Sky cameras roll into Sixways

All rugby fans know that there’s nothing more relaxing than an afternoon watching Sky Sports – but for the team in charge of broadcasting the action to millions of viewers it’s not such a breeze.

Film crews that arrive at Sixways always look more like a circus troop or a fairground team as they pull up in convoy.

The guys don’t travel light – it takes two full length articulated lorries, three trucks, two transit vans and a bus to get all the essential equipment to the ground.


Then there’s the 70 or so staff it takes to operate it all – from technicians to celebrity presenters, who also have to travel.


The team needs a full day to set everything up – cables needs to be rolled out, a television studio put together, and pitch side reporter positions established.


Terry James, who works for Telegenic, the team that broadcasted the Worcester versus Leicester Tigers game for Sky Sports, said televising games is fairly straightforward – as long as the weather behaves itself!


“Despite everything we do, there are only two critical elements to an outside broadcast- your power source and the outgoing circuits,” he explained. “If either fails, then the viewer is left looking at a blank screen.”
 
Despite the pressure of live broadcasts, as a sports fanatic Terry admits he has a brilliant job.


“Every day’s different,” he said. “I get to work at most of the big events- Guinness Premiership finals, Heineken Cup finals, Champions League,” and the list could go on and on.
 
As soon as the broadcast is finished, the team starts packing away, and even though it takes a full day to set up, it only takes two hours to pack away before the team sets off again for the next big game.


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