Behind the scenes as a Venue Operations and Broadcasting Manager

Ylenia Laura Pilla Garcia, Manager Media Production

Within the sports industry, working onsite at a UEFA Club Competition (UCC) football match is a true highlight – both thrilling and motivating. While UEFA is responsible for managing all the venue teams for UCC matches across Europe, a handful of employees at TEAM, depending on the department and position, may have the opportunity to challenge themselves beyond their main role with assignments as Venue Operations and Broadcast Managers (VOBM) or as Venue Services and Sponsorship Manager (VSSM) across the UCCs.

For the 2022/23 season Ylenia, Media Production Manager, stepped up to act as VOBM for ACF Fiorentina. This meant, during ACF Fiorentina’s UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) home matches, she oversaw the commercial and broadcast operations – including host broadcasting, TV and media facilities, LED board delivery, sponsors, hospitality, ticketing and signage. As her first VOBM assignment, it was the perfect opportunity to apply the knowledge she’s gained working in the Media Production department and use her fluent Italian skills for the Florence-based club.

Here’s a look at some of her onsite tasks:

MD-2 (two days before matchday)

Ylenia arrives early, meets up with her local assistant at the stadium and gets to work.

Club meeting: Together with the Venue Director, Ylenia conducts a club meeting to go through all match organisational and operational points, discuss open areas and align on next steps.
Signage: The stadium must be properly branded for all matches. Ylenia meets with the Signage Manager to review venue signage for matchday and accommodate any last-minute updates.
Accreditations/Bibs: Clubs and media partners require different levels of stadium access. Ylenia prepares the requested accreditations and identification bibs so that everyone is able to get where they need to go.
Goal net stretch test: Ylenia stretches the goal net and marks how far back it goes, indicating for the Host Broadcaster where equipment can be placed behind the goal to prevent impact or injury.

MD-1 (one day before matchday)

LED board rotation plan and colour calibration test: Ylenia goes through the rotation plan with the LED board operator, checking accuracy of specific rotations. In addition, the on-screen LED colours need to be compared to the tones provided by UEFA. They test the visibility of board content at the same time as kick-off, with the floodlights on to mimic as closely as possible the actual matchday lighting.
Host Broadcaster/TV Meeting: Ylenia meets with the Host Broadcaster (HB) and all other broadcasters on site to agree all TV positions and editorial plans. With the HB, Ylenia determines which positions need to be cabled and addresses any special requests.
Pitch camera check: For each competition/round there is a minimum number of cameras that the Host Broadcaster must provide. Ylenia walks around the entire pitch to confirm that the host broadcaster has placed all cameras as specified in the overall camera plan (Main camera, close up camera, steadycam, low behind goal right, low behind the goal left, 16m left, 16m right, remote tunnel camera, multi pitch/flash).
Press conference: Press conferences are held with the coaches and a player from each club. Ylenia ensures that the press conference is running smoothly and audits which members of the media are in attendance.
Filming of club training: The clubs can indicate if media are allowed to watch/film up to 15 minutes of the scheduled pre-match training. If filming is allowed, Ylenia ensures that the media partners have access and then works with the club to ensure that media partners stop filming after the allotted 15 minutes.

Matchday

End-to-end test: The end-to-end test ensures that the TV signal is successfully transmitted from venue to TV viewer. It is one of the most comprehensive and important tests for the TV viewing experience. After the Host Broadcaster has downloaded all the correct UECL brand graphics, Ylenia supports with on-screen testing of each asset – seeing how they look on television and examining for mistakes, for example when player names are added. From the OB van, she also helps test the accuracy and TV sequences of the Goal-line technology, which verifies whether a goal has been scored to support the referee's decision. Two people on the pitch simulate a clear goal and a nearly scored one (i.e. when the ball doesn't effectively cross the line). Finally, she makes sure that the microphones do not block key LED Boards or look distracting on screen.
Pre-match interviews: Before the match, broadcasters request a player and/or the coach for a pre-multi or stand-up interview. Ylenia confirms the requests with the press officer and ensures that the broadcaster is in position for their interview at the correct time.
Sponsor activations: During the match, Ylenia verifies that all sponsor activations occur according to plan. If children are involved, Ylenia works with the club to help them feel comfortable and explain where they need to be and what they’ll be doing.
Post-match Flash area interviews: Shortly before the match ends, broadcasters start sending in their requests for flash interviews, which occur with different players after the match. Ylenia must coordinate the requests with the press officers and prioritise the interviews based on the arbitration process that has been defined by the Media Production Department.

Being a VOBM is a great opportunity to be onsite and contribute my expertise in a different capacity. It’s a big responsibility, and the trust from UEFA and TEAM is very motivating. At TEAM, we have a broad understanding across all operations and can offer a lot of inside knowledge and value.

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