The El Clasico encounter between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou was one of 2018’s most cutting-edge televised sporting spectacles, on par with other global events such as the NFL Super Bowl in its use of innovative technologies providing global viewers with the most immersive experience possible.

LaLiga has partnered with a number of the world’s leading technology providers to put together a suite of technical tools including True View, 4K-HDR, an aerial camera, Be The Player and Laser Wall, that enabled a potential audience of over half a billion TV viewers across 182 countries to feel closer than ever to the action. In addition, an uninterrupted international feed ran from two hours before kick-off until after the final post-match press conference, ensuring that fans across the world didn’t miss a single second of the action.

“LaLiga is one of the sports competitions with the most supporters in the world but not everyone has the opportunity to come to the stadiums to see the games in person,” says Joris Evers, Chief Communications Officer with LaLiga. “So our challenge is to bring those who are far away as close as possible to the action, and we use a lot of technology to do that.”

A partnership with Intel allowed El Clasico viewers to access 360-degree replays, using the same ‘True View’ system implemented in the NBA and NFL. On-site technicians took feeds from 38 cameras positioned around the pitch, and then ‘stitched’ the 2D footage together to provide a multi-angle view of pivotal moments during the 90 minutes.

“It is known as ‘volumetric video’,” says Melcior Soler, Audiovisual Director at LaLiga. “You can place the camera where you want, not physically but virtually. With that virtual camera, you can have the same exact view as the player before they take a shot on goal.”

Following last December’s first LaLiga El Clasico of 2017/18, the game was once again produced by broadcast partners Mediapro in 4K-HDR resolution thanks to 30 different UHD (Ultra High Definition) cameras positioned around the Camp Nou. By contrast, last season’s UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff (won by Real Madrid) was filmed by just 10 such UHD cameras.

LaLiga’s aerial camera was positioned 21 metres above the pitch which provided unique overhead footage. The images from this state of the art equipment were delivered via a special UHD camera with 14x zoom wide-angle lens, which also spun and travelled at great speeds to cover an area of almost 7,000 m².

“For games such as El Clasico we take special measures – up to 40 cameras in total, including some in helicopters, on cranes and on motorbikes following the team buses as they arrive at the stadiums and 6 SSM (Super Slow Motion) cameras following individual stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the game,” says Soler. “We roll out even more technology than they do for the Super Bowl.”

LaLiga’s Mediacoach suite of cutting-edge match analysis tools and services, developed by Mediapro, was available to managers Ernesto Valverde and Zinedine Zidane even as the action unfolded during the game. “Mediacoach captures a lot of information and makes it available in near real time to the coaches making decisions in the dugout,” Evers says.

Viewers were also be enabled to make up their own minds about controversial decisions during the game thanks to the Laser Wall, an overlay graphic that displayed a virtual straight line to end all arguments about whether a player was offside or not. Live 3D graphics on screen during the broadcast also enhanced the viewers’ experience of the game. Another innovative addition by LaLiga and its broadcasters was the ‘Be The Player’ feature, which Evers says “allows the viewer to get right inside the skin of the player.”

This was made possible by servers processing the match footage from 38 5K-resolution cameras installed by Intel allowing LaLiga to zoom in at pitch level and deliver a view of the action from the players’ perspective, thus allowing the viewers to place themselves in the midst of the action.

The state of the art technology was used in LaLiga for the first time during December’s El Clasico. In all, 4 stadiums are equipped with Intel True View – the Camp Nou, Santiago Bernabéu, Sánchez-Pizjuán and Wanda Metropolitano – with Mestalla and San Mames set to add the technology ahead of next season.

There was also a first for El Clasico in the audio department with the use of Dolby Atmos. This saw more microphones than ever positioned around the stadium, helping to deliver a 360-degree stadium audio experience for the viewers.

Such technologies ensure that LaLiga fans continue to get the best and most innovative television experience ever seen in world football.

LaLiga this week provided a behind-the-scenes look at the technology behind Spain’s world-famous football competition. Cutting-edge broadcasting and data-collection systems make LaLiga one of the best-televised sporting spectacles in the world and are harnessed to ensure the competition’s clubs have the most advanced tactical and strategic information. The demonstration was staged in collaboration with Grupo Mediapro, LaLiga’s production partner.

RCD Espanyol’s Stadium was the setting for LaLiga’s first-ever Innovation Showcase. This took place against the backdrop of the Mobile World Congress – one of the most important technology events on the planet, which brings more than 100,000 experts to Barcelona every year – and lifted the curtain to offer an insight into the technology behind the best football league in the world.

As LaLiga’s Chief Communications Officer, Joris Evers, explained: “The aim is for fans not just to watch matches, but to be immersed in an exclusive audiovisual experience. Additionally, LaLiga is unique in providing all its clubs with valuable tools to assist coaching staff and make our teams even better.”

4K HDR

The visual experience on offer to fans of Spanish football has taken on a different dimension thanks to the 4K HDR broadcasts that LaLiga serves up for the two headline games of every matchday. A total of 20 HDR cameras are used for this purpose, although substantially more are incorporated for special occasions like El Clasico, major derbies and key matches in the latter stages of the season, when cameras mounted on helicopters and cranes are among the additions.

With HDR broadcasts, viewers at home can feel like they are even closer to the action than the crowd at the stadium. The images are so real that it is as if the events were unfolding in their very own living room. LaLiga is one of the few sports competitions in the world to be broadcast in HDR and the number of people who can feast their eyes on this quality is growing constantly due to sales of HDR televisions and the expansion of OTT services and satellite technology.

Skycam

The choice of venue, the RCDE Stadium, made it possible to see the Skycam – an aerial camera located 21 metres above the pitch and providing unique overhead footage – in operation. Courtesy of this technology, LaLiga fans around the world can enjoy spectacular bird’s-eye views of the action and the stadium. The lofty vantage point, coupled with the camera’s ability to spin and travel at great speed, means it offers a special perspective of the pitch.

These cameras are compact, high-definition models with a 4/3, 14x zoom wide-angle lens, whose footage is transmitted from the pitch to a mobile unit via fibre-optic cables. They can cover an area of almost 7,000 m2. During the pre-match build-up and post-match aftermath, as well as at half-time, the three technicians operating the Skycam position it at a height of 3-10 metres in order to treat viewers to even more detailed shots.

Intel True View

Intel True View has now been in use for several years, with its 360° replay technology enabling every piece of play to be reproduced in 3D and offering TV viewers from all corners of the globe a unique perspective of the action from every angle.

The 2D videos from each of the 38 cameras in place at the stadiums are processed through a series of powerful Intel servers, allowing for replays to be viewed from any position or angle. This technology is in use on a regular basis, with the system having been installed permanently at the Camp Nou (FC Barcelona), the Santiago Bernabeu (Real Madrid), the Wanda Metropolitano (Atletico de Madrid) and the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan (Sevilla Football Club).

In addition, thanks to innovative software, viewers are now also able to enjoy the incredible “Be The Player” feature, which premiered in LaLiga in during this season’s first El Clasico clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in December. Be The Player puts the viewer in the middle of the action, capturing events from the perspective of the player in a particular piece of play and offering spectators the same view as the player immediately before the action is played out.

Another powerful new feature is the Laser Wall, a virtual wall that is overlaid on the pitch, giving viewers a clearer picture when determining offside positions.

Live 3D graphics

LaLiga is also the only national competition to offer viewers Live 3D graphics during its live broadcasts. These serve to complement the match data made available to the spectator and represent a unique and novel visual support.

This technology also enables tactical and positional changes to be displayed and tactical analysis of the play to be illustrated during action replays.

Virtual reality

LaLiga has dramatically improved its broadcast quality over the past seasons. Lots of work is also being done thinking about the future. Mediapro research and develop teams, alongside LaLiga, is experimenting with virtual reality (VR) technology. To obtain real source materials to serve this new production tool, last December’s El Clasico encounter was filmed with a set of two 360º cameras and four 180º cameras, which allowed for the production of a range of audiovisual content in 3D and 2D.

At the LaLiga Innovation Showcase event, attendees were given a taste of this viewing experience through the use of Samsung Gear glasses, which offered users a sneak peek of the first features of the virtual reality app that is under development:

• Images of the game (El Clasico) filmed using 180º and 360º multi-camera technology
• 3D highlights and replays
• Mediacoach statistics (in augmented reality)

Mediacoach

In addition to offering spectators an excellent viewing experience through the use of the latest broadcasting innovations, LaLiga also employs groundbreaking technology to provide its clubs with valuable training tools.

In this regard, through Mediacoach, a suite of cutting-edge match-analysis tools and services developed by Mediapro, LaLiga provides every club’s coaching staff with the data to carry out in-depth analysis of the various facets of the game. Moreover, since the start of the current campaign, the use of Mediacoach has also enhanced LaLiga television broadcasts and content on the various digital platforms.

No other football league boasts a proprietary platform as advanced as this tool.