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

17/06/2026

Spectrum Awards $1.1 Million in Digital Education Grants

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

XR Sports Alliance Adds New Members

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

AIMS Launches Free Online IPMX Training Series

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

17/06/2026

Kiloview Partners with SFM to Expand AV-over-IP Solutions...

Montr al, Quebec, June 11, 2026 Kiloview, a leading provider of AV-over-IP and NDI -based video transmission solutions, today announced a distribution partner...

17/06/2026

Kiloview Launches U4 IP Video Dock Bringing Professional...

Changsha, China, June 15, 2026 Kiloview officially announced the launch of U4 IP Video Dock, a compact IP video decoder and output dock designed to bring prof...

17/06/2026

June 16, 2026

Calibr-Skaggs awarded $5.1M by NIH to develop long-acting hepatitis B virus therapy A new program aims to replace a daily HBV drug with once-monthly or even qua...

16/06/2026

Neumann MT 48 Receives Major Firmware 2.0 Update

Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...

16/06/2026

TVNewsCheck Opens Nominations for 2027 Women in Technology Awards

TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...

16/06/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Avalon IP Intercom Platform

Clear-Com has announced Avalon, a 1RU IP intercom platform for broadcast, live events, and production environments. Designed for IP-only workflows, Avalon suppo...

16/06/2026

SNS EVO Enables Remote and Distributed Video Editing Workflows

SNS has published a guide to remote video editing workflows using its EVO shared storage platform and companion tools, covering use cases ranging from home edit...

16/06/2026

Richmond Flying Squirrels Deploy Grass Valley LDX 110 Cameras at CarMax Park

Grass Valley has announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have deployed five Grass Valley LD...

16/06/2026

AIMS Launches Free Official IPMX Training Series Online

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program covering the design, configurati...

16/06/2026

Swerve Womens Sports Announces Distribution Deals with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV, and Anoki AI

Swerve TV has announced distribution agreements with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV,...

16/06/2026

ATP and TikTok Expand Global Content Partnership

ATP and TikTok have announced an expansion of their global content partnership, extending the ATP's TikTok hub powered by TikTok GamePlan to cover all nine ...

16/06/2026

FOX Sports Turns Los Angeles Pico Lot Into Its FIFA World Cup Production Nerve Center

Network's LA facility serves as the heart of a sprawling operation built to ...

16/06/2026

300+ Records a Day, 150 TB Daily, and a Relentless Content Avalanche: Inside FOX Sports' World Cup Media Engine

At Pico, the network's media-management team is supporting a flood of HBS fe...

16/06/2026

NHL Games Leaving CBC in Canada as Sublicense With Rogers Sportsnet Ends

The NHL will no longer air on CBC after the pulic broadcasters and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement. After a successfu...

16/06/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Virtual Eye's Ben Taylor on Making Live Sports More Valuable and Entertaining Through Data-Driven Graphics

As live sports broadcasters continue to seek new ways to make complex action mor...

16/06/2026

Thats BRISK, Baby! FOX Sports' Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kits Bring World Cup Fan Energy Back to Pico

Built with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, these small but mighty IP-based tran...

16/06/2026

Chyron Unveils Chyron Weather 2.4

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive

Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive Brie Clayton June 16, 2026 0 Comments Apple Immersive Video puts view...

16/06/2026

SMPTE Plans ST 2110 Education Summer Programs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

Rise Awards Returns for 2026 to Celebrate Excellence in B...

Rise WIB, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the broadcast and media technology industry, today announc...

16/06/2026

Limecraft Expands its Media Production Platform with Team...

Limecraft today announced the availability of Limecraft 2026.4, the fourth of eight planned platform releases this year. The update introduces Team-Based Access...

16/06/2026

Perry Sook: Big Tech Poses 'Very Urgent Threat to Broadcast Stations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

FIFA World Cup Delivers Record Ratings on Fox

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

16/06/2026

AIMS Launches the Official IPMX Training Series Online

Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...

16/06/2026

HPE AI Factory With NVIDIA Expands for the Era of Agents

Enterprises are moving agentic AI from proof of concept to production - and the next generation of AI factories are built for the era of agents. At HPE Discove...

16/06/2026

Coherent Breaks Ground on Expanded Texas Facility, Scaling AI's Optical Backbone

AI runs at the speed of light. More and more, that light is made in Texas. Cohe...

16/06/2026

Fastest, Largest, Strongest: NVIDIA Blackwell Sweeps MLPerf Training 6.0

Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can itera...

15/06/2026

University of South Carolina's Valerie Gerfin on Gamecock Productions' Growth, Upgrades at Williams-Brice Stadium

One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...

15/06/2026

Fox Corp. To Acquire Roku, Pairs Live Sports Powerhouse With Major CTV Platform

The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...

15/06/2026

Golf Channel Mobile to Live Stream 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup Beginning July 13th

Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Cup have announced a partnership to livestream the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on Golf Channel Mobile and GolfChannel.com. The tou...

15/06/2026

TikTok and Panini Launch Digital Collectible Card Experience for FIFA World Cup 2026

TikTok and Panini have announced a partnership to bring a digital collectible ca...

15/06/2026

Cosm and Monster Energy Launch First Full-Dome Immersive Advertisement in Shared Reality Venues

Cosm and Monster Energy have announced the debut of the first full-dome immersiv...

15/06/2026

Fox Nation and Real American Freestyle Sign International Media Rights Deal

Real American Freestyle (RAF) and Fox Nation have announced an exclusive streaming agreement for three RAF international events, beginning with RAF Georgia on J...

15/06/2026

FanConnect and Extreme Networks Announce IPTV Integration for Large Venue Deployments

FanConnect has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks integrating FanConn...

15/06/2026

2026 Sundance Institute Ignite x Adobe Fellows Named

Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19 LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...

15/06/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Avalon IP Intercom Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

DoJ Approves Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Avalon IP Station for Modern Communi...

Clear-Com has introduced Avalon , a purpose built 1RU IP intercom communication platform for modern networked production, designed to simplify and scale workfl...

15/06/2026

Fox Makes CTV Play with Roku Acquisition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Gray Announces Plans to Expand Lansing, Mich. Broadcast HQ

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/06/2026

Richmond Flying Squirrels Raise the Bar for Live Baseball...

MiLB Club Deploys LDX 110 Cameras at CarMax Park to Deliver A New Standard in Engaging Fan Experience Grass Valley today announced that the Richmond Flying Sq...

15/06/2026

Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Moving

Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...

14/06/2026

HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65

HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65 Brie Clayton June 14, 2026 0 Comments Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters. Black...

13/06/2026

Spectrum Reach Taps Anoki AI for Contextual Intelligence

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/06/2026

Google TV Launches Soccer Hub, New Voice Command Features

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/06/2026

YES Network and Gotham Sports App to Air Seven Athletes Unlimited Softball League Games

YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...