1. Supporting ESPN at the World Cup
Our employees recently returned from the Brazilian World Cup
knowing they’d put in a German-esque performance and were quite possibly more deserving of the
Golden Ball award ahead of a certain Lionel Messi. Preparations for the World Cup started long
ago, a time where it was our English employees holding much bolder, brass predictions when in
comparison to our American counterparts. However history will tell you that it was the latter with
much wider smiles come the end of the closing ceremony. Soccer had ruled king.
Going in to the tournament ESPN knew they wanted a satellite provider that they both knew and
could trust. The stakes were infinitely high going in to each match and the games were played at a
ferocious pace (England versus Costa Rica being the exception that proves the rule). We joined
forces with ESPN for what was perhaps one of the most thrilling football tournaments to take place
in recent memory.
After impressing at the South African World Cup, and adamantly denying any involvement with
vuvuzelas, ESPN were quick to continue our burgeoning relationship ahead of Brazil 2014. Rather
than relying on a local alternative, ESPN instead asked us to ship three satellite trucks and seven
engineers and production crew to Brazil for the duration of the World Cup and to cover various
locations. ESPN’s decision to work with us really boiled down to a few key differentiators:
 The quality of service we offer - they can’t risk a live match going off-air
 Our impressive SNG truck capability; we support multi-camera production capability and
standard uplink services

2. America’s love affair with football is one that continues to grow and mature with each passing
World Cup; by the end of Brazil 2014 viewing figures had increased over 42% in comparison to
2010. Over 18 million people tuned in to watch ESPN’s coverage for the USA versus Portugal
match – a figure that eclipsed any NBA finals game that had taken place this same year. It’s a
testament to everyone involved here that organisations such as ESPN look to us to provide
coverage for some of the world’s largest events.
Congratulations to everyone involved in helping ESPN provide exemplary World Cup coverage
throughout Brazil 2014. A special thank you goes to Randy Smith, David Faulks, the SNG
engineering team and Ray Lindley.
Published by Joe Edwards on 18 July 2014