Norway’s Football Stadium Embrace New Broadcast Technology From Ing. Sivertsen and Broadcast Networks

OB Team,
the outside broadcast arm of Norwegian broadcaster TV2, is finding it much
easier to capture the nation’s key football matches thanks to the introduction
of a termination panel system that has been installed at four of the country’s
main football stadium.

Ing.
Sivertsen, in collaboration with
UK
systems integration specialist Broadcast Networks, has designed, manufactured
and installed termination panels at the S r Arena,
Kristiansand;
Brann Stadium,
Bergen; Marienlyst stadium,
Drammen and Klepp Stadium,

Stavanger. These panels allow OB Team’s
trucks to simply park in their allotted slot and connect to an integrated
cabling system that connects the
OB vehicle to
every part of the stadium. Having all the routing for audio and video systems,
including links to the commentary box, already in place saves the outside
broadcast crew an enormous amount of set-up time and removes the need to drape
cables around the stadium.

The idea
for the termination panels came from Ing. Sivertsen, who’s founding director
Dag-Olav Sivertsen has extensive experience of TV broadcast production-related
installations. Since 2000 he has worked closely with OB Team and TV2 on various
installation projects encompassing both outside broadcast vehicles and
television studios.

In 2006,
OB Team commissioned two new High Definition vehicles from Sonyprofessional
Solutions Europe, with all design, systems integration and project management
handled by Broadcast Networks. This brought Ing. Sivertsen into contact with
Broadcast Networks and sparked a collaboration that enabled Dag-Olav Sivertsen
to develop his idea of an integrated routing system for football stadia.

“The close
relationship I have developed with OB Team has given me in-depth knowledge of
how their
OB vehicles are used in production,”
Sivertsen says. “This knowledge, combined with my aim of delivering a complete
installation that encompasses both stadia and
OB
vehicles, led to conversations with Broadcast Networks on how this might be
achieved. Basically I designed the termination panels and Broadcast Networks
checked my AutoCad drawings and layouts, then used its expertise to manufacture
and wire them to my specifications.”

Tom Haye,
managing director of Broadcast Networks, adds: “This project was very different
from the norm as the majority of the panels were custom designed by Dag-Olav to
suit his particular requirement for each of the stadiums. Combined with the
distance involved between us and the customer, the short time scale, accuracy
was paramount, as changes would have delayed the implementation of this complex
system.”

Ing.
Sivertsen has been carrying out stadium installations since 2002 and has now
completed eight
OB Team-ready installations,
four of which were carried out before the company struck up a relationship with
Broadcast Networks. The new S r Arena was the first stadium to have the
custom-built panels installed. All the cables, including those linking every
camera position, the commentary box, the dedicated media zones and staff
intercoms, were planned and delivered ready for use by Ing. Sivertsen. The
cable installation company worked to Ing. Sivertsen’s specifications and linked
the 20 triaxial camera cables and 12 HDTV fibre optic camera cables, along with
a number of audio and video lines, to the termination panels manufactured by
Broadcast Networks. These panels are located outside the stadium, thus making
it very easy for OB Team to link up with similar panels on board its new HD
trucks.

Thanks to
word of mouth recommendation, Ing. Sivertsen was soon commissioned to retro-fit
similar panels at the three other stadiums.

“My
company’s ability to deliver a complete installation, from planning, through to
the supply and testing of all necessary parts, has made Ing. Sivertsen the
first choice when a football venue is being planned,” Dag-Olav Sivertsen says.
“

Norway’s
stadium building industry isn’t large, so word of mouth plays an important
part. Because the results Ing. Sivertsen achieves are very good, one stadium
recommends the company to another.”

The
installations at all four stadiums were completed in time for the start of the
new football season and are working flawlessly, making it much easier for OB
Team and TV2 to broadcast matches.

“Broadcast Networks were a fantastic partner to
have on this project because they were able to convert my designs into
completed panels in a very short space of time,” Sivertsen adds. “The results
are absolutely perfect and I believe these stadiums will “stand out”
for many years to come.”