DEBUT FOR SPIDERCAM
Sky to use technology in United-Liverpool clash
THE web of Premier League coverage will expand this weekend as Spidercam is introduced to an English top-flight match for the first time at Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool.
Sportsmail can reveal that Sky Sports will introduce the birds-eye view technology for the Old Trafford showdown, with the Premier League following the lead set by the Champions League and World Cup. It will see a camera suspended above the pitch via four wires attached to each corner of the ground (like the one below) and manoeuvred by an operator to follow the action, fluctuating between 10 and 40 metres above the pitch.
The structure at Old Trafford was given council approval on Monday and the footage is set to become a key component of the Sky coverage with the broadcaster rolling out its full stable of leading names — Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, Graeme Souness, Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp — for the Sunday clash.
Sky Sports head of football Gary Hughes told Sportsmail yesterday: ‘A game as big as Manchester United against Liverpool feels like the right time to use it for the first time in a Premier League fixture. It is one of the biggest games in world football and the intention is to get the viewer closer to the game, which is what this technology enables.
‘It will mostly come into its own at set-pieces, like free-kicks, corners or penalties, when it can go directly above the action and give you the fullest view looking down directly on what is happening. I think it will become a big tool in analysis — Jamie Redknapp and Thierry Henry will be using it on Monday Night Football.’
The technology has been used in cricket, though there have been occasional mishaps, including a shot from India’s Virat Kohli that hit the camera in an ODI against Australia last year.
Sky are satisfied the camera will not affect play during a Premier League match as the structure will retreat to the height of the stadium for goal-kicks and when the keeper is in possession.