Clubs involved in the UEFA Europa League have certain obligations towards the host broadcaster and other audiovisual rights holders for these matches. Audiovisual rights-holder facilities to be provided by the club are defined below, with the camera positions explained in detail in Annex E.
The clubs must provide the audiovisual rights holders, free of charge, with the necessary technical assistance, facilities, power and access for technical personnel.
UEFA media requirements include, but are not limited to, the facilities defined below. Clubs may not charge the audiovisual rights holders and/or the UEFA audio media partners for any general installation costs relating to their production requirements.
Clubs are required to provide the facilities, including, where necessary, through the removal of seats and the non-sale of tickets, for the construction of camera platforms, studios and commentary positions. Any temporary construction such as scaffolding must be checked and approved by the relevant safety authorities. Production plans, including camera and commentary positions, will be confirmed to the clubs five days before the match at the latest.
Up to ten commentary positions are required for league phase matches, up to 20 for the knockout phase play-offs and round of 16 matches, and up to 30 for the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Commentary positions must have three seats each, be located between the 16m lines in the same stand as the main cameras and be equipped with the necessary power, lighting and phone connections, as well as the necessary restricted-access (not public) internet connectivity to support the use of WebCIS throughout the commentary positions. The commentary positions must be secure and not accessible to the general public. In addition, a total of ten observer seats must be available for league phase matches, a total of 15 observer seats for the knockout phase play-offs and round of 16 matches, and a total of 20 for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Two additional commentary positions, one for each team, must be made available and reserved for the clubs’ technical filming. The location and requirements of these positions are the same as for other commentary positions. These positions will be released back to the home club if not required.
As of the league phase and at the request of audiovisual rights holders, clubs must provide at least the following:
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One indoor studio, individually enclosed, measuring at least 5m x 5m x 2.3m, and close to the dressing rooms to allow easy access for coach and player interviews.
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One pitch-view studio comprising at least 5m x 5m x 2.3m of open and usable space with an unrestricted view of the field of play (e.g. an executive box), or space for such a studio to be installed if safety and security considerations permit.
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A second pitch-view studio (at least 5m x 5m x 2.3m of open and usable space with an unrestricted view of the field of play) or a presentation platform with an unrestricted view of the field of play (at least 3m x 3m of secured and usable space) is required only if the position already exists in the stadium. Should a second position with a view of the pitch not exist in the stadium, its construction will be requested only if this does not entail any additional loss of seats for the club. UEFA may instead request that a presentation platform be erected among the commentary positions, should the full allocation of commentary positions not be required for a given match.
Clubs must provide space for at least five flash-interview positions for the league phase matches and up to eight flash-interview positions for knockout phase matches. These should be located in an indoor area near the dressing rooms, and should each measure 3m x 4m.
Clubs must ensure that pre-match, half-time and post-match pitchside presentations can be conducted by audiovisual rights holders. To this end, clubs must make space available next to the playing surface. This space should be split into no more than two areas, each area totalling a minimum of 15m x 3m.
A parking area to accommodate the broadcast compound must be provided. This area must offer at least 1,000m² of usable space for league phase matches and at least 2,000m² of usable space for knockout phase matches. Some matches with high media interest require more space than the amounts set out above. Clubs must provide full support to meet these needs, taking into account the usable space available. The parking area should be on the same side as the main cameras and must be made secure from the public. The surface and the layout of such space must also be suitable for parking any outside broadcast (OB) vehicles. If the broadcast compound has an obstructed view of the southern horizon, an additional area may be required nearby for satellite uplink vehicles. Any such area must be no more than 50m away from the centre of the broadcast compound and must be at least 200m2, to accommodate at least six satellite uplink vehicles, during the competition.
All security measures that may be reasonably required to safeguard and control the audiovisual rights-holder areas (including the broadcast compound) are the responsibility of the club. The security of all audiovisual rights-holder areas is the responsibility of the club. These areas must not be accessible to the public and must have 24-hour manned security from the start of installations to the departure of all audiovisual rights-holder personnel and equipment.
Clubs must provide the necessary cabling infrastructure (e.g. cable bridges, trenches) to enable the audiovisual rights holders to install all cables safely and securely. Moreover, where requested, access to pre-cabled systems in stadiums should be free of charge to all audiovisual rights holders.
Clubs must make any existing power supply available in the broadcast compound. In addition, clubs must provide the required power to commentary positions, pitch-view studios, pitchside presentation positions, the referee review area (if applicable), indoor studios and flash interview positions. The afore-mentioned power must be provided free of charge.
The home club must provide broadcasters with dedicated Wi-Fi, free of charge, in all broadcast areas, including pitchside presentation positions, flash positions, the broadcast compound, studios, commentary positions, observer seats and the mixed zone. The home club must make every effort to ensure that telecommunications suppliers can install internet lines to pitchside presentation positions and flash interview positions.
In principle clubs should ensure that stadiums are connected by optical fibres to a provider point of presence (PoP) with sufficient bandwidth and redundancy (as defined by UEFA) to facilitate broadcast operations, unless otherwise agreed by UEFA in exceptional circumstances.