Bt Sport Plans Historic 5g Broadcast At Wembley
Wembley Stadium is to work alongside BT Sport to stage the first ever live sporting event broadcast using a 5G network.
In partnership with EE, the pay-tv broadcaster plans to showcase how it can utilise 5G to increase its own sporting coverage via more matches and faster highlight packages.
The technology is to be demonstrated at the 2018 EE Wembley Cup competition, an annual FA-recognised event in the football calendar where YouTube football players compete against international legends of the game.
Spencer Owen, YouTube influencer, will broadcast the event live over EE’s 5G network from Wembley at 2pm, via the Hashtag United channel, which boasts over 424,000 subscribers.
Sport’s ultimate showcase.
Brand vs brand. Agency vs agency. Rightsholder vs rightsholder.
The industry will decide.
ARE YOU IN?
Entries close 29th November. #BTSIA 2019https://t.co/qx4ElK0d8I pic.twitter.com/07I4Z0mrzj
— Sport Industry Group (@SportIndustry) November 15, 2018
EE and BT Sport – both part of the BT Group – have already succeeded with a trial live link between Wembley and London’s ExCel Exhibition Centre, hosted by BT Sport presenter Matt Smith and Abi Stephens.
Sunday’s broadcast of the competition is to include EE’s 5G test network inside Wembley, including a 3.4GHz spectrum from its first 5G antenna and a 10Gbps backhaul link.
Commenting on the landmark development, Jamie Hindhaugh, BT Sport’s chief operating officer, said: “5G will next season enable BT Sport to deploy the most advanced remote production of any broadcaster.
“BT Sport has a rich history of the latest broadcast innovations, whether it’s ultra-high-definition with Dolby Atmos or 360Virtual Reality.
“It (5G) will allow us to cover more live matches from more leagues and competitions, and to bring fans highlights action closer to the final whistle than has ever been done before in the UK.”
Marc Allera, BT’s chief executive of consumer business added: “This trial is another showcase of what our 5G network can do and is a big part of our continued investment in using 5G across the whole of BT Group.”
