The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has commissioned outside broadcast specialist FilmNova, to deliver live coverage of the PTO’s flagship event – The Collins Cup. The inaugural event is scheduled to take place on August 28th at the x-bionic sphere sports resort in Šamorín, near Bratislava, Slovakia.
FilmNova will work alongside multi award winning director, Martin Turner, who will head the broadcast team as Executive Producer.
The Collins Cup is a new race format modelled after the Ryder Cup, which will see teams of International, European and USA athletes pitted against one another. The event aims to create and leverage the excitement, rivalry, drama and personalities of the sport of triathlon to attract a wider fan base.
FilmNova will deliver a complex engineering solution to ensure that coverage is captured from all corners of the 100km course. Mobile cameras including 12 Motos, Helitele and Drones will use a combination of RF and 4G linking to relay the dynamic shots.
The camera set up at the start, finish and transition areas will include robotics, jibs, steadicams, pole-cams, buoy-cams and handhelds. This will cover athletes through transition to the closing stages of each race.
Adding to the innovation will be team captain and rider audio communication – with the team captains for USA, Internationals and Europe based at the transition and finish areas in an area that will resemble the pit-lane set-up of F1 bosses.
The captains will have access to isolated camera feeds and two-way communication with team members out on the course. Athletes will all have wearable technology providing biometric data that will be brought to life on screen, with the immersive graphics also providing ‘Ryder Cup style’ predicted match scores.
In addition to the live specialist cameras, a Bolt-X robotic camera will capture every athlete in advance for use in athlete intros, as well as in-race through transition.
‘At the heart of the coverage will be passionate athlete storytelling and a determination to inform and update viewers. With 12 race matches setting off 8 minutes apart, there will be continuous coverage of what is happening and what is expected to happen, including on-screen match scores and predicted scores for ongoing races.’
In-picture clips and stylized mini-features from the athletes will inform viewers of their race strategy and approach to key disciplines. Given the PTO’s policy of gender equality, both men and women match races will be given the same detailed build-up and equal broadcast coverage. FilmNova’s world feed coverage will be led by Director Matthew Coliandris and Programme Producer Jim Bentley.
Martin Turner, who is no stranger to directing and producing award winning broadcasts will head the broadcast coverage team and build on the foundation already laid with the PTO 2020 Championship broadcast, which was shown in over 126 countries, including prime time coverage on NBC and live streamed on NBC-Peacock.
Turner, who created the world’s first dedicated Formula 1 Channel – Sky Sports F1 – and was awarded Formula 1 Broadcaster of the Year for two years in a row before becoming head of Sky Sports F1 coverage in Europe, said “I am excited to deliver the quality broadcast coverage that triathlon fans are desperate for.
“The PTO are creating world class sporting events like The Collins Cup with the aim of putting innovation and world class storytelling at the core of our television product to make our superstar athletes like Alistair Brownlee and Lucy Charles-Barclay household names.”
Phil Sibson, Managing Director, FilmNova said “We were struck by the drive, ambition and ethos of the PTO and their fantastic concept of The Collins Cup. We have worked hard to develop a broadcast solution that will match this in innovation and scale, whilst providing engaging and compelling storytelling that we know will excite audiences”.
Sam Renouf, Chief Executive Officer of the PTO, added “We are thrilled to have FilmNova on board working alongside Martin to deliver our inaugural live broadcast of The Collins Cup to a global audience of triathlon and sports fans.
“Innovative production values and compelling storytelling is key to creating a broadcast platform to leverage the excitement, rivalry and drama of The Collins Cup while showcasing the personalities of our amazing PTO athletes to a wider audience.
“The move signifies the PTO’s commitment to raise the status of triathlon, grow its fan base and create a consistent, fan-focused media proposition centred around innovative broadcasting of major events and compelling athlete storytelling.”
FilmNova is the television production arm of the Great Run Company, which was established in 1988 by Sir Brendan Foster. FilmNova is host broadcaster of World Triathlon events in the UK including the Leeds Triathlon and is the appointed OBS Host Broadcaster for Rowing and Canoe Sprint at the Tokyo Olympics.
The company was host broadcaster of the 2018 World Indoor Athletics Championships, co-host broadcaster of the London 2017 World Athletics Championships and host broadcasters of the open water swimming at the European Championships in Glasgow 2018.
In the UK, FilmNova delivers live BBC coverage of the Great North Run, the Great Manchester Run and produces Para sport coverage for Channel 4, including triathlon, athletics, cycling and swimming.
www.filmnova.com
www.protriathletes.org
