
Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host broadcaster on the World RX season opener By Heather McLean
Monday, June 16, 2025 - 10:54
Print This Story
Aurora was pushed for time to get the production plan in place for the new World RX season once the series was taken inhouse by new promoter, the FIA
The excitement of rallycross is what the host broadcaster for the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX), Aurora, wants to get across to established fans and new viewers. Aurora was pushed for time to get the production plan in place for the new World RX season once the series was taken in-house by the new promoter, the FIA. That plan is now in operation, and the team running the championship is using this season to look at what World RX and its fans want and need to go further, says Matt Beal, director of broadcast at Aurora.
Beal says: I always think if you asked an eight-year-old child to describe a car race, they'd describe a car race from the start to the end that was rallycross; cars bombing around the corner smashing into each other, everything absolutely bananas, skidding and crashes and overtakes! What they're probably not describing is a 24 Hours of Spa GT race. So I think that's why it's quite charming. I think it is quite earnest and it's very passionate and raw and lovely.
We've got a really strong, tried and tested model for this first season, says Matt Beal, Aurora director of broadcast
Tried and tested
There is a solid plan in place for the production of this season. Aurora is working with NEP Finland as technical services provider, Cloudbass Graphics for graphics, and Eurovision in Geneva for distribution.
We've got a really strong, tried and tested model for this first season, says Beal. The truck comes on site, we run four track cameras, six effects cameras, some of which are PTZs. We have four cars with onboards on four looks each, two PTZs in the studio, and a roving RF, and they all spin back to the truck.
Read more Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season production together with NEP Finland and Cloudbass Graphics
On the truck we have a couple of EVS' in there, and we generate one international dirty feed and a clean feed on the back. From there we back it up on the truck in different ways, and then the SRT feed goes over to Geneva, then it goes to the FIA platform across the platforms of Facebook and YouTube and onto the suppliers, and also back to a Aurora HQ in London where we run the digital clipping as we also run co-run the digital proposition with the FIA. We're creating content back in London for them and creating content to go back onto the shared server in London, the CMS, for digital guys and then the teams and partners to take away.
Away from all that live, there are three predators videographers shooting. They're going around making content for digital content for features inside the show.
What we've learned over the years, and I think World RX is a combination of that, is that digital doesn't live in one silo here, and broadcast doesn't live over here, and streaming doesn't live over here; we're a studio and everyone does a bit of everything.
Because we have to suck the maximum value out of every Euro we spend, one of the videographers will be making content on day one, then day two they become the live RF operator, and then go and make the highlight show afterwards with me, continues Beal. Then the other two videographers are creating digital clips, then creating VTs to go back into the truck. The EVS guys in the truck are in the truck at the end of each session making a highlights package to be re-voiced to go back to London, to go back onto digital.
In year one of the World RX contract, the season has got up and running by the seat of its pants in a very short timeframe of just a few weeks
Seat of its pants
In year one of the contract, the season has got up and running by the seat of its pants in a very short timeframe of just a few weeks. Beal says the team from FIA, Aurora and NEP Finland are going to use this season to make important decisions to take the championships forwards. He explains: This year we're taking the opportunity to look at the model to go forwards. So is that a remote in part? Is that using control services off site? Is that moving to an IP truck? Is that via a 5G network for onboard?
Read more Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reigns for World RX alongside new promoter for the series, the FIA
Overall, Beal says the current setup is, pretty simple and robust and traditional for this year because that got us up and running to a super reliable product, but in the meantime, the team is observing and working out what is required to push the product forwards.
He notes: It's a new chapter in the sport and it's about getting the culture of the sport correct for the fans, for the competitors, free to everybody who wants to get to it, to get every single race out. Then the tech needs to morph to that mandate. It's not the most exciting technological piece in the world; we just want to get the culture correct.
We're going to sit back [this season] and go okay, what does this championship actually need to do to achieve all of this? What we think that is now, will be very different to when we get into the final race of the season, because we will know what the market wants in terms of forecasters, extra streams, etc. Success would look like, perhaps, doing more multiple language, from the next round onwards we're going to do studio shows on Friday night and Saturday night from the paddock as a stream using the OB truck, so the product's going to evolve as well.
Beal says the technology required for the World RX pr
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
15/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
15/07/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron said its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production solution has successfully completed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Foundational Technical...
15/07/2025
PHILADELPHIA The Xumo streaming platform joint venture between Comcast and Charter has announced the nationwide launch of a new line of Xumo TVs from Westinghou...
15/07/2025
LONGMONT, Colo. DPA Microphones said Chris Kontopanos has joined the microphone solutions provider as its new regional sales manager, Mid-Atlantic....
15/07/2025
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNIT...
14/07/2025
The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
14/07/2025
Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...
14/07/2025
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...
14/07/2025
Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...
14/07/2025
HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...
14/07/2025
Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...
14/07/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...
14/07/2025
Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...
14/07/2025
Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...
14/07/2025
Stand 5.F45, IBC2025, Amsterdam, 12 15 September 2025 Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is ...
14/07/2025
This month, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang promoted AI in both Washington, D.C. and Beijing - emphasizing the benefits that AI will bring to business and s...
14/07/2025
Sony's New Coach's Headset Was Designed in Collaboration With the NFL Featuring a custom dynamic boom mic, the headset will debut in the fall By Dan Da...
14/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network's Marc Caiafa and Tom Guidice on th...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix ISP Speed Index for June 2025
Product
14 July 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
One percent of Internet Service Providers (ISP...
14/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Begins Filming The Map of Longing With Al cia Falc , P...
14/07/2025
This July marks 100 days since I officially stepped into the role of CEO at Grass Valley, a milestone not of abrupt change, but of confident continuity.
Unlike...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
13/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Expands B&B Universe' with Yu Jae Seok's B&B ...
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, the professional training division of Key Code Media, proudly announces a major update to its Adobe Premiere Pro Engineering and Advanced Op...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, a leader in instructor-led post production training for over...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...