UK-based transmission provider Arqiva is supplying satellite newsgathering (SNG) equipment for coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to a variety of broadcasters, including ESPN in the United States and Sky Networks in the UK.
ESPN will use two HD SNG trucks, two SD SNGs, one HD/SD production SNG truck, two TVRO (television receive-only) units and an HD flyaway. The SNGs, complete with Arqiva field engineers on hand, will transmit news content back to ESPN's location at the International Broadcast Center in Johannesburg.
ESPN will have nine newsgathering crews equipped with Panasonic P2 file-based camcorders capturing the action in the cities of Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Tshwane/Pretoria.
Arqiva is providing Sky with 36 MHz of W7 satellite capacity for the duration of the World Cup tournament. This will help deliver news coverage from South Africa to Sky's UK facilities for broadcast as Sky News and Sky Sports News.