SVG Football Summit – 21 April 2021

Football
UKGlobalEurope

This year’s SVG Football Summit was held on 21 April 2021, where the industry’s playmakers got together online to debate and shape the future of football production in Europe from the comfort of their own homes. SVG is a networking organisation dedicated to supporting the professional community that uses video, audio and broadband technologies to produce and distribute sports content. Leagues, owners, teams, broadcasters, webcasters, OB companies and technology providers connect to share their experiences and learn from each other – and all at Gravity Media were happy to play their part in the debate.

It was a packed agenda, brimming with great sessions from many of the people responsible for producing and distributing coverage of the beautiful game all over the world. We hope you had the opportunity to tune into Gravity Media’s afternoon session: a case study on our long history in football, and specifically our role in supporting and promoting the rise of Women’s football worldwide.

Since the day we first opened our doors over 30 years ago, Gravity Media has worked both behind and in front of the camera on the world’s biggest football tournaments. Every week, we deliver premium TV content and technical services for some of the world’s most prestigious football events, from FIFA World Cups and European Championships, to every single game of the Champions League and the Europa League competitions.

Gravity Media’s technical expertise and editorial experience lie behind the pictures and broadcasts that are beamed to TV households all over the world. We have partnerships that span decades with some of the biggest names in football, including UEFA, The FA, BBC Sport and ITV Sport, and we deliver hundreds of international programmes and signals all around the globe for the major TV sport platforms, including CBS, Turner Sports, Fox, the BBC, Sky Sports, BT Sport and DAZN. Live productions, instant highlights, digital services and bespoke live studio shows are all key elements of our offering ‒ and we never fail to deliver.

At Gravity Media, we’re immensely proud of the work we’ve done in Women’s football. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the FA’s Women’s Super League (WSL) in the UK. We were involved right from the start, creating a content plan and producing the first magazine show on ESPN, as well as the first-ever women’s football highlights show on the BBC.

Part of our relationship with The FA saw us look after outside broadcasts and coverage from new grounds for brand new teams. We created a new look for the competition; new title sequences, new graphics packages ‒ and helped facilitate the first live WSL match on Facebook. Our work on this project and our commitment to the game led to us being chosen as the BBC’s production partner for the past two FIFA Women’s World Cups ‒ the latter of which brought a record UK TV audience of 11.7 million for the England v USA semi-final, as well as a BAFTA nomination for Best Sports Programme.

That experience put us in conversation with a brilliant new company called Atalanta Media, who are looking to push the women’s game to even greater levels. Ata Football chose us as their production partner thanks to our “pedigree in women’s football, cost-effectiveness and, above all, flexibility.” It’s a partnership we’re immeasurably proud of, but happily it’s not unique. Clients often come to us looking for one very distinct service ‒ particularly when starting out, or in the early years of a project ‒ and then, over time, the relationship evolves into a much bigger partnership. Atalanta Media is certainly an example that encapsulates this approach: having used our gallery, distribution, graphic design, and creative services for the initial launch, the focus shifted to using our in-house studio for world feed wraparounds, our edit facilities for a fully scripted fast-turnaround highlights show, and our OB trucks for live presentations at key matches. And now Atalanta use our digital archive services too, and we’re working with them on ways to enhance their overall digital content strategy.

Gravity Media operates across the entire broadcast and production spectrum. To find out how we can help you with your next production, email enquiries@gravitymedia.com