DAZN deploys multi-market remote production hub for World Cup finals
DAZN CTO Sandeep Tiku outlines the company's multi-market remote production architecture for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, utilizing a centralized Dallas IBC hub to manage diversified contribution paths and localized processing. The deployment leverages fiber, bonded cellular, and distributed regional hubs to handle market-specific frame rates, HDR requirements, and interactive features like synchronized player-specific camera angles.
Key Takeaways
- Dallas IBC hub serves as the central aggregation point for all commentary, ENG, and reporter feeds across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
- DAZN Japan is testing pitchside remotely controlled robotic cameras, allowing fans to vote on player-specific camera angles.
- The contribution architecture features three levels of redundancy, integrating fiber, satellite, IP, and bonded cellular technology.
- Processing nodes in the UK, Netherlands, and local markets handle territory-specific frame-rate conversion and color-space management.
- Tiered production model dynamically allocates resources based on match relevance, scaling to full on-site deployment for marquee final-stage events.
Why It Matters
This deployment validates centralized remote production as the primary model for multi-market, large-scale live sports. By offloading technical processing to a single hub in Dallas while localized editorial is handled at regional nodes, DAZN reduces the need for redundant on-site infrastructure. The shift from a passive world feed to interactive, player-specific viewing angles signal a broader industry move toward personalized streaming experiences. For the ecosystem, this proves that public internet bonding and IP-based workflows can maintain millisecond-level reliability for tier-one sports. Watch for DAZN’s further integration of AI-automated camera tracking and 5G-enabled ENG at the 2026 Final in New York.
Additional Context
The 2026 FIFA World Cup production model builds directly on DAZN’s 2025 FIFA Club World Cup deployment. During that tournament, DAZN partnered with Techex and TAG Video Systems to build a ST 2110-based global Master Control Room in Leeds, UK, which monitored over 5,000 unique video sources (per NewscastStudio, July 2025). That project achieved 30-70% cost savings compared to traditional broadcasting by reducing on-site venue staff from 30-50 people down to fewer than 10 (per TVU Networks/Reddit, October 2025). The 63-match tournament served as the primary proof-of-concept for the current multi-market architectural framework.
Simultaneously, FIFA and Host Broadcast Services (HBS) have expanded the technical baseline for all media partners at the 45,000-square-meter Dallas IBC. The facility now supports a 104-match schedule—the largest in tournament history—using a Lenovo-powered edge computing infrastructure to manage 3D player avatars for semi-automated offside technology (per FIFA, June 2026). This shared infrastructure includes JPEG XS for low-latency transmission and centralized audio suites that deliver immersive 5.1 mixes to more than 180 global broadcasters (per TVBEurope, June 2026).
DAZN has also enhanced its app-side interactivity, moving away from a "lean-back" broadcast model. In Japan and Italy, the platform defaults to an interactive mode that highlights features like FanZone, which includes real-time polls, social reactions, and a "Multiview" mode for up to four simultaneous matches (per Dolby, July 2026). This shift mirrors a broader trend where streaming providers integrate social and tactical data directly into the live video layer, reaching an estimated global audience of 5.8 billion viewers.
Read full article at sportsvideo.org
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