Player entrances and introductions are a time-honored tradition of any sport and serve as an important way to pump up both player and fan prior to a game. This season, when professional German ice hockey club, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers, take to the ice, lighting effects from Elation Professional Platinum 1200 Wash™, Platinum FLX™ and Platinum Beam 5R Extreme™ add an extra level of excitement to the pre-game hype.

Speaking at a Sportel Tech Panel session on Social Video, Shaw told delegates that the recent introduction of the Facebook Live service had altered the dynamics of its relationships with sporting rights holders. “Our relationships and conversations have certainly changed over the last couple or six months,” he said.

Billed as the greatest ocean adventure around the planet, the biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has extended its commitment to a fourth season of the award-winning ‘Race of Their Lives’ human adventure unscripted TV series, produced by UK based 1080 Media TV, to complete distribution deals through to 2020.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans car race is the world’s largest active sports car race in endurance racing. The event that is hailed as one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world took place from the 17-18^th June in Le Mans, France.  In 2016, the Le Mans coverage was watched by over 90 million TV viewers and gained 4,500 hours of TV coverage in 2016.

FIFA and Presenting Partner EA SPORTS™ announced the launch of their global competitive gaming initiative that features a brand new visual identity and kicks off on 3 November. The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup is built around the new EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series, the official qualification tournament for the pinnacle event, the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final 18. This exciting new format will give millions of players around the globe the chance to be crowned EA SPORTS FIFA 18 World Champion in August 2018.

The 2017 World Rowing Championships, the ultimate rowing event and season highlight, governed by the World Rowing Federation FISA, were hosted at the Nathan Benderson Park, a new setup water-event location in Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida USA. With this championship the biggest international rowing event returned to the US after more than 18 years. More than 900 athletes were competing for the title of World Champion.

Robe BMFL moving lights – a mix of 108 x BMFL Spots, WashBeams and Wash XFs, plus 80 x Spiider LED wash beams – proved a perfect match to light the first Laver Cup international tennis tournament. The Laver Cup is a brand new indoor hard court men’s tennis competition staged for the first time in Prague’s O2 Arena … with the action broadcast worldwide on TV.

The 29^th Summer Universiade, AKA the World University Games, took place in Taipei, Taiwan, in August 2017. Taipei-based Winly Group supplied, installed and operated the production and broadcast equipment for the opening and closing ceremonies at the B-01 Taipei Stadium, which seats over 21,000 people.

Implementing its first broadcast-quality video production initiative to support new online and social media distribution opportunities, the Athletics department at the University of Maine selected Z-HD5000 cameras from Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd. (Hitachi Kokusai) to provide the pristine picture quality and outstanding ease of use they needed. Building on the benefits the cameras bring to their live sports productions, the university also plans to extend its use of Z‑HD5000s to the educational curriculum with new video production courses next year.

For soccer clubs, a savvy digital strategy is almost as important as a standout team roster. Fan engagement can make or break brand value, so international soccer teams are always exploring new ways to connect with fans. With the proliferation of OTT and advances in mobile technology, it’s become more challenging over the years, as clubs need to reach fans across new technologies, viewing platforms and social channels. Southampton F.C. (Football Club) is recognized as a team with one of the most progressive digital strategies in the league – from its website to interactive live streams, which earned the club a BT Sport 2017 Cutting Edge Sports Award nomination

After producing the US Open Squash Championships in Philadelphia for seven years, IMS Technology Services noticed a distinct improvement in the audio quality after switching to Martin Audio CDD-LIVE speakers for this year’s event.

VidOvation today announced that AVIWEST's DMNG PRO180-RA bonded cellular system reliably provided live broadcast coverage of the women's wheelchair race during the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. As AVIWEST's exclusive distributor in the United States, VidOvation supplied the AVIWEST gear to CP Communications, the New York-based production service and digital media technology rental company whose expert technicians designed the video acquisition and transmission solutions and operated the equipment during the marathon.

ChyronHego today announced the formation of a dedicated sports venue team comprising senior industry veterans from the company's global product management, systems design and integration, sales, and marketing groups. The new team will work to accelerate delivery of new and disruptive solutions, such as ChyronHego's Click Effects PRIME, that transform the live arena- and stadium-based A/V presentations space.

Following the recent celebration of its one-year anniversary, the Olympic Channel today announced that it has reached cooperation agreements with the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS), and the international governing bodies for fistball, muaythai, polo, powerlifting and tug of war to collaborate on content for the multi-platform global media destination.

A new Swiss sports channel is broadcasting live coverage of all ice hockey matches in the Swiss National League, along with matches from the Russian KHL and the Swedish Hockey League. Called MySports, it also carries Bundesliga football, handball, basketball, winter sports and large eSports events broadcasts.