Five ways tech could change TV football

Technology in football is a contentious issue but TV coverage has benefitted massively from tech innovations. Here’s five ways new advancements could improve your viewing...

1. Referee microphone 

A development that’s so simple rugby has been doing it for years. Yep, rugby on the cutting edge – imagine that. Having the match officials ‘miked up’, then broadcasting the audio live, gives the watching public a far better idea of exactly what the ruddy hell it is the men in black are actually trying to achieve. 


If and when it happens in football, we’ll no longer be left wondering whether a card was dished out with good cause or just because the man in the middle fancied spicing things up (not to mention getting himself on TV).

2. Player Cam 2.0 

Sky Sports pioneered the original ‘player cam’ back in the 90s, their cameras focusing on a different player every 15 minutes ‘behind the red button’. It was initially popular but the novelty soon wore off and it was eventually scrapped, although Sky did bring it back for Angel di Maria’s recent Old Trafford debut. 

But with GoPro-style cameras attached to every player’s alice band, a POV player cam would let fans see exactly what their heroes see on the pitch and feel immersed in the action. 

The concept could extend to managers – though don’t expect Wenger Cam to catch any contentious incidents… 

3. Audio crowd control 

Don’t like the audio accompaniment to the match you’re watching? What if you could pipe in the crowd noise from another game to give things a kick? You could have the sound of 40,000 vuvuzelas as the backdrop to Port Vale v Scunthorpe. You’d be crazy, but you could. 

More practically, it would allow concerned parents to select a more sedate soundtrack to a potentially terse fixture. Imagine enthusiastic, all-American, Glee-style you-can-do-its during Manchester United-Liverpool, rather than naughty songs about [redacted], [redacted] or Wayne Rooney going to [redacted] so he could [redacted]. 

4. Motion capture instant replay

There’s nothing better than watching your team’s stunning winning goal over and over – but don’t you wish you had complete control of the camera angle, like you do when you’re playing FIFA 15? What if, with the help of motion-capture technology and your remote control, you could do just that. 

Fancy seeing the crucial moments of the match as the manager saw them? Then swoop down to the dug out and take a peek. Want to see how that offside call looked from the linesman? Glide down to the touchline and check he got it right. Want a better view of that wayward shot? Then head for Row Z and watch it hurtle towards you!

5. LG 4K OLED 

You needn’t wait for the next generation of football broadcasting – the future is already here, thanks to LG’s 4K OLED televisions. This is the breakthrough TV that combines today’s two cutting-edge bits of TV tech.

There’s OLED TVs where every pixel is its own light, providing colour, contrast and motion unmatched by previous tech. ANd ULTRA HD 4K – a screen with four times the resolution of Full HD – that’s a serious amount of pixels and detail. 

It’s almost better than your personal eyes. The final result is a new level of definition, sharpness and colour. Forget Sepp Blatter’s goal-line technology – LG 4K OLED is a real game changer. 

Source: Goal.com