I actually did one of these about 3 years ago but thought it might be worth doing again as I see a lot of comments about why broadcasters make certain decisions and how our favourite sports get televised. Thought it was worth doing it again :) Will answer everything I can honestly.
[AMA] I Work in TV Sports Broadcasting
enzso on 15/06/2020 - 22:49
Last edited 15/06/2020 - 22:50
Last edited 15/06/2020 - 22:50
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AFL, cricket, tennis, boxing, motocross
motocross
Supercross as well by any chance
Yep
How long until 4k becomes a standard FTA standard channel? Is that possible with the current infrastructure?
What's the hold on it becoming more prominent?
Literally 0 FTA 4k channels, and on Foxtel there's only a couple, and the sport one isn't even consistently showing sport i.e. replays while there's live games on.
Just seems to have such a slow uptake
Has there been much thought put into commentator free audio channels, or different audio channels of just the game for example?
Most major Australian sports are already being covered with 4K equipment. The sticking point is the transmission side of it. There's a big cost to networks to upgrade to 4K transmission. Given how the networks are going financially, and the fact that 4K presents no additional revenue stream, I can't see a switchover happening anytime soon, certainly not on FTA anyway.
As far as different audio channels - I know Foxtel used to offer "press red for crowd" but this disappeared when they switched to HD and needed the bandwith. Something like that may return. The source material certainly exists, it's just a matter of how to get it to the home.
When they take a live feed of an UK or North American sport, why do they re edit it with former B grade Aussie players in the studio in Australia? When original pundits are speaking english and more knowledgeable, talented broadcasters.
Good question. A few reasons. If the network has invested in the sport they'll want to brand it - using local talent is a way to do that. If a network just takes a "world feed" there may be commentary but no pregame or half time show, so they have to create one locally. Or perhaps the content supplied by the host broadcaster is branded with host network livery, which the local network wants to replace.
In the last Ashes series in England I couldn't understand why Nine kept coming back to Todd Woodbridge and co in the studio so often. It's all about branding.
I’d wondered if it was about it then being local content, or incase of service disruption or sponsors mentioned during half time?
When ten had the F1 they would constantly go back to Greg Rust in the studio. With the time difference Aussie studio always had low budgets low energy 3am talent. SBS or Optus football same vibeYes that's the other reason. They can get sponsorship using local talent and studio segments.
Thanks for doing this Enzso!
How do you see the future of sports broadcast- Foxtel vs FTA channels? - Cricket/Footy mainly
It's a fascinating space. NRL was rumoured to be considering producing their own games until they signed that deal with Foxtel. Amazon keeps getting brought up but they have no live sport production capability. Money is tight everywhere.
The anti-siphoning list was seen as the way to control how much sport was moving away from FTA - but the last cricket deal proved even that could be worked around.
I think if Foxtel gets greater market penetration with Kayo they'll be in a better position to negotiate for more paid sport. The FTAs will stick with the marquee events only. But who knows!?
Do you think all major sports will eventually have there own subscription service and cut out the middle man? Or will a Sports Equivalent to Netflix take over world sport.
It's a big burden for the sport to take on. They have to really see a reason to do it. The AFL seemed to be gearing up to do it 4 or 5 years ago but suddenly shifted tack and disbanded their media department. A Netflix of sport is certainly possible, but gaining multiple rights in different countries over varying time periods could be a nightmare. You would basically have to front up waving so much money the sports bodies couldn't say no. They'd also need a thorough understanding of each market so they could adequately monetise the deal. It'd be very difficult.
I’d heard recent sports documentaries on Netflix, amazon are them feeling the water in relation to sports content.
I’ve lived in a few different countries and always found it interesting how sports are only popular in certain regions, it’s a little chicken and the egg as far as what’s popular vs coverage, I think if a global player chose a sport even if it wasn’t popular but was a good product, I think if they marketed it enough it would gain a lot of followers.
Do you think the coverage affects the sports popularity? Or the sports popularity drives the level of coverage?Generally I think popularity comes first. Interesting with international cricket however there's a minimum level of facilities the broadcaster must provide, irrespective of the team playing- and it's fairly high. So whether it's Bangladesh or India playing the ICC dictate what level of coverage the host broadcaster must meet.
What were you doing with no sports going on until recently?
Reduced hours. Luckily I wasn't stood down or retrenched.
What's your call time before going live? And how involved are you with set up and pack down of equipment?
For me it's usually 2-3 hours prior to on-air. I have a senior role with the client so I don't rig or pack down equipment. The guys who do that are on site usually 6 hrs before the event if it's a stock-standard coverage, or if it's a bigger event they'll go in day before. Events like Test Cricket start their rigs 2-3 days prior. Rig crew would do a 12 hr day on a footy game. Often the truck will then drive overnight to do an event in another city next-day.
What's your thoughts on the escalating tensions between China and Taiwan at the moment?
Badminton? Not familiar with it.
Thoughts on the artificial crowd noise currently being added to broadcasts and is it just one person watching and choosing what sounds to play?
I think it really helps the broadcast sound warmer. Theres a huge void in the game sound when it's taken away.
Yes, it's a dedicated operator who has a couple of looping fx tracks of different intensities, and he mixes between tracks to create the appropriate crowd reaction.
What are the perks of the job?
Can you essentially watch the entire game while you work or do you have to be concentrating on other things?
Do you get to see things like Grand Finals while working, which I guess then relates to the question above.Is food and such provided or do you need to line up like a pleb to get a bucket of chips down in the food stalls?
There's a few perks. You can usually get free tickets to whatever you want (provided your network covers the code) except grand finals. You travel a bit (or we used to) so there's all the points and status that come with that.
You don't watch what you're covering at all - at least not in the way you watch at home. After a game I couldn't name more than one or two exciting moments. I'll know who won but often not what the score was. It's a completely different level of engagement. It's actually possible to enjoy working on a sport you don't like watching because working and watching are so different.
The venue usually provides catering from their functions kitchen - sit down meal or they bring meal packs down.
Does that mean you generally work Thursday-Mondays depending on which sport you are covering? Or do you also work at HQ when not at a game?
40 hour week?
Usually a couple of days on site and a couple at the office. Yep midweek off. 40 hours is about right - longer when we're travelling.
I worked in broadcast TV back in the early 2000's and then went and worked for myself. I have a ton of Producing/Directing/Shooting experience (20+ years)… I'd love to get back involved, what would be your recommendation to try and get back in. I know it's very much a "not what you know, who you know" industry. Cheers
At a senior level like yours it's absolutely about your contacts. Most organisations would have a progression plan in place with a mix of older and younger staff. It's very difficult for an "unknown" to break into that, except at a junior entry-level position.
How many times have players greeted you with a kiss on the cheek?
Slap of the arse is more in context
what will influence the change to convince Foxtel and other providers(maybe even free to air) to make the switch to 4k (and op said above they have already but when will the consumer be able to watch 4k constantly) and have all games in 4k not like now how they only have 2 games a round in 4k
It would have to be led by Foxtel and streaming, with FTA dragged kicking and screaming behind - as it was with HD.
As we see more and more 4K capable gear in this country you'll get more 4K content. Foxtel do 2-3 NRL games and 2-3 AFL games in 4K each weekend. Logistically that's about the limit at the moment.
Obviously if a game is produced by 9 or 7, even if a 4K truck is being used, it's being produced in HD and Foxtel can't screen it in 4K.
and when do you think we will start to see it (and does nbn speeds slowly getting faster make a difference)
and would you assume 8K is at least 10 years away from Foxtel or FTA?
I'm going to guess 3-5 years for 4K on FTA, but I don't know enough about the transmission implications.
I've never seen a piece of 8K broadcast equipment. From what I read 8K is not particularly well-suited to fast-paced sports production. Motion blur can be an issue, cameras need to operate in an exposure and focal-length "sweet spot" that may not be achievable at a large outdoor sporting field. It'll be interesting to see how the 8K production of the Olympics goes if they proceed. Not so long ago everyone was getting really enthusiastic about sport in 3D. Once the enormous shortcomings of the format came to light it was dropped pretty quickly.
In 2015 there was a 4K production of the Cricket World Cup in Australia running alongside the HD production. The 4K production team couldn't replicate everything the HD team were doing due to the limitations of the 4K equipment. 5 years on and while things have improved, some of these limitations still exist. It'll probably be another 4 or 5 years until 4K offers the same production flexibility of HD. I reckon 10 years until we see 8K is a fair guess.
do you think Foxtel will be Gone from the market in 5-10 years and if no what will make people come back and vice versa ?
As long as they have key sports rights the answer is no. They're trying really hard to create different tiers of product to appeal to different types of customer. If that doesn't pay off they will have to go full streaming probably. Whether they could make a profit from that is the question. It would be a very different company than it is today if so.
What sports/Leagues have you worked on ?