In this article we will leave aside the sporting or management controversy that has surrounded Qatar in recent months prior to the tournament, what interests us most is related to audiovisual production and television broadcasting.
Standards continue to change. During the World Cup, 42 cameras were assigned per match, each of the 64 games during the last weeks, had standard broadcast cameras, super slow motion and ultra slow motion units to follow the most interesting plays. Plus PTZ units, pole-mounted units, a drone camera, a spider camera, steadicam platforms and even a helicopter-mounted camera. Basically, if something happened in the stadium, nothing can leave the lenses of the Host Boradcast Services worldwide, experts in audiovisual production for major sporting events such as the Olympics or the Winter Games.
The big change this year was a unified workflow that included HD, UDH, HDR and SDR. In order to have the necessary downloads for TV, streaming and digital media. Regarding sound, there were basic stereo mixes and 5.1 surround sounds during all the games of the tournament. In other words. It looks great and sounds great.
Formats such as 8K were conspicuous by their absence, although there was a special flirtation with stereoscopic 3D and augmented reality in different official FIFA applications. For example, the balls were interconnected to a central server to calculate the speed of each shot; this data is captured in real time during the game and presented graphically to the viewer.
All of this automated data is used to feed the graphics during the broadcast to provide analysis of each match by the commentators of the authorized television channels.
These types of initiatives are seen as key to increasing viewer engagement and stadium-goer experience. Looking ahead to 2026, stats overlay, augmented reality, heat maps, real-time 3D renderings and VAR super slow cameras; will continue to be refined to extend across the full range of FIFA applications to keep fans immersed in the experience far beyond the stadiums themselves.
At Crew In Motion we are ready to help you with the necessary arrangements and a full team of audiovisual production professionals, if you are if you need to film something for upcoming sporting events.
