Input Media 'Score' Sky World Cup Coverage

In the count down to the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Sky Sports has selected one of the UK's leading independent sports production companies, as its studio facilities provider for its upcoming coverage of the 2010 World Cup.
The deal sees Sky Sports and Input Media hosting the World Cup coverage at the media and broadcast facilities of The V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre at Granger Bay at the heart of Cape Town.
The news follows Input Media announcing its partnership with Aldea Solutions Inc., an innovative provider of international video broadcast transmission services, to provide the video transport services from Cape Town around the world via fibre links.
Darren Long, Director of Operations, Sky Sports said: "We are extremely pleased to be working with Input Media at the V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre. Input Media has brought together a team that will ensure that our viewers are part of this summers action.
"The offering is both innovative and commercially viable, backed up by comprehensive broadcast and technical expertise. At the same time, the choice of location for us was pivotal, with the V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre offering the best views of Cape Town, complemented with comprehensive media and broadcast facilities."
As part of the deal, Input Media is managing the media and broadcast facilities at The V&A Waterfront World Media & Legacy Centre in the build up to and during the World Cup, which starts on 11th June 2010, providing Sky Sports with fully equipped presentation studios for its coverage and a range of stand up positions with views over the new stadium and the harbour. It will also provide full TV production services, editing, graphics and play-out facilities for the world’s visiting broadcasters. There will be a media information centre that will provide full support services including stock footage of the West Cape’s major tourism attractions, a booking service and general information.

David Johnson, Managing Director of Input Media added: "The news that Sky Sports News will host its World Cup coverage at The V&A Waterfront is testament to our investment in Cape Town and Africa. This is representative of a £1million investment by Input Media in Africa in the run up to the World Cup and follows the setting up of our office in Cape Town."
Aldea, using its extensive fibre-optic video network with expanded capacity for the upcoming World Cup, will be providing the video transport services for visiting broadcasters, from The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. For the 2010 World Cup Aldea has been selected by the major national broadcasters in the Americas and Europe for the delivery their live coverage of the event. The end-to-end managed video services provided by Aldea will be transported over its fibre-optic video network that covers 17 cities in 10 countries.
When the final is played out, over 500 million people around the world will be watching the climax via Aldea's state-of-the-art fibre optic network. Aldea has designed a high-quality bi-directional video and data transport solution that will enable live HD and SD broadcasts from temporary studios in Johannesburg and Cape Town to its clients' studios around the world.
(BMcN/BMcC)