Manchester event to be filmed in Ultra HD by BT Sport
By NATHAN CLARKE
The Professional Squash Association (PSA) have announced that squash will become the first racket sport ever to be broadcast live in UltraHD in the UK.
The historic broadcast will occur during the 2015 AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix, which takes place in Manchester this September, when the semi-finals and final will be shown live on BT Sport in HD and UltraHD on Sunday September 13 and Monday September 14.
“We have developed a strong relationship with BT Sport since agreeing a broadcast partnership with them at the beginning of 2015 and we are delighted to be working with them on this new venture,” said PSA Chief Operating Officer Lee Beachill.
“UltraHD is the best way to capture the gladiatorial battles that have become par for the course on the PSA World Tour and the fact that squash will be the first racquet sport to be broadcast in such a format is magnificent news.
“We look forward to continuing and enhancing our relationship with BT Sport and our other broadcast partners as we strive to ensure that squash continues to take advantage of growing technological trends in the future.”
Jamie Hindhaugh, Chief Operating Officer, BT Sport and BT TV, said: “BT Sport has enjoyed supporting The Professional Squash Association (PSA) since our broadcast partnership was announced in January this year. We look forward to bringing squash fans the 2015 AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix in ultra-high-definition later this year.”
The PSA World Tour began a new partnership with production company MOOV.tv in January introducing many enhancements to the sport’s coverage, including radio and robotic cameras, however this latest advancement is set to really showcase the sport in a new light.
“UltraHD is 4 times the detail of the current HD format and will bring squash to life on television like never before,” said MOOV.tv Director, Nev Appleton. “The picture quality is stunning, you feel like you are actually at the event, giving the viewer the best seat in the house is always the objective. It doesn’t stop there, The BT Sport UltraHD truck is equipped with the world’s first UHD ChyronHego graphics engines offering razor sharp graphics certainly adding to the ‘wow’ factor.”
The AJ Bell British Grand Prix takes place at the National Squash Centre from Friday September 11 – Monday September 14 – with BT Sport viewers able to watch the quarter-final action in HD and semi-final and final action in HD and UltraHD.
To purchase tickets, go to https://www.isportstore.com/iSPORTticketing-(1)/AJ-Bell-British-Grand-Prix.aspx