It’s All About The Show…Until The Next One

Michael Hedges June 7, 2012 Follow on Twitter

It’s only a matter of hours now before the next big television event of the year. Broadcasters are offering more hours with more reporters and commentators. There will be HD, 3D, mobile TV and, well, more. Everybody is having a go at it, hoping to satisfy the insatiable fans. The accountants will have a go at it later.

“I am sure we will experience a wonderful European Championship,” promised UEFA president Michel Platini on the opening of the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) in Warsaw (June 5). The IBC is the official television hub for the two weeks of football matches, signals from all venues in Poland and Ukraine will pass through it as they are distributed on to rights holding broadcasters. UEFA has near total control over the video.

“It’s said that there is no football without television, but I think that the reverse is also true,” added the former footballer. “There is no television without football. Thanks to you, the whole world will see a fantastic football tournament.” The IBC is located in Warsaw’s Expo XXI Center, taking 14 thousand square meters. Four exposition halls were built-out to accommodate 1,100 people, 32 partner broadcasters from 23 countries and all the technical equipment required including dedicated digital video servers. There are offices, studios, editing suites.

Once the match starts all match video comes from UEFA authorized crews and cameras, 30 or so at each venue, including field placements, hand-helds, positions on hydraulic lifts outside the venues and, overhead, in helicopters. By fiber optic or satellite feed, all audio and video from each venue goes through the Euro 2012 IBC.

In Poland, public broadcaster TVP built a roof-top, open-air studio overlooking the National Stadium for its running commentary. All matches will be carried live on main channels TVP1 and TVP2. Dedicated sports channel TVP Sport will broadcast 400 hours of football, football and more football.  There will be match replays every night. And the finals will be broadcast in 3D.

TVP is charging PLN 122,000 (about €28,000) for a 30 second spot in the opening match between Poland and Greece. If Poland reaches the finals the spot rate zooms to PLN 390,000 (about €90,000). UEFA limits match broadcast advertising to 12 minutes per hour.

While Euro 2012 will certainly reach large audiences in Poland, TVP is paying a heavy price. TVP President Juliusz Braun, struggling with unhappy politicians, said the financial shortfall from the Euro 2012 investment will be about PLN 50 million, reported Gazeta Polska (May 15). TVP has started selling buildings.

Ukraine’s State television broadcaster NTCU has national rights for Euro 2012 but some rights were spun-off to privately owned Telekanal Ukrayina (TRK), which operates digital channel Football TV and has broadcast rights to the Ukrainian Premier League. That hasn’t stopped every other television broadcaster from getting into that football fever. Private channel Inter, which has rights to the Ukraine national team, has produced a documentary on the history of the national team and another on its 2009 FIFAWorld Cup in South Africa showing. Showing a bit of creativity, channel 1+1 premiered (May 21) a reality show – Euro Nerves – with groups of foreign guests from Estonia, the UK, Cameroon, India and Brazil traveling around the four venue cities in Ukraine buying tickets, booking hotels and checking out restaurants and other attractions.

Reporters and news crews will be descending on Poland and Ukraine for all the football stories and a bit of color from the surroundings. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) issued (June 5) a “know before you go” leaflet suggesting reporters be mindful of the history of media restriction in Ukraine. “I urge all the journalists covering UEFA Euro 2012 to spare a thought for their colleagues in Ukraine who have been enduring for years threats, physical attacks and censorship.” said International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) president Jim Boumelha in a statement.

See also in ftm Knowledge

The Games People Watch

Media and sports are a powerful combination. Together they capture huge audiences and considerable money. This ftm Knowledge file looks at the competition from football rights battles and cycling coverage with new media to the Olympic Games. 82 pages PDF (October 2012)

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