Fremont, CA - June 8, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the 2. Basketball-Bundesliga, Germany’s second tier national basketball league, has developed a live production workflow using broadcast infrastructure from Blackmagic Design to live stream matches from venues across the country.
Developed with support from Teltec AG, each of the sixteen portable production units (PPU) comprises two Micro Studio Camera 4K and a pair of Blackmagic Studio Cameras for acquisition, while an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K is used for vision mixing.
As a rights owner, the Basketball-Bundesliga partnered with OTT service airtango to facilitate the live streaming of league matches. “Not only did we want to broadcast matches online, we also wanted to produce highlights packages and coverage of press conferences as well as club news, which fans could access for free,” explains Daniel Müller, managing director, 2. Basketball-Bundesliga.
He continues: “From the outset we wanted to enable clubs to deliver the best digital experience possible. To ensure that content is treated with consistency we’ve standardized our production workflow around a PPU system that is powerful yet user friendly.”
Müller explains that each club takes responsibility for assembling its own production crew, and they are encouraged to create content that helps bring fans more exclusive access to the team and its progress. “Each system is incredibly intuitive and provides enough creative flexibility that means clubs can experiment with the type of content they produce on the court and off.”
Match action is acquired in 1080i/50 from a pair of cameras in courtside and steadycam positions, while two fixed camera positions above each hoop supply the ‘basketcam’ shots. Live signals are taken into a bespoke production rack, where the ATEM switcher brings together graphics, scoring overlays, commentary and ambient audio.
“To achieve this, the livestreams have to reflect the speed, tension and excitement on the court and translate it for an online audience, so our footage has to be fast paced and accurate,” explains Müller. “Delivering nationwide, broadcast quality livestreams has been a massive long term project, requiring careful planning, budgeting and training, and Blackmagic Design’s pricing, reliability and high quality production have been essential in its successful deployment.”
A live program mix from stadiums around Germany is then uploaded to airtango where multiple live games can be streamed concurrently.
“The OTT offering not only enables clubs to establish a direct relationship with their fans but also help us as a league to grow the sports fanbase throughout Germany in a way that was never previously possible,” concludes Müller. A good content strategy underpinned by the right technology providers such as Blackmagic Design will allow us to better understand fans and deepen engagement.”
Press Photography
Product photos of Blackmagic Studio Camera, Micro Studio Camera, ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.
