Thinking out of box needed in PSL broadcasts

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A new regime of broadcasting will sweep through local football next week when the Premier Soccer League programme resumes.

PSL TV rights holders SuperSport this week confirmed they were adopting new working methods to broadcast local matches, moving on with the new normal amid the coronavirus.

The pay channel will deploy six production teams, each made up of 45 members, throughout Gauteng, which the PSL has chosen as a biologically safe environment (BSE) to complete the Absa Premiership and GladAfrica Championship programmes.

"Our six production teams will be staying in different hotels [in the province]," SuperSport's head of production Alvin Naicker told Sowetan.

The channel will still be offering commentary in three languages - English, Zulu and Sotho - but the commentators will be based at the Randburg studios and will not be travelling to games.

"We will still have a multi-commentary offering, in-studio guests and fan interaction. The commentators will be based in Randburg because we want to minimise the number of people at the stadiums," Naicker said.

Match build-ups will comprise an anchor and two studio guests, with the rest virtual, according to Naicker.

When sport returned to countries such as Germany and England, broadcasters had to devise new ways of bringing the livecasts and SuperSport won't be an exception.

For the recent cricket Test series between England and West Indies, which was beamed by SkySports, interviews were conducted from almost three metres away from the subject through a mounted microphone.

"All social distancing will be observed for pre- and post-match interviews," Naicker confirmed.

The channel has finalised kickoff times with the PSL, which are 1.30pm, 3.30pm and 6pm. It will all begin next weekend with the Nedbank Cup semifinals, when Mamelodi Sundowns take on Bidvest Wits at Dobsonville Stadium, and Baroka face Bloemfontein Celtic at Bidvest Stadium.

League games begin on Tuesday August 11, with a high-profile fixture between Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at Dobsonville Stadium (kickoff is 6pm).

As supporters are banned from matches, SuperSport will also introduce background fan noise to create an atmospheric scene for the viewers, as seen in the English Premiership, which has just concluded.

It's unclear if the PSL will introduce water breaks midway each half of the match, as has been the norm elsewhere. "In that case we fill in the breaks with punditry comments and highlights," Naicker said.