DAZN unveils new virtual production facility

Sports streaming outfit DAZN has unveiled a new virtual production facility that it says will enhance its global broadcast infrastructure and scales-up its global production output.

The facility, which taps technology outfit NEP’s production platform, makes a variety of production resources including live logging, editing, commentary, and graphic design accessible remotely from any location around the world, all housed in a virtual environment.

The first hub will open in Madrid with 12 virtual production suites, enabling DAZN to produce more localised content around its premium sports rights in Spain, including MotoGP, Premier League and Euroleague Basketball.

The latest move follows DAZN’s opening of a development centre in Amsterdam last summer.

DAZN’s broadcast centre in Leeds, which opened earlier this year, is next to be connected to the virtual production environment. The technology will later be rolled out across other DAZN offices, enabling teams to access virtualised production from anywhere with internet connectivity.

“At DAZN, digital disruption is at the heart of everything we do. The ability to operate in an agile and scalable virtual environment means we can get our content localised and out to market across multiple regions much more quickly. It also enables us to tap into shared resources in whatever configuration is required to fulfil our programming needs,” said Neil Colligan, chief operations officer, DAZN Group.

“It can take up to nine months to launch a physical production facility in a new territory, but with this technology, we can get remote production offices up and running at a speed that can match our rapid pace of growth.”