Meet The Member: iSportconnect Talks To Dave Adey, Extreme E’s New Head Of Broadcast And Technology

After iSportconnect and Extreme E’s special eMasterclass, we spoke to Dave Adey, who recently joined Extreme E as Head Of Broadcast And Technology, to discuss the unique challenges he will face with motor racing’s newest product.

So Dave, why was this role at Extreme E something that really interested you?

Extreme E is a totally new concept in motorsport. It is ground-breaking in every respect. The car, the race format, the broadcast coverage, the locations, the environmental legacy projects and the logistical challenges in bringing the Championship from a vision to reality.

It was almost, “Your Mission, should you choose to accept it….”

Within 18 months, design and build a fleet of electric SUV ‘beasts’, boasting 550 BHP, 400 KW, 0<100KPH in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 200 KPH – and built to withstand the rigours of extreme off-road racing in mountains, deserts, dunes, forests and glaciers.

Next up, research some of the most remote and environmentally damaged locations on our planet (Brazil, Senegal, Greenland, Nepal, Saudi desert). Design a racetrack that will showcase the car, highlight the climate challenges we all face, whilst engaging the viewer.

The key challenge to producing a compelling live TV show covering fast moving action over difficult terrain in remote locations, is infrastructure. Where we are going, there is none. But, with challenges, comes innovation.

Film the 2-day event with a team of only 30, with no infrastructure, power or internet and distribute all the content to a potential global audience of 221 million viewers.

Oh, by the way, everything you need to be self-sufficient, you have to take with you. Get it on the ship (yes, we bought a ship, the RMS St Helena) before Christmas when it sets sail on its low carbon footprint journey to the first destination.

Mission Impossible?? That’s the challenge that hooked me.

Tell us about your role, how do you hope to provide your expertise in taking Extreme E’s broadcast and technology division forward?

Extreme E is a small, if not perfectly formed, team of only 28 people working out of our offices in Hammersmith under the leadership of Founder and CEO, Alejandro Agag. We cover off all disciplines from event management, logistics, utilities, Sporting, track design, partnerships, biz dev, PR, marketing and Broadcast & Technology.

You might think my role is a far cry from being a Continuity Announcer on BBC1, but one thing led onto another and my 30 years in TV have amassed a wealth of experience in operational, technical, editorial and commercial aspects of the business.

Most recently, well, for the past 7 years, I have had the good fortune to use my broadcast expertise in motorsport – initially working on an independent motorsport App for F1 races and then four years building the Broadcast and Technology operation for Formula E.

For Extreme E, Broadcast and Technology is mission critical. It is a TV product that relies on innovative solutions for TV Production, distribution, streaming, car telemetry data and radio communications. For that, we build relationships with our expert Technology Partners. It’s all about teamwork.

I see my role as taking an overview of the jigsaw puzzle.  Harness the knowledge base, steer the direction and facilitate the success. It’s a great team effort.

What do you think are going to be the biggest challenges you’ll have to face and overcome in terms of broadcasting these races?

The key challenge to producing a compelling live TV show covering fast moving action over difficult terrain in remote locations, is infrastructure. Where we are going, there is none. But, with challenges, comes innovation.

Our TV compound needs to be self-sufficient with equipment, power, distribution and communications. With the need to keep resources at track to a minimum, we are deploying remote production, with camera feeds and a ‘race cut’ created onsite. These, along with car telemetry data, will be back hauled via resilient satellite feeds, to our production gallery back in London, where data, graphics and commentary will be added to produce the Host Broadcast World Feed.

With a technical setup of less than a week and minimal staff on site, how do we create exciting race footage on beaches, dunes, valleys, deserts and glaciers?

Our Production partners, are making extensive use of drones, track cameras, specialist ‘point of view’ cameras, RF cameras and On-Board cameras – a total of 57 – all connected to the TV Compound via resilient RF nodes and then sent back to London via satellite, assuming we can see the relevant satellites in the remote locations at the bottom of valleys and among sand dunes!

It is fantastic that our Media team have secured deals with key Tier 1 broadcasters such as the BBC, Fox Sports and many more. This signals real credibility in the championship before it’s even begun the inaugural season.

Our ‘timing, telemetry data and graphics’ team have an equal challenge in harvesting hundreds of pieces of car data (battery usage, breaking, suspension displacement, roll and yaw, G force, etc) from the car and delivering to Production in London where information is fed live into graphics on the TV programme. Their solution is equally innovative, creating a resilient Wi-Fi mesh network of nodes – all powered by solar panels. No generators – no cables. All contributing to our aim to minimise our carbon footprint.

Add to all of that, the complexities of Augmented Reality and Virtual branding and the challenges become quite apparent.

Do you think it’s a great sign that Extreme E has been able to get a number of television deals around the world established already, proving there is already interest and intrigue for this totally new product?

Extreme E is a TV product. We have no spectators at the events, so TV coverage is crucial. Our income comes from sponsors who judge our success on the number of eyeballs attracted to our programmes.

There are key territories like Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, US and China, that are hard-core motorsport fans. Extreme E aims to broaden the interest with its blend of motorsport, entertainment and education, highlighting the environmental issues that face the planet. Through the use of live race coverage, documentaries, preview programmes and social media, the intention is that this broader appeal will differentiate Extreme E and set the bar for a new concept in motorsport.

It is fantastic that our Media team have secured deals with key Tier 1 broadcasters such as the BBC, Fox Sports and many more. This signals real credibility in the championship before it’s even begun the inaugural season.

Can you take anything from the experience of consulting with Formula E when they got off the ground, or does the prospect of the race locations make this a completely unique task?

I have worked in many start-up projects. There is always a balancing act between sophistication, complexity, cost and timescale. Innovative rather than bleeding edge solutions. The ‘vision’ tempered by ‘pragmatism’. My view is to understand the ‘big picture’; start simple, but solid; take baby steps and scale.

Formula E was a fantastic but steep learning curve. We all had to learn quickly how to adapt to the challenges of putting on a race, filming it, delivering to a trackside and global audience with thousands of spectators, all within a city centre. We all learned from successes and failures. But, with a huge collaborative team effort, Formula E has now evolved into a slick, cost-effective, professional operation – from a race, broadcast and event perspective. There is no substitute for real world experience – something I can bring to Extreme E.

From a consumer perspective, we are becoming more concerned with ‘value for time’ rather than ‘value for money’. It has been a long time since many of us could invest hours or even days in a regular sporting event.

For Extreme E, there are some similarities, but also very different challenges. We still have to produce a televised race. We have the advantage of no spectators to accommodate in busy city centres. However, our remote locations are a stark contrast, offering no infrastructure nor local facilities. No local hire shops, TV rentals, technical spares outlets. Self-sufficiency is the name of the game. We have to bring everything from power, water, structures, cars, teams’ equipment, broadcast equipment, everyone has to be fed, watered and accommodated. We have to create exciting racetracks; be considerate of our surroundings; highlight the global climate challenges – and race without a trace.

Is the hope for you that we could see Extreme E transforming the way motor racing is broadcast, in comparison to how we are generally accustomed to watching it currently?

There are a couple of interesting potential ‘outcomes’ from the way Extreme E produces its content and how we consume it.

From a production point of view, remote working will become the norm in the industry. It provides may benefits in terms of cost savings, quality of working life, flexibility and reduces all the downsides of travel. This can also be taken a step further, whereby different elements can be produced in different locations (our car telemetry data is harvested on location and ends up on a server in Spain, contributing to a live production in London). Cloud based services will also facilitate this remote working model.

Equally, from a sports production perspective, I expect we will see more use of drones and remote cameras. Of our 57 or so cameras, 47 will be unmanned. With innovative use of AR and VR technology, physical branding could be a thing of the past, reducing cost and adding flexibility – different advertising for different territories.

From a consumer perspective, we are becoming more concerned with ‘value for time’ rather than ‘value for money’. It has been a long time since many of us could invest hours or even days in a regular sporting event.

The beauty of Extreme E is the short, sharp fix of adrenalin filled entertainment. Social media teasers and stunts; two days of racing condensed into two hours of a broadcast window, with the culmination of the final, broadcast live. To complement this, there will be thought provoking documentary series exploring the environmental challenges we face in saving the planet and some of the legacy projects Extreme E is planning at each of the event locations.

As consumers, we expect more for the amount of time we commit to our viewing. Extreme E aims to change the game – and set the new standard.