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Always on the move: travelling up to 5,700 km with the German team

Martin Hofstetter and Steffen Schäfer with former Miss South Africa Jo-Ann Strauss

Our team comprising Martin Hofstetter and Steffen Schäfer have covered around 5,700 kilometres across South Africa in their HD-SNG on their “Mission Black-Red-Gold”. The steady speed they travel at belies the tight timescale of their assignment: their objective is to reach each new venue at least one day ahead of the German team despite travelling at an average speed of 50 km/h as a result of the condition of the South African roads.

This poses a real challenge to the MEDIA BROADCAST specialists because as soon as one match is over the next is about to begin. The two of them are therefore permanently on the move from venue to venue, always with the goal of getting there long before the first pass is played. And if the German team should find themselves heading home early, the MEDIA BROADCAST team will simply travel along new routes to watch other teams in different venues.

When you have to be constantly ready to broadcast, perfect logistics also have a key role to play. Even more spare parts than usual are carried on board or stored in various locations in South Africa, including the International Broadcast Center in Johannesburg, and we have a logistics company standing by to offer an express air courier service. Into the South African bush, if need be!

HD quality via satellite and glass fibre cable

All reports, background information and live broadcasts are transmitted in best HD quality. Both the ASTRA A4 satellite and the glass fibre cable network are in use here. Live broadcasts, for example, are beamed to Baden-Baden and Mainz via satellite.

From there the signals make their way back via glass fibre cables to the very heart of the ARD and ZDF coverage in the IBC in Johannesburg, where the reports are included in the ongoing World Cup programme.

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MEDIA BROADCAST impresses beauty queen – and vice versa

Zebras, ostrich and elephants etc. – our SNG team was only able to admire these unrivalled South African beauties in passing on their mission to shadow the German football team. You can therefore understand how excited Martin Hofstetter and Steffen Schäfer were to meet another beauty from this country in the form of former Miss South Africa, Jo-Ann Strauss. They were able to provide the South African beauty, who has been filing World Cup reports for ZDF, with technical editing and dubbing support for her report on the public viewing area in Port Elizabeth.