Canadian Premier League Returns: Mediapro Canada Odyssey 4K Truck Onsite; WT Vision Builds Virtual Stadium

A busy summer for Mediapro Canada continued last week with the start of the Canadian Premier League which resumed play in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. And not only is Mediapro supplying the production truck, the 4K Odyssey unit, but also the stadium as WT Vision software was used to create Canada’s first virtual stadium.

WT Vision is providing a virtual stadium for the CPL matches.

“The venue is just an open field but on camera viewers will see a 30,000-seat stadium with sponsorship, advertising, and ribbon boards [to see a clip click here],” says Chris Priess, Mediapro Canada, vice president. “This is the first time it has been done with three cameras, so it tracks for different perspectives and is also seen in replays.”

The production has nine cameras, including two Netcams, two super slo-mo cameras, and 24 channels of EVS replay.

An AutomaticTV system is also in use, creating the tactical feed that is available to the teams as well as to subscribers who can watch it in a secondary window during the broadcast.

Mediapro Odyssey on site for the return of CPL.

Veteran football director Blair Tetreault is at the head of a 24-person crew on site that is complemented by a team in Toronto that is integrating ENG with studio operations for pre-match, half-time, and post-match needs. The team will produce 35 matches.

COVID-19 is clearly top of mind and Priess says all crew travelled on charter flights and were in quarantine prior to the first match. They are sequestered in the hotel and are not allowed to travel outside the bubble or interact with players, officials, or league staff. Each crew member was tested three times prior to the first match and is now tested weekly.

Mediapro has a unique relationship with the CPL as it is both the rights holder and the production company.

“What’s exciting is we have world-wide distribution as FS2 in the U.S. and iSports in India are carrying it,” says Priess. “The CBC in Canada carries the double headers and Saturday matches while CHCH has the Sunday matches. So, there is international exposure for the league and that has attracted advertisers like Gatorade.”

OneSoccer.ca is also broadcasting every one of “The Island Games.” OneSoccer subscribers are also getting coverage from cameras embedded within each team’s training camp.

Barriers and masks are the order of the day for Mediapro coverage of the CPL.

The ongoing CPL coverage builds on a busy summer for Mediapro Canada that saw them also produce the Canadian Elite Basketball League Summer Series which was held at the Niagara Falls Meridien Centre in St. Catharines. It featured seven teams and the final was held on August 9.

“We’re thrilled they were both able to salvage their seasons (given the challenges with Covid),” says Priess.

The CBC and CBC Gem broadcast the CEPL’s 26 games and playing in one venue made it possible to get back to action.

Mediapro’s AutomaticTV system made its Canadian debut for the CEPL, with four 4K cameras coupled with AI and player and ball tracking to follow the action without a camera operator.

Joan Bennassar, Mediapro, R&D director, says that the AutomaticTV system has grown in terms of use, riding the explosion of OTT as well as coaching staffs who use it for analysis. The system uses four fixed cameras and then extracts out the portion of video that is covering the action.

“It’s grown a lot in five years and the system now has a surprisingly high quality,” he says. “Our team has focused on getting the maximum image quality as well as getting the flow and movement to mimic the movement of an operator with a tripod.”

The minimum set up is two 4K cameras and with features like dual output it can provide both full screen tactical coverage and also the virtual camera coverage. The CPL, for example, provides the tactical feed to all seven teams while also serving as the main feed camera.

Nineteen of the games were produced using AutomaticTV while the nine games being broadcast by the CBC were produced in Mediapro’s 53-foot Alto truck.

“It can accommodate 21 people so there was plenty of room for the seven or eight people who are producing those games,” says Priess. “The producer is on the back deck and the EVS operators are separated and we have safety captains for each show.”

Priess has been at the helm of a Canadian team that has grown from eight to 26 full-time staff and from a facility that was 20,000 sq. ft. to 45,000 sq. ft.

“Within two months of launching last year we did 110 soccer games and we now have six trucks servicing all of the North American market,” he says.

The unique relationship with the CPL allowed the Mediapro Studios team to produce “Bringing It Home,” a documentary show shot over six months by Director/Writer Juanma Arizmendi and Cinematographer and Editor Marc Parramón. The two traversed Canada from coast to coast, telling the stories from on and off the pitch, interspersed with dramatic coverage of key moments including Cavalry FC’s memorable win over MLS’s Vancouver Whitecaps in the Canadian Championships, and the heated battles and rivalries that occurred as the teams battled for the title of the ‘Forever First’ CPL champion.

“Bringing It Home” debuted on OneSoccer, Mediapro Canada’s dedicated soccer channel, on August 10 and all four episodes will be available on demand for OneSoccer subscribers.

“We made our intentions very clear from the start, promising to deliver world-class programming to Canadian soccer fans,” says Mediapro Canada CEO Oscar López. “Bringing It Home demonstrates the passion that has helped Mediapro become a global leader in production. We hope Canadian Premier League fans enjoy seeing the league in a way they’ve never seen it.”

Mediapro’s efforts in Canada are being complemented by its work in Mexico for the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico (LMP), the Mexican Pacific League of baseball. This week the LMP nailed down a strategic alliance with SKY Mexico for the 2020-2021 season, with all games to be produced by the Mediapro Group, using its state-of-the art technology.

This new deal sets a precedent in Mexico, as the LMP becomes the first professional league in the country to boast standardized production at all its venues.

From the first pitch of the opening game in October to the last out in January 2021, fans will be able to enjoy the same quality of production at each game. The 2021 Serie del Caribe, the top tournament for professional teams in Latin America, will also benefit from significant improvements in television production provided by Mediapro.

Viewers will be able to watch international quality coverage of the LMP on the SKY and VETV platforms, with SD coverage on channels 591 to 595 and HD coverage on channels 1591 to 1595. Fans will also be able to follow their teams on the Blue To Go streaming service, available across all connected devices.

SKY’s services will bring coverage of the LMP to all corners of the region, across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.