Gravity Media centralizes UCI gravel worlds control in Melbourne

By Amara Osei

Gravity Media based production control for the UCI Gravel World Championships in Melbourne, more than 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) from the gravel course in Nannup, Western Australia. The setup connected specialist crews on the course with the company's Production Center and reduced the field footprint required at the venue.

Nannup hosted the first UCI Gravel World Championships staged outside Europe, through valleys and forest. Producing a global sports broadcast there was not simply a matter of placing cameras beside riders. A conventional outside-broadcast (OB) deployment would have required enough travel, accommodation and logistics to threaten almost the entire local production budget, according to Gravity Media's account.

Gravity brought together service teams from different parts of the company to design the alternative for Beyond Productions. Control-room work stayed in Melbourne, while fewer operational resources went to Nannup. Gravity described the result as a tailored production that combined infrastructure, connectivity and technical expertise; the commercial test was simpler: keep the show on air without carrying the cost and clutter of a full OB deployment.

How did cameras cover a course that kept moving?

The production needed flexible multicamera coverage that could follow riders across the gravel route and difficult terrain. Gravity used fixed cameras at key locations, including the start and finish, then added mobile and aerial platforms:

• Chase motorcycles carried cameras alongside the riders.
• All-terrain vehicles supplied additional mobile coverage.
• Drones and helicopters provided aerial views.

That mix allowed the director to draw on several camera positions without moving a conventional production compound around the course. It was a field operation, but not the old field operation.

How did the feeds reach Melbourne?

Gravity linked the dispersed camera positions with RF transmissions supported by mobile and cellular-bonded connectivity. Several digital satellite newsgathering (DSNG) vans sat at different sites, multiplexing feeds and carrying them back to the Melbourne Production Center. The company's CELBO remote-production technology supported the cameras working on the ground at the start and finish.

At the center, control-room staff received, processed and synchronized multiple live feeds from Nannup. Virtual hosting and localized commentary were handled in the studio environment, while EVS systems supported the production workflow. Gravity also integrated the event across its facilities, producing domestic and world feeds rather than treating Australia as an appendage to the international show.

Communications needed their own architecture. Gravity established a complex IP network and used satellite internet zones to complete the communications loop between the course and Melbourne. GPS tracking entered the workflow through the motorcycle links, integrating course-position information into the production process.

What did viewers receive?

Beyond Productions used the distributed setup for an international world feed aimed at cycling audiences around the world. It also delivered dedicated Australian coverage for SBS, including custom interviews, live crosses and commentary. The local and global outputs came from the same centralized control room, with the Melbourne operation handling both.

Boost Graphics, Gravity's Belgium-based live graphics and virtual-production subsidiary, contributed its experience of major European cycling events and the UCI. The broader project team designed the camera and transmission workflow, while Boost helped integrate GPS tracking into the broadcast. Gravity says that combination enhanced the viewing experience. The less promotional description is that tracking from the course reached the production team in Melbourne and became part of the live workflow.

Does this replace the outside broadcast?

Not entirely. Gravity still used local crews, mobile platforms, RF links and satellite vans at Nannup. What it removed was the need for a traditional OB deployment at the venue, because coordination and production control sat in Melbourne. That is remote production with a local foothold, rather than the disappearance of the field crew.

The arithmetic is persuasive even without the adjectives. A full OB deployment could have absorbed almost all of the local production budget, while Gravity's distributed arrangement kept control central and the venue footprint lighter. Gravity's account calls the outcome world-class; no contract value, audience figure or measured saving accompanied that claim, so the budget comparison remains the more concrete commercial result.

Gravity's wider claim is that specialist teams can extend its capabilities by redesigning established workflows instead of adding resources to a conventional OB deployment. But Gravity Media disclosed no rollout schedule or investment figure. The next proof point is whether Beyond Productions and Gravity can repeat the workflow at another remote championship without simply relocating the expense rather than reducing it.