ITV has tasked Gearhouse Broadcast to supply a range of facilities in Russia for its FIFA World Cup 2018 coverage.
Gearhouse has built the broadcaster’s studio in Red Square, as well as facilities including production offices, a master control room and a transmission gallery at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC). This is then linked to ITV’s studio in Red Square.
Work on the studio took over a year, and a mock up was built in London before everything was shipped to Russia. There is also a full talkback capability between the studio and ITV’s production team at the IBC.
Roger Pearce, technical director, sport at ITV said: “For a job of this scale, you need a trusted partner not just with experience of delivering the technical set up, but also of transporting large quantities of professional broadcast equipment to somewhere like Moscow. Gearhouse did a great job for us four years ago in Brazil and have been very proactive in having a Plan B and C ready should we need it this time around.”
Ed Tischler, managing director at Geahouse Broadcast UK added: “There’s been a lot of preparation with this job, as everything has to look just right once they go on air. From building a mock-up of the studio, to populating and testing the various racks, this has been a team effort with us and ITV. Because of the location, and the challenges of getting people and kit in and out of the country, nothing could be left to chance.”
