Red Bee Announce Sale Of Piero To Polish Broadcaster

Red Bee Media have announced at Sportel Monaco on stand D12 that it has sold its unique sports technology, Piero, to Polish broadcaster ITI Neovision for its nsport channel.
The news follows Piero winning two awards at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam last month. Piero is the first technology of its kind that enables better analysis of sports games. It enables viewers to see 'play' from angles that are not captured by cameras.
“There was a lot of interest in Piero at IBC and I’m delighted that we have been able to announce another sale so soon after the event. ITI Neovision will be the sixth broadcaster this year to adopt the system to make the most of its sports coverage,” commented Andy Townsend, Design Systems Manager at Red Bee Media.
Red Bee Media developed Piero from a BBC Research and Development ‘proof of concept’ in collaboration with BBC Outside Broadcasts for BBC Sport. Earlier this year Piero was also adopted by SkyItalia, Hong Kong Cable and TV Globo in Brazil in time for the World Cup and later ITV in the UK for its UEFA Champions League coverage.
Grzegorz Płaza, Chief of nsport channel, said: “We will be the only TV station in Poland to have such an advanced graphics system and are very pleased that our viewers will be able to benefit from a graphic solution that is already used by the BBC and SkyItalia. When this system is used to analyse ‘play’, new details that cannot be seen normally will be revealed about seemingly simple situations. Our programmes that use Piero will therefore offer a whole new perspective on games.”
The Piero technology places pictures of real players into a virtual stadium, where it is possible to view and analyse play from different angles in animated sequences. It is the only technology of its kind with a seamless transition between original footage and a virtual stadium. Offside, forward passing and other offences can be seen from the best angle for analysis - even if the play has not been captured at this angle.
To form an inclusive graphics package, Piero also features the ability to track players across the grass and place pointers, badges and scores on the pitch in 'live' video. It can also be used to place virtual advertising in real footage or virtual stadiums.
Piero is operated through an easy-to-use touch-screen interface, which programme presenters and pundits can operate on-air. It allows them to draw directly on the pitch and can switch between real and virtual views at the click of a button. The drawn graphics remain 'tied-to-field' in moving camera footage.
At IBC Piero was awarded a prestigious IBC Innovation Award for Innovative Application of Technology in Content Creation. It also received a Cable and Satellite Product of the Year Award for Best Outside Broadcast Technology or Service.
(DS)