To 4G, or not to 4G: EMG on bringing the iconic 2024 London Marathon to viewers globally By Heather McLean
Friday, April 19, 2024 - 09:09
Print This Story
EMG is deploying four bikes in a 4G transmission backup test using LiveU units for the London Marathon 2024
This weekend nearly 66,000 people will don their favourite trainers, liberally apply a layer of lubricant to body parts that are likely to chafe, and pin on their numbers for the iconic London Marathon.
Being brought to TV screens around the world in its entirety by host broadcaster, the BBC, the broadcast of this 43 year old race is being carried out by technical services provider, EMG.
The London Marathon first took place in 1981 and has become one of the most popular marathons in the world. The route takes in many of London's best landmarks including Buckingham Palace, The Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, and bringing it all to life is EMG.
We do have an enhanced RF system that gives us diversity across that section of the marathon and coverage through the tunnels. And we're going to monitor the 4G [on bikes] and see what it does in those tunnels
This year the marathon has a reduced OB setup compared to previous years, with four rather than the previous six OBs along the route. Livermore explains: The marathon is a multi-site event. This year we have large outside broadcast units at the start in Blackheath, at Cutty Sark in Greenwich, at Tower Bridge and then at the finish line on Canada Gate. EMG Connectivity is deploying single camera 4G LiveU units and interview positions out across the marathon, which should give it a different feel to previous years.
Those units will be at Limehouse, where there will also be roving reporters, and at Blackfriars. Says Livermore: Depending on the success of those sites, and additional tests that we are doing this year, it has the potential to grow.
EMG's Mark Houghton and James Halliday testing RF connectivity prior to the 2024 London Marathon
To 4G or not to 4G
Those other tests are into the reliability of bonded 4G units, he notes. The issue that we've always had with any 4G or LiveU kits is the only time to test their viability for the London Marathon is at the London Marathon. At no other time do you have that number of people moving around in a cluster. The time that you want to film them is when there's a huge mass of people that arrive in that exact location. We are testing bikes [with LiveU units] this year, as a backup to the traditional [RF] links to the aeroplane.
In total, four bikes will be involved in the 4G backup test, which says Livermore, will give us a good indication of how well they work. EMG Connectivity has worked hard in integrating the systems into the existing bike setup, with bespoke mounting and switchable comms.
The most challenging aspect of the route is along the Blackfriars section of the marathon, where, there's a lot of tunnels and underpasses, notes Livermore. We do have an enhanced RF system that gives us diversity across that section of the marathon and coverage through the tunnels. And we're going to monitor the 4G [on bikes] and see what it does in those tunnels.
We know that [4G] works in a quiet London in our tests outside of the London Marathon, but we're looking at what it does when [the city is] loaded with people and how the bikes perform through those sections. We're all looking forward to seeing the results.
Drone perspectives
New for the London Marathon in 2024 is the use of drones. There will be one at the start and one at the finish, providing those first and last mile shots to bring a new perspective to the footage, between the helicopter view and the jibs.
The drones are a new thing for the marathon; it hasn't been done before. There's one at the start on Blackheath and then one in the Queen Elizabeth Gardens at Canada Gate. We've had hoists in those positions in previous years, but we're hoping for a bit more movement from the drone, and they can get higher to give a more aerial shot. It's that nice in-between the hoist and the heli, that's what the drone gives you. And if we have some fine weather, it's going to look spectacular.
The drones will add to that sense of place for viewers at home watching the marathon, giving a view of the race itself and also spectacular glimpses of central London with its iconic buildings and bridges.
At the London Marathon, Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) will provide the helicopters and aeroplane with EMG Connectivity on the transmissions and ground links and BT on the backhaul connectivity
Connecting cameras
The cameras being used are Sony HDC 4300's as standard and some Sony HDC 3500's. Meanwhile, Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) will provide the helicopters and aeroplane with EMG Connectivity on the transmissions and ground links and BT on the backhaul connectivity.
RF equipment on board the RF relay aircraft for the London Marathon 2024
All of the inter-site feeds this year are being done as usual via satellite at BT's main satellite earth station, Madley Communications Centre, where over 65 giant satellite dishes dominate the 63-acre site in Herefordshire.
Says Livermore: We downlink them at Madeley, not at the finish line, because it's just more resilient to bring those feeds down to a large dish than it is to bring them down onto another satellite truck with a small dish; it's more resilient in terms of weather.
Then we bring those feeds back via BT Tower and get them to Canada Gate at the finish line where the presentation scanner is. This truck brings all of those feeds together, including the bikes, the helis, any of the live view kits that are out. Its where the final programme is made.
Meanwhile, the international feed is done at the BBC's base in Salford.
North America Stories
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
11/06/2026
Telemundo will launch its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on Thursday, June 11 with...
11/06/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal. Fubo customers can now stream Telemundo and Universo, with NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced its in-app features for FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage in Spain...
11/06/2026
Roblox has released the 2026 Roblox Digital Expression Report: Wave 4 - Sports D...
11/06/2026
FIFA has unveiled DNA, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Anthem, performed by A...
11/06/2026
ESPN will provide English- and Spanish-language news and information coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026 across its U.S. media platforms from June 11 through July 1...
11/06/2026
The latest product of the outstanding RIT Sports Network program, this recent grad from Long Island is carving out a promising path in broadcast engineering
In...
11/06/2026
DAZN has announced a multi-year agreement to make DSPORTS channels available to ...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
11/06/2026
MTI FILM acquires Mango/New Edit Posted by MTI Film on June 10, 2026
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 2026 - MTI FILM, the multiple Emmy Award winning Hollywood post-p...
11/06/2026
Study underscores the need for authoritative content intelligence to build trust...
To 4G, or not to 4G: EMG on bringing the iconic 2024 London Marathon to viewers globally By Heather McLean 
