LaLiga Santander and SmartBank kick off on Friday with the latest technology and the best broadcast coverage in its history

On Friday, August 12, the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank seasons will kick off, and will bring us some audiovisual innovations that will make fans experience the spectacle of LaLiga like never before.

One of the main developments is the use of artificial intelligence for the automatic creation of match highlights and clips that will be used by LaLiga itself on its social media channels, but also by broadcasters, clubs and players.

To achieve this goal of revolutionising its digital content strategy, LaLiga has partnered with the global leader in AI-based sports video technology, WSC Sports, whose platform uses advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies to analyse live sports broadcasts, then identifies each and every event that occurs in a game, and in real-time creates and publishes customised videos.

This game-changing way to create real-time highlights at speed and scale will be used by LaLiga across all their digital properties (website, app, social media) for all 800+ LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank matches. Content created via the WSC Sports platform will also be distributed to LaLiga Clubs to help increase the reach and provide a new experience for fans across the league. LaLiga will also use WSC Sports’ innovative graphics solution Graphics360, which automatically adds graphical and contextual elements to each video to help customise them for branding and sponsorships.

Finally, LaLiga will use this technology to easily create and edit matchday highlights at speed, in high resolution, for their broadcast TV channel.  

The best audiovisual production

For this new season, LaLiga will continue to have the best audiovisual presentation from its production partner, Grupo MEDIAPRO, so that fans can enjoy the best spectacle in the world on their screens. To this end, we will have:

• 4K – HDR PRODUCTION: LaLiga uses over 30 cameras for the biggest matches of each season.
• CINEMATOGRAPHIC CAMERA: A high-definition camera that creates a cinematic effect and acts as a FanCam.
• AERIAL CAMERA: A bird’s eye camera located at a height of 21 metres.
• LIVE 3D GRAPHICS: LaLiga is the only domestic competition in the world that uses the innovative technology offered by Live 3D Graphics to generate virtual graphics during broadcasts.
• MULTI-SCREEN: This is a multi-camera signal for broadcasts, with four streams displayed on one screen as well as real-time statistics taken from the data analytics system Mediacoach. The objective is to offer the viewer an alternative broadcast in order to enjoy different perspectives and data from the match.
• ACROBATIC DRONES: An “acrobatic” drone, given its ability to film every corner of any stadium, has collected footage from all LaLiga Santander grounds, from the tunnels to the roofs. This has produced some spectacular images that will enhance broadcasts and programmes, offering a unique and immersive experience to all fans of Spanish football.
• BEYOND STATS: The advanced statistics portal from LaLiga's project with Microsoft, which publishes pre-match reports analysing the main metrics of each team in the competition, generated by Mediacoach and Microsoft Azure's machine learning and artificial intelligence technology. 

New broadcasting style

This season, commentary of LaLiga matches will be fresher and closer to the viewer. This will be done with the help of cameras inside the commentary boxes, which will allow viewers to see live reactions from the analysts and commentators.

In addition, some of the on-field interviews will be conducted by former footballers, thus offering a new technical dimension to the broadcast.

Finally, some matches will feature interviews with celebrities and non-football personalities present at the matches, with the aim of encouraging colour and entertainment throughout the broadcast.

New commentators in Spain

Carlos Martínez will lead the group that will lend their voice to LaLiga Santander matches. This season he will continue to be the key player in a team that will mix familiar voices from the competition with new talent. The team of commentators will consist of José Sanchís, Alba Oliveros, Héctor Ruiz, Jordi Pons and Lluis Izquierdo.

Alongside them, LaLiga's production will feature some top-notch pundits: Iker Casillas, Fernando Morientes, Gaizka Mendieta, Axel Torres, Esteban Suárez, Jofre Mateu and Miguel Torres, with more faces to be revealed in the near future.

The team of journalists covering the LaLiga matches will be made up by Isabel Forner, Inma Rodríguez, Edu Aguirre, Isaac Fouto, Antonio Callejón, Ismael Medina, Darío Muela, Mónica Benavent, Dani Méndez and Albert Fernández.