News and Updates

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

Ovington, UK - August 2007: 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 stadia.

Ing. Sivertsen, in collaboration with UK systems integration specialist Broadcast Networks, has designed, manufactured and installed termination panels at the Sør 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 Sony Professional 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 Sør 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.”