Posproduccin y Operaciones de Estudio, FOX Deportes

El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...

06/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Raasean Robinson, Manager, Post Production and Studio Operations, FOX Deportes

The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...

06/04/2026

Behind The Mic: SiriusXM Shares 2026 Masters Broadcast Team; ESPN to Produce Over 140+ Hours of Masters Live Coverage

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

06/04/2026

NHL Opens Innovation Lab in Partnership with Verizon, New Jersey Devils

The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...

06/04/2026

ESPN+ To Stream Inaugural Rock League Curling Season

Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...

06/04/2026

ASG Appoints Andrea Cummis as VP of Systems Design and Engineering

Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...

06/04/2026

Source Media Group Launches Source Golf, a Creator-Driven YouTube Network Targeting Next-Gen Fans

Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...

06/04/2026

How the NHL's Innovation Lab Will Take Broadcast, Fan, and Team Tech to New Heights

With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...

06/04/2026

Baseball 2026: More AI, Better Viewing Choices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/04/2026

JB&A Announces Details for its Pre-NAB 2026 Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/04/2026

Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026

Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Dalet, a leading technology and...

06/04/2026

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show's West Hall

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...

06/04/2026

Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026

Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...

06/04/2026

Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026

Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...

06/04/2026

Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Show 2026

Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...

06/04/2026

Tribeca Studios And Lilly Announce Winners Of Inaugural Vital Stories Filmmaker Program

April 6th, 2026 TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...

06/04/2026

Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App for Games, New Shows & Returning Favorites

Back to All News Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...

04/04/2026

Don't Be Lame: Arizona Men's Basketball Social Team Aims To Catch the Attention of Wildcats Fans

The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...

04/04/2026

HDR Makes Its Men's Final Four Debut as CBS Sports and TNT Sports Collaborate on New Camera Tools and an IP-Powered Compound

1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...