Preview: FIFA World Cup Brasil 2014

Facts and Figures
• 12 host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Sao Paulo

• 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Kick-Off Times (Rio time zone: GMT -3)
- Opening 17:00h Sao Paulo
- Other group stage matches
    - 3 matches/day at 13:00h, 16:00h and 19:00h
    - Except Day 3 with one additional match at 22:00h
    - Except last 16 matches: 8 x 2 matches at 13:00h and 17:00h
- Knockout stage matches 13:00h and 17:00h
- Semi-finals at 17:00h
- 3rd/4th place match at 17:00h
- Final at Maracana at 16:00h

• The 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Production Plan will retain the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ main elements:
- Multi-Feed Production
- Turn-key EBIF Show
- High Definition Coverage
- The "Dream Team" concept
- Centralised 5.1 Surround Sound production
- Mobile/Multimedia Match Feed
- Virtual Offside Line on ESF and CSF
- Media Server accessible to MRLs (onsite & offsite)
- 24 bit/48 kHz PCM audio uncompressed for all comentary circuits

• Services under consideration for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ include
- Multimedia feed
- MatchCast
- VOD & in-match clip production
- SMS & MMS
- White-label Apps: smart phone, tablet
- White-label video player
- Data feed

The road to  Brazil
HBS kicked off the journey to Brazil with a FIFA Broadcast Information Meeting held on 29 July 2011 in Rio de Janeiro. FIFA, the LOC and HBS took advantage of this opportunity to present the current state of planning and implementation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ to broadcasters who were gathered in Brazil for the Preliminary Draw, held the following day at the same venue in Rio. HBS was Host Broadcaster of the Preliminary Draw, which was produced by TV Globo.

HBS will meet Media Rights Licensees (MRLs) again at the First FIFA World Broadcaster Meeting (WBM1), to be held on 24-25 April 2013, before a Second FIFA World Broadcaster Meeting (WBM2) is staged on 8-9 December 2013, just after the Final Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Inbetween these two gatherings will be the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013, which will allow HBS to fine tune elements of its Production Plan and demonstrate several new innovations. One of the final stages of the pre-event preparations will be an MRL Venue Tour in March 2014.

Production Plan
The HBS Production Plan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ is based on standards substantially similar to those of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, with some innovations and improvements. The Production Plan will build on the success and experience of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups™, providing MRLs with programming that meets the highest standards of quality and innovation.

The multilateral camera plan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ is enhanced from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ coverage by the inclusion of a cable system and an aerial (helicopter) camera for all matches (venue infrastucture permitting). An up to 34-camera plan has been proposed, with two new reverse-angle 6 m cameras – SSM and mainly used for replays – bringing the number up from the 32 used in 2010.

A further development that will be reflected in HBS’ Production Plan is the emergence of the so-called ‘Second Screen’ experience – which relates to methods of watching FIFA World Cup™ coverage by non-traditional means such as mobile, laptop or tablet computer. By 2014, the convergence between the traditional way of watching a sports event – TV – and the new way – multimedia – will be significantly more advanced and the way the FIFA World Cup™ is experienced will have changed. The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ will be a global multimedia event and the Second Screen user will not be bound by the constraints of a TV schedule. Such an event, where so much content is produced already and can be made available to MRLs instantly through the FIFA MAX Server, is the ideal platform for FIFA and HBS to deliver an increased package of multimedia content to their rights holders.

IBC
The International Broadcast Centre (IBC) for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ will be located at the Riocentro exhibition complex in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.

HBS assisted both FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) in the bidding and selection process by ensuring that the bidding cities prepared suitable offers, covering all aspects necessary to the construction of a successful IBC.

Riocentro is situated to the west of Rio de Janeiro in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood, which is known for its beaches and lakes. With a population of approximately 300,000, and a total area of 165.59 km2, it is considered to be one of the richest and safest parts of the city and is labelled as one of the fastest developing areas within the larger Rio de Janeiro territory.

The Riocentro complex is set to be used as a competition venue for the 2016 Olympic Games, hosting the Badminton, Boxing, Table Tennis and Weightlifting events. The Rio Olympic Park, hosting 13 other events, will also be located nearby in Barra da Tijuca.

The complex is situated 20 km from the Estadio do Maracana venue and is approximately 25 km from Rio de Janeiro-Galeao International Airport. The domestic airport, Santos Dumont, is approximately 35 km from the IBC.

During the event the IBC will serve as the headquarters for FIFA TV, HBS, FBST, other FIFA Family members and the Media Rights Licensees. To accommodate all IBC users, Halls 3, 4 and 5 of the Riocentro complex will be used.

Company Profile
Host Broadcast Services, fully owned by Infront Sports & Media*, is a specialist host broadcast organisation, originally established with the core mandate of producing the television and radio signals for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups™.
Based in Switzerland, but with its planning headquarters in Paris/Boulogne, the company has evolved since its formation in 1999 and built upon its unique capabilities by attracting expert personnel from the very top levels of the television industry to complement the experienced staff who have honed their skills over previous FIFA World Cups™.
The global acclaim for the host broadcast of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, the first ever to be delivered entirely in High Definition, led to FIFA appointing HBS as the Host Broadcaster for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, where again history was made with the first ever FIFA World Cup matches broadcast in 3D.
HBS continues its proud partnership with FIFA in the role of host broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup events in 2013 and 2017.
HBS is responsible for producing the multilateral coverage and providing unilateral production, transmission, commentary facilities and associated services for world broadcasters at the FIFA World Cup™. To achieve this, HBS designs, builds, installs and manages an International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and the multilateral and unilateral broadcast facilities at every venue in the host country.

HBS also oversees all Other FIFA Events (including the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the FIFA U-17 and U-20 World Cups, the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup) from every corner of the globe.
In addition, HBS has worked on a wide range of other events and sports, either as host broadcaster, in a consultancy role or as a service/facilities provider.
The 50/50 HBS joint venture with Trans World International (TWI) called Doha Asian Games Broadcast Services (DAGBS) delivered the full host broadcast operation of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 in Qatar. The event staged more sports than the Summer Olympics.
The 50/50 HBS joint venture with Trans World International (TWI) called Doha Asian Games Broadcast Services (DAGBS) delivered the full host broadcast operation of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 in Qatar. The event staged more sports than the Summer Olympics.
For 2008-2012, the company delivered the host broadcast operations for French first division football (Ligue 1) on behalf of the "Ligue de Football Professionnel”, producing more than 300 matches per season. From 2010-2012, HBS also produced 10 matches per week for Ligue 2, totalling 380 games per season.