Tagged: ‘FA Cup’

posted by on May 13, 2013 1:00 PM

NBA reporter Marc Stein takes an NBA respite to cover FA Cup final for ESPNFC

LONDON — The next transfer window in world football doesn’t open until June 1, but longtime NBA insider Marc Stein just made a very unique — albeit temporary — move of his own.

Through a special “one-weekend loan deal” from ESPN.com’s NBA team to ESPNFC, Stein was dispatched to London to cover Saturday’s FA Cup final between Manchester City and Wigan at historic Wembley Stadium for ESPN’s online soccer arm. Wigan’s 1-0 “Cupset” was carried live Saturday in England on ESPN UK as part of a 12-hour schedule devoted to one of the big “sports holidays” on the UK calendar. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on January 14, 2013 10:22 AM

ESPN UK gives the inside track to the magic of the FA Cup

LONDON — On Jan. 5 and 6, ESPN’s UK operation televised what many sports fans consider to be the “start” of the FA Cup — the world’s oldest and most coveted domestic soccer cup competition.

While the tournament actually begins in August, the Third Round of the tournament — where the “giants” of the English Premier League enter and are matched-up against lower-league and semi-professional or amateur clubs — has provided innumerable shocks and fairytales over the years and is one of the key moments in the English sporting calendar.

The tournament, first held in 1871, is unique in the UK by allowing clubs of all standards to compete, from the largest clubs in England and Wales down to amateur teams. It means the tournament has become known for the possibility of so-called minnows becoming giant-killers by eliminating top clubs from the tournament. It is an attribute that is sort of the English soccer cousin to the “Cinderella” element of the NCAA basketball tournaments.

FA Cup Production Numbers

· 90 Approximate number of staff on site
· 22 Cameras including ENG/ESPN
· 12 Outside Broadcast Vehicles including Satellite Uplink, F & TV, GFX, Security, Dining Bus for Talent & ITV SNG
· 6 Presenters, reporters, commentators and guests
· 91 Meals served
· 14 kilometers of cable into the stadium
· 60 BNC inter truck video feeds
· 2 MADI fiber optic inter connectors
· 30 Audio connections inter truck
· 9 LCD monitors in various locations
· 9 Specialist HD mini cams
· 1 HD radio steadicam
· 1 HD Super slomotion camera
· 1 X-mo
· 9 HDC1500 cameras
· 7 EVS XT2 hard disc recorders
· 2 M2000 HD tape machines
· 1 SRW tape machine
· 2 Digi Beta machines

As 2013 dawned, ESPN cameras were live at two Third Round matches that presented that opportunity for a so-called potential “giant-killing” upset: semi-professional club Mansfield Town (from the fifth tier of English soccer) versus Liverpool FC (Premier League powerhouse and seven-time winners of the FA Cup); and Cheltenham Town (from the fourth tier of English soccer and an amateur club as recently as 1999) taking on Everton (five-time winners of the FA Cup, currently fifth in the Premier League table).

ESPN covers the tournament on TV in several territories worldwide, including the home market of the UK, so the images captured by ESPN cameras were being beamed to ESPN viewers in the UK, Australia and parts of Latin America — as well as serving as a host feed for other TV partners around the world. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 5, 2012 12:47 PM

Go inside ESPN UK’s coverage of
FA Cup’s First Round match

(L-R) ESPN UK lead soccer presenter Ray Stubbs, ESPN special guest Martin Allen, team manager of English soccer team Gillingham and ESPN UK soccer analyst Craig Burley. (Tristan O’Carroll/ESPN)

CAMBRIDGE, England — This past weekend, our UK operation started its TV coverage of this season’s FA Cup — the world’s oldest and most coveted domestic soccer cup competition — with the First Round of matches.

The FA Cup is known as English soccer’s great leveller — pitting amateur sides that get to train perhaps once a week against professional teams with access to some the best support in physical and technical training.

Last Friday, ESPN commenced its coverage of this season’s FA Cup with the live broadcast of amateur side Cambridge City’s clash against professional outfit Milton Keynes Dons at Pro-Edge Stadium.

Just before going on air, FrontRow caught up with ESPN UK soccer commentator Derek Rae on the essence of this unique competition.

Above, enjoy a picture gallery of the broadcast.

What is the essence of the FA Cup?
There are very few Cup competitions like this — where everybody takes it seriously and everybody knows there’s the potential for the big teams to fall. New stars will be born, live on television and local heroes will emerge on the national stage.

How different is an ESPN broadcast at an FA Cup game compared to, say, an English Premier League match? continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on April 21, 2012 12:00 PM

Week in review

Mike Greenberg joined Kelly Ripa for some morning talk show fun. Check out the gallery above and the story below for more on Mike & Kelly in the Morning!

Let’s review the week on Front Row:

* Actor/comedian Rob Riggle is about to live a sports fan’s dream: He will host The 2012 ESPYS on July 11 at 9 p.m. ET. Riggle, a Marine, clued us in on his preparation and expectations as the host of ESPN’s 20th ESPYS telecast.

* On Wednesday, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg (@ESPNGreeny) co-hosted LIVE! with Kelly. Greenberg was joined that day by Olivia Wilde, comedian Kevin Hart and Science Bob who had Kelly and Greeny competing against each other in “lab” experiments.
continue reading…

Filed in: Week In Review

posted by on April 16, 2012 5:34 PM

ESPN in UK and Ireland covers
Liverpool-Everton FA Cup semi

LONDON — This week, our UK operation broadcast one of the two semi-finals of this season’s FA Cup — the world’s oldest and most coveted domestic soccer cup competition — live from Wembley.

ESPN in the UK brought exclusively live televised coverage of the Merseyside derby, contested by Liverpool and Everton, which finished 2-1 to Liverpool after a late winner from their star striker Andy Carroll.

Liverpool, owned by Boston Red Sox owners, Fenway Sports Group, contributed two of their alumni to ESPN’s soccer talent team: Kevin Keegan (the ex-England soccer team manager) and John Barnes (one of the most revered England soccer players of all time).

ESPN’s UK production team brought viewers a 90-minute build-up from our custom-built set. In truth, our pre-match build-up was far longer than that.

On-site preparations began last Thursday morning with technical crew travelling to Wembley and cable rigging taking place around the iconic venue, followed by sound and vision testing on Friday. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes, On The Road

posted by on April 13, 2012 11:07 AM

ESPN in UK and Ireland features
Liverpool-Everton FA Cup SemiFinal

The 2012 FA Cup

LONDON — On Saturday in the UK and Ireland, ESPN will televise live, exclusive coverage of the FA Cup SemiFinal between Liverpool and Everton beginning at 11 a.m. local time.

The game brings together two of England’s biggest rivals as they meet in the FA Cup for the first time since 2009.

Liverpool faces mounting pressure to win the FA Cup following a disappointing run in the Barclays Premier League, while Everton manager David Moyes will be targeting Cup success to mark 10 years at the helm of the club. Both teams have an impressive FA Cup pedigree: Liverpool have notched seven tournament wins, while Everton have lifted the trophy five times.

ESPN in the UK and Ireland’s coverage will include a 90-minute build-up from a custom-built set, and will feature 37 cameras, including pictures from the Goodyear blimp, as well as super slow motion cameras.

Native Merseysider Ray Stubbs will be the host, and he will be joined by ex-Blues Martin Keown and (guest pundit) Graeme Sharp and ex-Reds (and ESPN analysts) Kevin Keegan and John Barnes. See a match preview by clicking here.

Coverage will also feature a special segment — The Bench — developed in collaboration with Budweiser, which will feature fans, ex-pros and celebrities discussing the match. Guests for this will include former Everton star Kevin Ratcliffe and former Liverpool star Ian Rush. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 23, 2011 4:00 PM

ESPN UK talent, execs play soccer at Wembley with fans, partners, legends

LONDON — This week, our UK operation helped celebrate the start of this season’s FA Cup — the world’s oldest and most coveted domestic soccer cup competition — with a special match at Wembley, the venue for the England national soccer team.

ESPN, which airs the competition in the UK and Ireland, hosted a special 11-a-side soccer match for the full 90 minutes on the world famous Wembley pitch involving viewers, fans, industry journalists and key company partners. They can lay claim to being among a very small group of people to have played on the famous Wembley pitch.

Each team was managed by members of ESPN’s UK soccer talent team: Kevin Keegan (the ex-England soccer team manager) led Team Keegan; John Barnes (one of the most revered England soccer players of all time) and Ray Stubbs, ESPN UK’s lead soccer presenter, led Team Barnes/Stubbs. Competing on each side were ESPN soccer talent (Ray Stubbs, Kevin Keegan, Chris Waddle and Martin Keown), plus a number of specially-invited FA Cup legends.

Team Keegan prevailed, 2-1.

After the match, the teams were able to see the FA Cup trophy itself, walk up to the famous Royal Box where the winners of the actual tournament in May 2012 will receive the famous trophy. The sides got to spend time with ESPN’s soccer talent as well as the legends themselves.

Ross Hair, Managing Director, ESPN, Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “The FA Cup is one of the biggest tournaments in the sporting calendar and has a special place in the hearts of football fans everywhere. Our first year of broadcasting the FA Cup last season produced some great matches, remarkable stories and amazing upsets. ESPN is looking forward to bringing fans all the action this season. Our presentation of the FA Cup will continue to take the same innovative approach we took last season, an approach that focused on bringing fans closer to the stories around the game and closer to the game itself.”

Keegan said: “It’s a massive day for these guys to come and play at Wembley and to have the chance to play with the likes of (ex-Arsenal legends) Robert Pires and Martin Keown is unbelievable. They’re all just big kids at heart’

Barnes said: ‘You can see how much playing in this fantastic setting means to the guys, they played with enthusiasm and its great to see that. I know they are all of a certain age and fitness, but it just shows how much football (soccer) means to everyone.’

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 14, 2011 8:45 AM

A taste from the FA Cup

Tonight in London, Manchester City and Stoke City vie for the 2011 FA Cup.

Wembley Stadium should be rocking for the 130th championship game of the world’s oldest soccer tourney.

Those lucky enough to be watching on ESPNUK will see the event given the red carpet treatment, with 12 hours of coverage including a commercial-free presentation of the match.

In April, I had a chance to visit my ESPNUK colleagues to work on some projects and photograph the two FA Cup semifinal matches, pictured above. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on May 12, 2011 12:00 PM

Nothin’ but net in two sports

Looking ahead to Saturday, ESPN.com NBA Senior Writer Marc Stein is both nervous and excited.

His beloved Manchester City is facing Stoke City in the FA Cup final at London’s famed Wembley Stadium (on ESPN UK in England).

The source of the excitement and the nervousness is the same, because Stein — like every long-suffering City fan — has been waiting for 35 years since the club’s last major trophy. 

Stein’s love affair with City began when he spent several summers in Israel as a youth and became an avid reader of SHOOT!, a weekly publication focusing on English soccer. He started reading it when he was 11 years old, knowing virtually nothing about the country’s geography or the league’s history. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes