LIVE TV
GENRE REPORT
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for the live events sector and producers are using the techniques learned during
the pandemic to build back better. Tim Dams reports
LIVE TV
believe that business this year could even surpass the pre-pandemic era. The live event TV sector was, of course, one of the
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worst hit by Covid-19. Anyone involved producing live event TV – sport, music, awards, ceremonial etc – saw their business grind to a halt when the first lockdowns were announced in March 2020. Jobs were lost and incomes plummeted. Even in 2021, ongoing social distancing rules
meant that live events were difficult to organise. Yet major events did take place last year – from
the Euros, to Formula One, Premier League football and the Isle of White Festival. Producers learned on these events how to put in place complex Covid-19 production protocols and to adopt remote technologies. “We learned an awful lot from the Euros last year,” recalls BBC TV Sport executive producer Phil Bigwood, who has led coverage of major football competitions for the broadcaster since 2002. The Euros, of course, was hosted by 11 different European cities, at a time where travel was near impossible.
ADAPT AND THRIVE A wave of innovation also swept through the
live events business, with producers and talent experimenting both with creative form and technology to deliver innovative coverage of events – whether replicating the sounds of absent crowds, creating virtual sets or streaming pay-per-view gigs
televisual.com Spring 2022
fter two years of disruption due to the Covid pandemic, there’s a distinct whiff of optimism around the live events sector in 2022. Business is getting back to normal, say live events specialists. Some
direct to viewers’ laptops. Many live events producers and broadcasters learned tricks and techniques that they are now building on in the post-pandemic world. And 2022 is shaping up to be a busy year.
Major sporting events such as the Winter Olympics and the Africa Cup of Nations have already taken place. Upcoming sporting fixtures include the Commonwealth Games, the UEFA Women’s Euros and the Rugby League World Cup, all of which are taking place in the UK. Then comes the big one: the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, running at the end of the year from 21 November to 18 December. With Covid-19 restrictions lifting, a full fixture list of golf, football, rugby and tennis is also on this year. 2022 also promises a proper return to live
concerts, with some artists rescheduling shows from the past two years, established stars hitting the road again, and new acts striking out for the first time. Festivals such as Glastonbury are also set for a return after a two-year hiatus. “It does feel like, over the past few months, that we have got pretty much back to normal,” says Mark Cole, managing director of indie Whisper, whose credits this year include The Winter Paralympics for Channel 4. Even so, adds Cole, every
production plan has added costs and planning time due to Covid. “That’s probably here to stay for the next 18 months at least. Events are happening, but they are still challenging to produce.” Covering a recent West Indies cricket match, Whisper had 11 out of 40 crew test positive for Covid.
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