This may be the fourth FIFA World Cup™ that Claude Phipps, Director of Special Proj­ects for ESPN (USA), has attended, and the fifth for Geoffrey Mason, Head of 2010 Production Planning, but there is still room for surprises. “This is the biggest operation that ESPN has undertaken for a World Cup,” explains Claude, “and the response has been fantastic.”

Despite his national team Greece seeing elimination in its last game of group B (M36), Aris Nikolaskis, Sport Coordinator, is still able to see many positives at this tournament. “I’ve been to other World Cups, but I’m really pleased with this one,” says Aris, “the set-up has been fantastic. Everything has been very well or­ganised, there are more facilities; I am personally very comfortable here.”

This year, thousands of fans around Europe can cheer their favorite team all together during FIFA World Cup 2010. TecnoVISION has been cancelling the long distance to South Africa, with temporary installations to make people feel all the emotions of the most important sport event.

As consistent at the FIFA World Cup™ as their continental col­leagues Brazil are on the pitch, Chile’s TVN have broadcast every FIFA World Cup™ since 1970. “The World Cup is a brand for TVN,” ex­plained Sports Executive Producer Michael Boys.

Megahertz (MHz), a leading independent international systems integrator, has delivered an HD-ready Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) truck to AP Television News in London. The vehicle is already in South Africa covering live news events from around the 2010 World Cup football.

Most broadcasters have the hopes of a nation resting on their coverage, for pay-channel SuperSport International it is nearly an entire continent. Transmitting all 64 matches and with 250 staff working on the project, SSI are taking the FIFA World Cup™ to more than 40 nations and island territories, from markets as large as Nigeria, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo – as well as their home South Africa – down to tiny audiences in Sey­chelles and Sao Tome.

Streambox® today announced that its Streambox Live™ broadband video contribution service provided a vital communications link for 13-year-old climber Jordan Romero's ascent of Mount Everest. Romero, the youngest person ever to attempt and reach the summit of the world's highest peak, used the service to send up-to-the-minute, high-quality video reports of his progress from various locations on the mountain — one of which was included in CNN's broadcast coverage of the expedition.

Powered by Orad Hi-Tec Systems' MVP (Motion Video Play) sports enhancement solution, branded as "Flomotion," CBS Sports' Fall 2009 coverage of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships has been named the winner of the prestigious 2010 Sports Emmy® George Wensel Technical Achievement Award.

laSexta is preparing a huge technical and staff deployment for this week’s European Grand Prix on 25th, 26th and 27th June in the streets of Valencia. In order to cover the Spanish leg of the race championship in what is turning out to be one of the most exciting series of races ever, the channel is deploying a big team of technicians and a host of cutting-edge technical equipment.

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.

Some spectacular airborne action was seen in the skies over Abu Dhabi on the weekend of 26th and 27th March as the Emirati capital hosted the Red Bull Air Race for its sixth consecutive year.

The French national team’s troubles in this 2010 FIFA World Cup™ have had at least one positive repercussion for France’s TF1: they have fully validated its strategy of dividing its operations between the IBC, the team’s base camp and its headquarters in Paris. With much of the news coming from the base camp in Knysna (near Cape Town) rather than from the stadiums, TF1’s twelve ENG teams have had plenty of work, including covering every one of the team’s many press conferences live.

The newly-built 70,000-seat Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban is one of ten premier venues (spread across nine cities) which hosts matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Located in KwaZulu Natal, and purpose-built on the site of the former Kings Park Stadium which was demolished in late 2006, it has been designed as a world-class, multi-purpose facility which will be used long after the World Cup has finished.

With an overall crew of 80 – 40 technicians and production personnel at the IBC, 20 at the Spanish National Team training camp and ten two-man ENG crews – Sogecable can certainly be said to have a presence at this tournament. “The main work is, of course, sending the live matches back to Spain, which we are doing across six fibre optic lines – two in HD and four in SD,” explains Alberto Arrillaga Imaz, Technical Manager for Sogecable, “however, on top of this, we are producing a lot more content.”

Paul Bonhomme of Britain won the first-ever Red Bull Air Race in New York on Sunday with a scintillating performance under pressure in front of the most spectacular setting in the eight-year history of the sport. Nigel Lamb took second place in a thrilling four-way battle between the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan while American Kirby Chambliss got his second straight podium with third place.