SES has confirmed the EBU is transmitting the 2014 FIFA World Cup to audiences throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia in Ultra HD and HD over its SES satellites.
Eurovision, the EBU’s distribution arm is using the NSS-806 satellite and SES’s teleport in Manassas. SES’s NSS-7 and SES-6 spacecraft are being used to enable Eurovision to deliver matches from the 12 World Cup venues throughout Brazil to the International Broadcast Center in Rio de Janeiro.
“Eurovision and the EBU are gearing up for one of the largest broadcast operations requirements in the history of the World Cup, now including Ultra HD content. The live coverage of some matches in Ultra HD will allow consumers to catch a glimpse of the future of TV,” said Paolo Pusterla, Eurovision’s Head of Procurement.
“Consumers today expect higher and better image quality when watching TV. We are proud to be able to continue working with Eurovision to fulfill the ever-changing demands of broadcasters with confidence, by providing hybrid solutions to deliver coverage of this spectacular sporting event to over 3 billion people around the world,” said Samantha McCloskey, Vice President of Global Occasional Use Services at SES.
Earlier this month, BBC R&D and Arqiva announced a series of Ultra HD trials during the World Cup. The closed user trials will cover three games from the Maracanã stadium in Rio – a last 16 match, a quarter final and the final.
