World Cup Signal in HDTV Inspires Record New Media Coverage

New media coverage of the world’s greatest sports event is set to reach new standards. Fans will be able to receive near-live clips of the most dramatic and decisive moments of FIFA World Cup action. Thanks to the development of new media coverage, fans never need miss another goal or key play.

It’s a big step forward, made possible at a level and quality never seen before. This is because the 2006 FIFA World Cup is the first major international sports event to commit fully to high definition television. All 64 matches will be originated in HDTV. By using HDTV as the source, big improvements can be made in the focus, quality and relevance of the pictures that the end-user receives. The experience can be made significantly better and easier to follow on a small screen than current coverage of national football leagues on mobile phones.

The New Media Licensees Workshop is being held at Munich and will be followed by a visit to the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) located at the Messe München where a dedicated New Media Unit is being built.

Dominik Schmid, Infront Sports & Media Executive Director for Broadcast Operations, said: “HDTV is acting as a driver for New Media and the quality of the HD multi-feeds that Infront and HBS (Host Broadcast Services – Infront’s subsidiary) will be producing for the FIFA World Cup will provide an incredible source of content for a new range of subscribers to New Media Services”.

HBS will service the very special requirements of New Media Licensees through a dedicated approach. It is the first time in sports broadcasting that the New Media Licensees have direct access to the IBC and are being provided with a state-of-the-art and sophisticated New Media Content Package, tailor-made for their respective needs and markets.

The New Media Content Package is based on the clean feed which will be delivered directly to the IBC, where experienced editors and producers will create a package designed for exploitation without the need for extensive editing.

Based on the standard license of four minutes of raw material, material is used creatively to provide the client a rich menu of options incl. near-live clips, match summaries and competition summaries, graphics, and different language voice-overs.

Those vital ‘Near Live’ video clips will arrive with the viewer in minutes. The editor selects the shot and uses “Pan & Scan” technology to zoom in and capture the core action or goal, producing a picture that is much more exciting for tiny handsets. “Pan & Scan” was originally developed in the feature film industry enabling big screen films to be adapted to the smaller format of the television screen.

“The ‘Pan & Scan’ technology on its own is not new,” said Francis Tellier, CEO of HBS. “What is new is the first time utilisation of this technology for New Media Licensees on basis of the high-quality HDTV multi-feeds produced by HBS. This combination will provide perfect focus”.

The edited clip is then encoded, picked up by licensees, placed into their content management systems in their home country and made available to subscribers – the entire process taking only around five minutes.

Licensees can access the New Media Content Package at the IBC on a central file server and transport it to their home country via data lines. It can also be made available for secure FTP download via the Internet. This is in contrast to broadcasters, who receive their content via satellite.

From pitch to TV sets, mobile devices and home computers, the pictures will be delivered in a fast and seamless manner - a massive undertaking that opens up even further the fascinating FIFA World Cup viewing experience for billions worldwide.