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Post by dkennedy on May 12, 2005 5:23:49 GMT -5
BROADCASTERS UNITE IN HDTV FOR WC2006
May 12, 2005
By David Smith
SportsBusiness.com
A growing band of broadcasters are gearing up to deliver coverage of next year’s FIFA World Cup in high-quality HDTV.
Following the first World Broadcasters Meeting ahead of the event - held in Munich from April 11 to 15, 2005 - an increasing number of broadcast partners look set put their efforts and resources behind high definition television (or HDTV).
More than 400 delegates, representing more than 100 radio and television companies, attended the briefing organised by Host Broadcast Services (HBS), the dedicated host broadcast company for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
HBS is wholly owned by Infront Sports & Media, which is responsible for the distribution of broadcast rights worldwide.
A growing number of broadcasters over and above the three major markets that are already committed to HDTV (Japan, Korea and the United States) apparently expressed strong interest in going HD in 2006.
Francis Tellier, the CEO of HBS, said: “We got the very strong feeling that we were riding the crest of a breaking wave. I believe that many of Europe’s leading broadcasters will opt for HDTV and there is also strong interest from Latin America. Mexico could well take the lead.”
Although the 2006 event will be produced exclusively in HDTV - a first in international sport – the regular signal being made available to broadcasters will be in standard definition, with HDTV an option that broadcasters can choose.
David Smith
David.Smith@sportbusiness.com
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Post by dkennedy on Aug 18, 2005 17:07:19 GMT -5
US TO GET FIFA WORLD CUP IN HIGH DEFINITION
August 18, 2005
ABC and ESPN are to televise all 64 games from next year’s FIFA World Cup in high definition, according to US media reports.
The Disney-owned channels are into their fourth World Cup and will split the games between ASBC, ESPN and ESPN2.
The networks acquired the rights from Soccer United Marketing, an affiliate of Major League Soccer. SUM said it basically gets the air time for free, sells advertising and covers production costs, while the networks' affiliates sell some advertising time.
SUM paid about $40million to buy the US TV and radio rights to the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2003 Women's World Cup from German media company Kirch Group. Kirch purchased the rights from FIFA, soccer's governing body, in May 2001.
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Post by dkennedy on Nov 3, 2005 5:52:42 GMT -5
ABC/ESPN, Univision Keep World Cup
November 2, 2005
By Mike Reynolds, Multichannel News
World Cup events from 2007-2014 will have the same television partners in the United States that been covering the recent quadrennial events.
The difference, though, is that ABC Sports/ESPN and Univision Communications Inc. will be paying a lot more for the rights to air soccer's -- and, arguably, the globe's -- biggest sports competitions.
Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the sport's governing body, said the aforementioned parties will pay a combined $425 million for the rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, as well as the women's tournaments in 2007 and 2011, plus 11 other competitions and events.
In announcing what it described as a record deal for a single country's rights pacts, FIFA told AP Univision had ponied up $325 million, almost double its $175 million outlay for its package from 2002-06, and ABC/ESPN had paid $100 million.
ESPN/ABC's current World Cup rights, which expire with the 2006 competition from Germany, did not require a cash outlay. The networks obtained those rights from Soccer United Marketing, which also represented Major League Soccer, in exchange for the domestic league gaining carriage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
Responding to questions during a conference call announcing the ESPN/ABC deal, ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper said the networks have interest in continuing to televise MLS and U.S. national team games.
In addition to World Cup match coverage, the parties will run substantial promotion in the U.S. for FIFA events over the life of the contracts.
The agreement covers a wide range of media categories, including Internet, broadband and mobile telephony. ESPN will also be able to offer truncated versions of the matches on-demand, according to terms of the deal.
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Post by dkennedy on Mar 20, 2006 6:04:06 GMT -5
U.S. World Cup Games to Air Live on ABC HD, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD
March 18, 2006
ABC/ESPN 2006 FIFA World Cup TV Schedule
U.S. World Cup Games to Air Live on ABC HD, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD
The U.S Men’s National Team will kick off their 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign live at 11:55 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD on Monday, June 12, 2006, against the Czech Republic. ABC, ABCHD, ESPN, ESPNHD, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will broadcast all 64 games of the 2006 FIFA World Cup live in Germany from June 9 through July 9, 2006.
ABC Sports will broadcast 12 tournament games, including the USA’s match-up against Italy at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 17, as well as the championship match at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9, at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. The Saturday afternoon USA-Italy match-up is poised to be one of the tournament’s major highlights.
ESPN and ESPNHD will televise 31 matches, including the USA’s final group match against Ghana at 9:55 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 22, while ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will air 21 matches, including the U.S. squad’s opening match and the tournament’s opening match between host Germany and Costa Rica at 11:55 a.m. ET on Friday, June 9.
All of the tournament matches will be simulcast in high definition for the first time ever on ABC HD, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD.
During the World Cup, ESPN, ESPNHD, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will present World Cup Live – a daily highlight and analysis show of all the tournament action. ESPN, ESPNHD, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will air 32 episodes of World Cup Live between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. ET (9-11 p.m. PT) as part of ESPN’s “Trifecta” block of programming. Shows will include news updates as well as reviews and previews of World Cup action from Germany. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will also air 12 live editions of the show between games on select days between June 9-19.
U.S. Men’s National Team 2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule
Date Matchup Eastern Time TV
June 12 U.S. MNT vs. Czech Republic 11:55 a.m. ET ESPN2 & ESPN2HD
June 17 U.S. MNT vs. Italy 2:30 p.m. ET ABC & ABCHD
June 22 U.S. MNT vs. Ghana 9:55 a.m. ET ESPN & ESPNHD
2006 FIFA World Cup Groups
GROUP A: Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador
GROUP B: England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden
GROUP C: Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro, Netherlands
GROUP D: Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal
GROUP E: Italy, Ghana, United States, Czech Republic
GROUP F: Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan
GROUP G: France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo
GROUP H: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia
2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule – First Round
Date No. ET Network Match Site
June 9
(Game 1) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Germany vs. Costa Rica Munich
(Game 2) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Poland vs. Ecuador Gelsenkirchen
June 10
(Game 3) 9 a.m. ABC & ABCHD England vs. Paraguay Frankfurt
(Game 4) 11:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Trinidad & Tobago vs. Sweden Dortmund
(Game 5) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Argentina vs. Ivory Coast Hamburg
June 11
(Game 6) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Serbia-Montenegro vs. Netherlands Leipzig
(Game 7) 11:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Mexico vs. Iran Nuremburg
(Game 8) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Angola vs. Portugal Cologne
June 12
(Game 9) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Australia vs. Japan Kaiserslautern
(Game 10) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD USA vs. Czech Republic Gelsenkirchen
(Game 11) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Italy vs. Ghana Hanover
June 13
(Game 12) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD South Korea vs. Togo Frankfurt
(Game 13) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD France vs. Switzerland Stuttgart
(Game 14) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Brazil vs. Croatia Berlin
June 14
(Game 15) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Spain vs. Ukraine Leipzig
(Game 16) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia Munich
(Game 17) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Germany vs. Poland Dortmund
June 15
(Game 18) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Ecuador vs. Costa Rica Hamburg
(Game 19) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD England vs. Trinidad & Tobago Nuremburg
(Game 20) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Sweden vs. Paraguay Berlin
June 16
(Game 21) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Argentina vs. Serbia-Monte. Gelsenkirchen
(Game 22) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Netherlands vs. Ivory Coast Stuttgart
(Game 23) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Mexico vs. Angola Hanover
June 17
(Game 24) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Portugal vs. Iran Frankfurt
(Game 25) 11:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Czech Republic vs. Ghana Cologne
(Game 26) 2:30 p.m. ABC & ABCHD Italy vs. USA Kaiserslautern
June 18
(Game 27) 9 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Japan vs. Croatia Nuremberg
(Game 28) 11:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Brazil vs. Australia Munich
(Game 29) 2:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD France vs. South Korea Leipzig
June 19
(Game 30) 8:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Togo vs. Switzerland Dortmund
(Game 31) 11:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Saudi Arabia vs. Ukraine Hamburg
(Game 32) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Spain vs. Tunisia Stuttgart
June 20
(Game 33) 9:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Ecuador vs. Germany Berlin
(Game 34) 9:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Costa Rica vs. Poland Hanover
(Game 35) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Sweden vs. England Cologne
(Game 36) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Paraguay vs. Trinidad & Tobago Kaiserslautern
June 21
(Game 37) 9:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Portugal vs. Mexico Gelsenkirchen
(Game 38) 9:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Iran vs. Angola Leipzig
(Game 39) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Netherlands vs. Argentina Frankfurt
(Game 40) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Ivory Coast vs. Serbia-Monte. Munich
June 22
(Game 41) 9:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Ghana vs. USA Nuremberg
(Game 42) 9:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Czech Republic vs. Italy Hamburg
(Game 43) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Japan vs. Brazil Dortmund
(Game 44) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Croatia vs. Australia Stuttgart
June 23
(Game 45) 9:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Saudi Arabia vs. Spain Kaiserslautern
(Game 46) 9:55 a.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Ukraine vs. Tunisia Berlin
(Game 47) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Togo vs. France Cologne
(Game 48) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD South Korea vs. South Korea Hanover
2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule – Second Round
Date No. ET Network Match Site
June 24
(Game 49) 10:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD 1st in A Group vs. 2nd in B Group in Munich
(Game 50) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in C Group vs. 2nd in D Group in Leipzig
June 25
(Game 51) 10:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD 1st in B Group vs. 2nd in A Group in Stuttgart
(Game 52) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in D Group vs. 2nd in C Group in Nuremberg
June 26
(Game 53) 10:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in E Group vs. 2nd in F Group in Kaiserslautern
(Game 54) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in G Group vs. 2nd in H Group in Cologne
June 27
(Game 55) 10:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in F Group vs. 2nd in E Group in Dortmund
(Game 56) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD 1st in H Group vs. 2nd in G Group in Hanover
2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule – Quarterfinals
Date No. ET Network Match Site
June 30
(Game 57) 10:55 a.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Winners – Game 49 Winner vs. Game 50 Winner in Berlin
(Game 58) 2:55 p.m. ESPN2 & ESPN2HD Winners – Game 53 Winner vs. Game 54 Winner in Hamburg
July 1
(Game 59) 10:30 a.m. ABC & ABCHD Winners – Game 51 Winner vs. Game 52 Winner in Gelsenkirchen
(Game 60) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Winners – Game 55 Winner vs. Game 56 Winner in Frankfurt
2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule – Semifinals
Date No. ET Network Match Site
July 4
(Game 61) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Winners – Game 57 Winner vs. Game 58 Winner in Dortmund
July 5
(Game 62) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Winners – Game 59 Winner vs. Game 60 Winner in Munich
2006 FIFA World Cup Television Schedule – Third Place Game
Date No. ET Network Match Site
July 8
(Game 63) 2:55 p.m. ESPN & ESPNHD Runner up – Game 61 Winner vs. Game 62 Winner in Stuttgart
2006 FIFA World Cup Final on ABC Sports
Date No. ET Network Match Site
July 9
(Game 64) 1:30 p.m. ABC & ABCHD Winners – Game 61 Winner vs. Game 62 Winner in Berlin
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Post by dkennedy on Jun 9, 2006 4:02:53 GMT -5
ESPN, ABC Sports Ready for High Definition World Cup Kickoff
June 8, 2006
HD Magazine
Friday afternoon, officially, the World catches up to the U.S. when it comes to high-definition. When Germany and Costa Rice kick off the World Cup it begins a new era in the HD transition with broadcasters in the UK, Italy, Germany, among others, delivering the action in HD.
Stateside it will be up to ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports to handle English-language distribution of World Cup matches. The two networks will broadcast all 64 matches in high-definition, a move that makes the 2006 World Cup the first multi-day international sporting event to be broadcast entirely in HD.
The World Cup Host Broadcaster, which is Switzerland, will handle all of the primary game coverage and distribution, pulling in game feeds from 12 venues across Germany to the International Broadcast Center located in Munich. A redundant Vanda fiber network with two 20GB pipes will be used to move feeds around Germany and satellite will be used as a second backup.
While the game coverage will be in HD there will still be some format conversion work. The production format is 1080i at 50 Hz but ESPN and ABC broadcast at 720p at 60 Hz. As a result ESPN had a first-of-its kind converter box built to ensure the highest picture quality is maintained.
For ESPN and ABC Sports the production will be a tricky dance of melding operations based in ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. headquarters with the game coverage from Germany. “We’ll be taking advantage of our technology and handle all graphics and tape elements from Bristol,” says Tim Scanlan, ESPN/ABC senior coordinating producer. ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will use the VizRT graphic platform while ABC Sports HD will use the Duet Hyper X graphic platform.
Scanlan says each game will use a minimum of 22 cameras while the second and latter rounds will use 32 cameras. All of those cameras, the goal-cams, the robotic jib cameras, and the handheld units will be HD with companies like Grass Valley providing more than 180 HD cameras for both HD standard and slow-motion playback.
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Post by Skaggs on Jun 12, 2006 5:13:59 GMT -5
Today's 3 World Cup soccer games will be shown in HD on ESPN2 HD. Time Warner Cable in Albany does not carry ESPN2 HD. Click here to send TWC a note requesting ESPN2 HD. |
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Post by dkennedy on Jun 14, 2006 4:31:51 GMT -5
Annoying sound, video problems mar high-def World Cup broadcast June 13, 2006 By Richard Lawler, HD Beat Magazine While the guys playing in the World Cup are professionals, it seems the stateside broadcasters are still very much amateurs when it comes to displaying the beautiful game. I've caught a couple games since the tournament started, and while the quality of the broadcast is excellent. You can see everything very clearly and the sport is more fun to watch in widescreen, as you can see the positioning of the players better. While it is almost enough to wipe the nasty taste of the Winter Olympics debacle from my mouth, and doesn't have the HDTV compression problems cited in Korea, there are still some issues to be worked out. For reasons unknown to anyone with half a brain, ABC and ESPN have decided to obscure large areas of the screen with wide bars and dark translucent areas. Often when they go to a close shot of exciting action with two or more players battling for control of the ball or positioning, part of their heads get cut off at the top of the screen. Even worse, when they display stats or other information it often pops up and takes away a whole third or even half of the screen. It's silly and wouldn't pass in a high school sports broadcast. Also, it seems that neither ABC or ESPN-HD are passing the surround sound properly, leaving watchers without the feeling of actually being in the stadium. When you can really crank up the crowd noise and get into it, the game is at its best, much like the NBA's tests with silent games this year. Especially with the World Cup and all the crazed fans, the background noise is as much a part of the game as the grass it's played on, it's the atmosphere. Follow the frustration with ABC/ESPN coverage of the World Cup at: avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=570795&page=34&pp=30 |
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Post by dkennedy on Jun 14, 2006 4:33:34 GMT -5
Univision, although broadcasting in SD, is beating ABC and ESPN with better production quality, experienced professional soccer announcers and a total soccer experience with stadium crowd noise, national anthems and just giving us a "we are in the stadium" experience.
Comparing both it's no wonder Univision is beating ABC/ESPN in World Cup ratings. Even if you don't know spanish, the production is first rate!
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Post by dkennedy on Jun 14, 2006 4:46:44 GMT -5
Overcompressed bitstarved HDTV frustrates World Cup fans
June 13, 2006
By Richard Lawler, HD Beat Magazine
It's an unfortunate but familiar circumstance for many high definition television owners, after spending a lot of money on a new HDTV, hooked up the cable/satellite/antenna and settled in to watch the big game, only to get a blurry, blocky mess.
While American soccer fans have commented that they "can finally see the ball" during the World Cup broadcast, Korean watchers are flooding the nations three major broadcasters with complaints that they can't see anything thats moving quickly.
The broadcasters have been testing a new multicasting system, MMS to broadcast more channels within the same frequency, lowering the bitrate from 19Mbps to 13Mbps. It looks like viewers noticed the difference, with threats to sue and other complaints posted on the internet.
The Korean Broadcasting Commission is going to vote tomorrow on whether to continue the MMS test or not. Korea, we've got our fingers crossed. Whether or not someone will sue ESPN for their poor color commentary during games remains to be seen.
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Post by dkennedy on Jun 14, 2006 5:14:52 GMT -5
Lively kickup for the World Cup games
Ratings are up smartly for ABC and Univision
Jun 13, 2006
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine
Things got a lot dimmer for the U.S. men’s soccer team with yesterday’s ugly 3-0 opening-round loss to the Czech Republic in the World Cup. But they’re looking pretty bright for ABC and Univision.
Through the first weekend of the 2006 Cup in Germany, both networks saw big increases in ratings versus the same weekend in 2002.
Saturday’s game between new Cup sweethearts Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden at noon on Saturday averaged a 2.9 overnight household rating on ABC, an 81 percent improvement over the 1.6 for an equivalent game between Ireland and Cameroon four years ago.
On Sunday, ABC averaged a 2.7 for Iran-Mexico, a 42 percent jump over 2002’s 1.9 for Sweden-England.
ABC also earned a strong rating for its opening game on Saturday between England and Paraguay, which averaged a 2.6 rating. There was no equivalent game in the ’02 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Univision averaged 2.6 million viewers for each of its first eight games, or nearly three times the 900,000 viewers the first eight games of the 2002 tournament averaged. That doesn't include the Mexico-Iran matchup, which averaged 5.4 million viewers, becoming the most-watched sporting even in Spanish-language television history.
The main reason for the increases is fairly simple. In 2002, all of the games ABC aired on weekends were taped, as were those that aired in Univision in primetime. Though ESPN aired live coverage of some games that year, when it was played in Japan and South Korea, daytime games were all on tape delay.
By that time, casual soccer fans had already found the results themselves online. Only true diehards watched the taped games while ratings for the live games, despite airing between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., spiked.
“I passed on a lot of Spanish-language packages during the last World Cup,” says Karen McCallum, media director at Esparza Advertising in Albuquerque, N.M. “They were airing from the Far East, and what with the time difference, I didn’t feel that people would do live viewing in the middle of the night.
“They proved me wrong. It was a missed opportunity, and so I definitely expected ratings from Germany to be higher than they were from the Far East. It’s a more favorable schedule and American viewers have a better opportunity not to disrupt their schedules with live viewing.”
The opening-weekend ratings all outdid ABC’s 2.5 rating for the 2002 World Cup final, which aired at 7 a.m. The three-game 2.7 average nearly doubled ABC’s 10-game 2002 World Cup average of 1.4, all but one, the final, of which were taped. And the Mexico game on Univision outdrew even past the 2002 World Cup finals.
In addition to airing live, this year’s World Cup has gotten more publicity in the States than any World Cup since the U.S. hosted the event in 1994, according to numerous sports marketing experts. Awareness of the Cup is at its highest point in that time as well, especially with more expectations for a U.S. team ranked fifth in the world, according to FIFA, soccer’s governing body.
So the next question becomes will yesterday’s dismal U.S. opener dampen enthusiasm for the rest of the tournament?
McCallum doesn’t think so.
“I think that it has the potential to vary by region,” she says. “Here in the Southwest, people may be less interested in the U.S. than they would be in Mexico. With certain Latin American countries continuing on their quest [for the Cup], that has the potential to maintain heightened awareness and interest in the Cup.”
Another good story that Americans may latch onto is Trinidad & Tobago, the tiny nearby island country with fewer than 1.5 million residents that, in its first-ever World Cup, tied mighty Sweden. That has received lots of attention in the U.S. and worldwide press.
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