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January’s Super Cup wasn’t just a thrilling football match between two stalwart teams, it marked the debut of a number of exciting firsts on the UAE football scene, from buggy cams and live drone footage to vertical production for mobile phone users. The UAE Pro League team speaks to BroadcastPro ME in an exclusive interview about how these new technologies have brough a fresh perspective to the UAE Pro League’s Super Cup telecast
Since its inception, the UAE Pro League has striven to be at the forefront of broadcast and technology developments in the football industry. With the 20172020 strategic plan placing special emphasis on the adoption of technology, the entity believes the introduction of new technology is crucial to bringing distinctiveness and freshness to local football coverage. This has always been evident in the production of the UAE Super Cup, a pivotal event for the country’s broadcast community. As the entity in charge of UAE football, the UAE Pro League has often used every opportunity to
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showcase its ideas and implement the latest technology in football coverage. January’s Super Cup was no exception as the Pro League went all out to produce a match that established a series of firsts for the MENA region. For one, Amy Gillingham joined the team as the first female football commentator. Secondly, this event saw the use of buggy cams for the first time in MENA, according to the team. The telecast was also the Pro League’s first full vertical production, with its entire crew working on special mobile coverage enhanced with live drone footage combined with augmented reality (AR) – another first for
