BCE provides host broadcast production as 2020 Tour de Luxembourg rolls out By Fergal Ringrose, SVG Europe
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 - 09:00
Print This Story
The five-stage 2020 Skoda Tour de Luxembourg gets underway today, Tuesday 15 September, and continues around the country until Saturday. The race organiser has chosen Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) to ensure live coverage and transmission of the event.
BCE and NEP teams prepare for the Tour de Luxembourg on prologue day, Monday 14 September
BCE is orchestrating live coverage from its OB truck connected to five HD cameras at the arrival as well as three motocams transmitted via RF-linked helicopter and airplane. The RF element is being provided to BCE by NEP Belgium.
In addition to the live production, BCE will ensure live streaming in high definition on RTL.lu. Using BCE's mutualised playout services, the Tour will be broadcast live over IP from BCE's broadcasting centre on RTL T l Letzebuerg and on Eurosport.
The annual stage race was due to take part in late May to early June but was postponed until this week due to COVID-19. This year the event has moved up a category to become part of the ProSeries division the second division of world cycling. This new 2.HC rating is the highest below the UCI's World Tour.
Twenty four teams are taking part this year and among the GC favourites are John Degenkolb, Arnaud
Plexiglass separators in place on BCE's OB truck for Tour de Luxembourg coverage
D mare, Tony Gallopin and Tim Wellens. The 2019 champion is Jes s Herrada from the Cofidis team.
BCE head of production and digital media operations Xavier Thillen told SVG Europe that this is the second time that BCE has produced the host broadcast production for the Tour. It's the second time that the event has been televised live, relating to its upgrade by UCI to Pro2status on the UCI Europe Tour.
Last year BCE provided the same camera coverage, but the three motocams were delivered via SNG. This year they have been upgraded to RF. Graphics for the event are being provided to BCE by Videohouse Belgium.
The rescheduling of the Tour of course means it now coincides with the Tour de France. This means each stage must be run in the morning, said Thillen, and finished by 2pm, so that Eurosport can switch over to its Tour de France coverage in the afternoon. Eurosport coverage begins at 11am each morning.
Due to the COVID-19 sanitary requirements, the OB van interior has been adapted with large Plexiglas windows to ensure the proper separation of the production team. A cleaning team is also present during the complete event to sanitise the truck and the production equipment.
BCE has equipped the OB van with COVID-secure measures, not just Plexiglass but also a film over the vision mixer but done in such a way that we don't have to move any people out of the truck, so that production can be completed as normal. The BCE production team is the same size as for the first Tour de Luxembourg coverage provided last year.
The COVID-19 restrictions are rigorous, and overseen by both the cycling federation and by a representative of the interior ministry of Luxembourg.
The challenges are more to do with the restrictions imposed by the authorities, of course meaning no unauthorised people may be involved in the production and the different parts of the Tour - broadcasters, officials, teams - cannot mix along the way.
This is not the Tour de France, said Thillen, so we're not able to close off streets two or three days before each stage. Instead they may have only two hours before the end of each stage to ensure everything is in place at the finish line and for the podium presentation.
Skoda Tour de Luxembourg 2019 Foto: Serge Waldbillig
Thillen told SVG Europe this is the first sporting event BCE is covering in Luxembourg this year. The company has nevertheless been very busy with various types of productions since lockdown, including working out the broadcast coverage plan when the Luxembourg parliament was moved out of the parliament building. There is also a large IT fair taking place this week in Luxembourg which is being covered live by BCE.
We are glad to cover the 2020 edition of the Tour, said Thillen. While our expertise in production, broadcast and streaming ensures a seamless experience for the viewers it is our multiple productions during the pandemic which allows us to respect the sanitary measures for the organisers and workers on-site.
BCE provides media services, system integration and software development in the areas of television, radio, production and postproduction, telecommunication, and IT. With more than 200 people employed, BCE serves about 400 clients in various sectors, such as TV channels, radio stations, film distributors, producers, advertising companies, telecommunications operators, and public services.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
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...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
BCE provides host broadcast production as 2020 Tour de Luxembourg rolls out By Fergal Ringrose, SVG Europe 
