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Though 5G may be a new concept to the consumer, technology companies and, principally, the big telecommunications firms have been wrapping their heads around it for some time now.
In some case, smartphone operators established their own divisions dedicated to advancing the technology as early as 2015. After vigorous testing around building a faster and more robust wireless ecosystem, BT-owned telecommunications network EE looks set to take the first leap by launching its own 5G capability across several major UK cities.
In the world of sport, the technology has already made appearances over the past six months. In November, Wembley Stadium staged the first live event broadcast using a 5G network.
Elsewhere, reports also emerged in March that English soccer giants Manchester United are in talks with telecoms firm Vodafone over implementing a 5G data network at Old Trafford, following in the footsteps of Spanish soccer champions Barcelona, whose Nou Camp stadium is set to become Europe’s first 5G-enabled sports arena.
Though there are clear advantages to owning a faster data point around stadium infrastructure, the impact the next generation network will have on the habits of consumers in the digital age continues to be a topic of debate.
With over-the-top (OTT) sports consumption continuing to gain more traction, SportsPro speaks to innovators in the production space about the role 5G could play in the creation and distribution of live sports content, and whether it will prove to be a game changer for the streaming sports fan.
Gordon Castle, Eurosport’s senior vice president of technology and operations
5G means a couple of things. Itself, it is a magnitude jump above 4G in terms of performance, so in terms of our ability, while we already use 4G in our contribution, 5G provides higher quality contribution.
To be able to be more mobile in production is a real benefit that we see coming from 5G. On the end, consumers will have greater access to speed and you will be able to use mobile essentially in the same way that they are able to use fibre optics to the home.
That will actually open up the barriers of the home versus the speed to when you are mobile, and that will change behaviour. 5G allows you to create paths and a network slice, which we think will be interesting from the ability to connect the premium content to the premium customer.
Those are the aspects where 5G will become really interesting, but this is really early days – the standard is not official until next year. It is really about the evolution of the tech, and these are opportunities for people to provide services.
Tomos Grace, YouTube’s head of sport for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa
The big point here is that mobile is, by some distance, the biggest platform for YouTube video. Anything that improves the mobile experience will be of benefit to partners and video consumption on YouTube.
We have done a lot of work making that mobile experience – on both smartphone and tablet but mainly on smartphone – as great as possible. We know that, if you want to watch a live game at home and it’s broadcast in perfect quality in 4K HD, the best screen is frankly the living room screen.
But there are so many times when you don’t have access to a television screen or laptop and, in that scenario, the best experience is a mobile experience. If broader technological infrastructure is able to support and enhance that, it can only be a good thing.
�� “5G will change how production is done.” That’s what MX1’s Dana Dar reckons as the technology’s release edges closer #SPLive19 pic.twitter.com/YHZzElgyyz
— SportsPro (@SportsPro) May 1, 2019
Dana Dar, director of market development at MX1, broadcast and digital service provider
Although we do offer hybrid solutions, such as satellite, fibre and IP, 5G is definitely something that is exciting our customers around remote productions, and how that’s going to affect their workflows.
But, definitely from the contributions side, for us, we see it as an added element to satellite distribution, so if you are doing mobile over satellite, it allows the production to be more flexible.
For example, how do you get the non-content to the studio so they can start working on it for the highlights show when the game ends, that is usually a big headache that we are all waiting for 5G to help us out with.
5G will definitely change the way production is done, but I definitely there is room for a hybrid solution to find the best use of all the different technologies out there, on the contribution side, and also definitely the end-user distribution.
Alex Beckman, chief executive of GameOn, digital innovation specialist
We have be tackling this by getting our company ready and talking to folks who are meaningful in this space. From the consumer point of view, the most natural [reason why] people come to our platform is that they want free content.
We don’t see anybody leaving any of these mobile applications because of 4G or because of a lack of 5G. I don’t think we have maxed or tapped out. I do think that, when running live events [and] broadcasting multiple signal points from all over the world, you do need something fast from the ground up.
From the product side, people leave a mobile app because it isn’t good, and we have a lot of work we can do as owners and leasers of content to deliver stuff to them that’s better.
Though 5G may be a new concept to the consumer, technology companies and, principally, the big telecommunications firms have been wrapping their heads around it for some time now.
In some case, smartphone operators established their own divisions dedicated to advancing the technology as early as 2015. After vigorous testing around building a faster and more robust wireless ecosystem, BT-owned telecommunications network EE looks set to take the first leap by launching its own 5G capability across several major UK cities.
In the world of sport, the technology has already made appearances over the past six months. In November, Wembley Stadium staged the first live event broadcast using a 5G network.
Elsewhere, reports also emerged in March that English soccer giants Manchester United are in talks with telecoms firm Vodafone over implementing a 5G data network at Old Trafford, following in the footsteps of Spanish soccer champions Barcelona, whose Nou Camp stadium is set to become Europe’s first 5G-enabled sports arena.
Though there are clear advantages to owning a faster data point around stadium infrastructure, the impact the next generation network will have on the habits of consumers in the digital age continues to be a topic of debate.
With over-the-top (OTT) sports consumption continuing to gain more traction, SportsPro speaks to innovators in the production space about the role 5G could play in the creation and distribution of live sports content, and whether it will prove to be a game changer for the streaming sports fan.
