Broadcasting4.02.2025

Inside SuperSport’s broadcasting truck at the Soweto Derby

SuperSport invited MyBroadband to experience how it broadcasts one of South Africa’s biggest sporting events of the calendar year so that everyone can catch all the action.

After spending some time navigating the congested streets leading to Soccer City, or FNB Stadium as it is formally known, we eventually arrived at what would become a battleground for the next two hours.

Entering the stadium, we were able to soak up the energy created by the myriad of AmaKhosi and Buccaneers fans ready to see their teams battle it out for the most important victory of any derby: bragging rights.

South Africa’s largest stadium, seating 94,000, was filled to the brim, and the biggest question going through my mind was how a broadcaster like SuperSport would convey the energy and emotions experienced in the stadium to the millions watching at home.

However, that’s why I was there. To understand how the output of the 24 cameras positioned around the stadium is condensed into one video feed that is beamed off by a satellite and eventually received by the viewer within three seconds.

Just as the game was heating up, we were taken to where SuperSport’s IP1 outside broadcasting (OB) truck was parked just outside the stadium.

There, we were met by SuperSport’s CEO Rendani Ramovha and the broadcaster’s head of football, Simo Nalane, who gave us the tour.

Nalane explained that there were a total of 15 operated cameras located around the stadium, with the majority positioned on the western side of the pitch.

The remainder of the cameras included commentary cams and a drone used for aerial shots.

In the middle of the western stands were the three primary cameras, which would track the play and be supplemented by footage from the rest of the cameras, such as various slow-motion and pitch-side sensors.

We were then taken into the first room of the primary OB truck, where the producer and director were seated.

The director was positioned in front of a wall of roughly 50 video feeds, constantly in comms with his team, telling them which feed to bring up onto the live channel.

The producer and his team were seated behind the director with a few smaller screens in front of them.

We were then taken into the replay room with four people on either side, facing twelve screens.

The replay director, who sat to our left, had a view of every one of her team members’ screens.

Nalane told us she would instruct the director which replay feed to choose when needed and which angles looked good overall for the live feed.

To keep the user informed about match statistics and other relevant information, such as team lineups and the league log, SuperSport also has a team that overlays virtual reality and augmented reality visuals onto the feed.

The VR and AR team was in a separate van beside the IP1 truck.

Next to them was where the drone pilot was stationed, seated in front of two monitors, which showed the drone’s feed and the live feed. The drone being used was a DJI Maverick 3.

As the director calls up various inputs from around the stadium, the live feed is fed from the IP1 truck to a smaller van equipped with a broadcasting satellite that transmits the signal to MultiChoice’s broadcast centre.

From there, it is compressed and placed on the correct DStv channel or over-the-top platforms, such as Showmax and DStv Stream.

We were told that because it was a Soweto Derby, SuperSport had to have two satellite vans, one of which was used as a backup.

Parallel to the IP1 truck and VR and AR van was a truck similar in size to the IP1, used to store all the camera equipment. On the other side was a smaller blue truck with a generator to power the entire operation.

Pictures of the inside of SuperSport IP1 are embedded below.

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