Features

Sky and Vodafone push boundaries on fan engagement

Telecommunications company Vodafone and broadcaster and telecommunications giant Sky have successfully trialled the new ‘Sky 5G Multiview App’ in a German Bundesliga football match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. 

Sky will be providing its customers with ground-breaking fan experiences through the new app, which include exclusive content and various camera perspectives from around the stadium. 

Fans can analyse controversial scenes on their smartphones from within the stadium and re-watch moments they may have missed. 

This has been enabled by the Vodafone 5G network, meaning the app testers within the Red Bull Arena were able to achieve 2.6gb/s via the network. There is the potential for bandwidths of up to 10gb/s.  

Vodafone chief executive Hannes Ametsreiter said: “We marry emotions in the stadium with the information from the digital world. Our 5G turbo and data processing directly on site in the stadium bring camera perspectives, which are otherwise only available to stadium visitors on TV in the evening, directly to the smartphones. Detail lovers in the stands can thus view decisive scenes from every angle and never miss a goal again.” 

To transmit five high-resolution camera signals at the same time, large amounts of data are transported simultaneously per user in real time. The live images on the app will almost match the live game in front of the fans, and will also be available in high definition. The response times in the 5G network are less than 10 milliseconds. 

The footage is transmitted directly from the live production on the sidelines via Vodafone’s 5G network through to Sky’s mobile transmission unit. From there, it travels straight to fan’s mobile phones. 

Charly Classen, executive vice president sport at Sky Germany, said: “With the Sky 5G Multiview App, we are breaking new ground together with our partner Vodafone to experience a Bundesliga match in the stadium. 

“The spectators see the live match on Sky Sport best and the live experience is of course best in a fully occupied stadium. With the in-stadium app, we bring both worlds together and show what will soon be possible with our sports productions.”

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